Cresting Mania Sweihan II

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David
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Always exciting when Rashid posts a drive and even more when "Al Ain" comes in the description. The usual question mark on where will be the MP, over the moon when it was shared on Thursday, this is an area I "discovered" behind Rashid and that I have gone back privately afterwards, as a matter of fact the highlights of the drive are saved in my SatNav as Rashid1, Rashid2, ... and of course NiceBowlRashid.

Very pleasant surprise MP same as for the advanced drivers so it added the chance to chitchat with the big boys and congratulate in person our 3 new Explorers.

Small convoy Rathica, Sorin, Khimoz, Marco, Samer and myself, of course Rashid leading with Youssef floating/sweeping for support.

Last instructions, be careful, dunes here are tricky, sharp edges, it can be dangerous, always "something" happens here ..., I would add that many of them seem to have "2 hard sides" plus jumps everywhere. I love it!!!

We started "slow" which I think it was the right approach, leading Marshall using the XTerra for the 1st time in those dunes plus surely wishing to give us some time to adapt. I did manage to drive with windows down and no AC until the 1st mini-break as I love doing so plus to help the car with possible overheating, even though in a mainly jeep convoy I was hopeful it would not be mine the 1st one to say "sorry too hot" as additionally I was using 2nd gear more than usual.

Towards 9, 9'30 things started getting more interesting, with the sun higher it becomes more difficult to see the changes in the sand and I could see the 2 cars in front of me jumping regularly, luckily for me I had them as a reference but no doubt that not easy for them.

We reached NiceBowlRashid which I absolutely love as the end part of it gives you a bit of a feeling of a "starfish dune" when you crest on the descent to reach again the starting point. Unfortunately one of the cars in the convoy ended up on the right side that leads to a hard landing, as a result one car had to be pulled out, Youssef taking the most difficult job while Rashid navigated for a flat route.

After taking the damaged car out we went back to what was, in my opinion, the best part of the drive. With Presa joining us as additional support (Big boys decided to call it a day but he was still playful) Rashid increased the pace of the convoy and put together some fantastic climb and sidecresting combinations, always learning following his lead, he places himself in a position to sidecrest so easily ... A few areas of very soft sand in this last section but the leading Marshall spotted the danger quickly so nothing to regret.

Very very hot by the time we finished another fantastic drive. Thank you Rashid as always for arranging the drive plus all of the other members of the convoy for making it possible, I am very excited in the office I have been allowed to work remotely over the summer from Spain for 2months but I must admit that I am going to miss the drives and the Almost family so so much!!!

See you on the sand soon.
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presa
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Hi Almosters!

I join the convoy at the last hour of the drive since the advance drive has finished.

We had an additional hour of fun with Rashid playing on a nice level, with a small convoy of 7 cars.

There were a few 2nd tries, mostly by drivers losing the track, but with a smooth pace.
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Sorin
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Hi everyone

This was another fantastic drive in a very very fun area of the desert . Loved the pace, the dunes and the great track set by our Marshall @Rashidjass

Even though we drove in temperatures of almost 50 degrees Celsius in the second part, this mainly Jeep convoy had no overheating issues :D

We spotted a fox at one point and had a great time driving together along the same area as the Advanced members.

Below is a small video I made of the drive:



See you all soon!
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mpodroid
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Eventually, after a long time, we had an intermediate drive on high dunes.

I left Dubai, crossed the checkpoint and my challenge started even before reaching the meeting point: I noticed some weird vibrations, but did not pay attention. After a while, I heard a noise from the back but nothing else except my car dashboard: tire pressure on the rear right tire was going down, quickly. A slash in the tire.

Got the jack and started lifting the car to replace the wheel. Few seconds later, a car pulled over and an angel came to help me: it was @rapailo. Thanks man!

in 10 minutes wheel replaced and on route to the meeting point.

@Rashidjass immediately scared us in the briefing: high and sharp dunes, pay attention, bad things happen and you can easily roll over.

I had some second tries, but the drive has been amazing.




Thanks everybody
Marco
Last edited by mpodroid on Tue Jun 08, 2021 2:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
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