Carnival is Coming - 21/02/2020 - Friday 14h00

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presa
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Dear Almosters!

We had a very nice afternoon drive with our 10+.

Driving in Sweihan region is always full of fun.

We had two convoys, one lead by Myself with @alshamsi_m supervision, while other with @Booy leading and @Agalon supervision.

Both convoys have around 10 newbies and 2-3 intermediates, being @Johanna, @Loca, @Youssef.Abdelhady with me and @optimus , @Bu Zayed , @AMounir and @SINGH with Booy.

There were some wind, what helps on keeping the temperature pleasant, but makes difficult to evaluate where were the crest.

At the first area of the drive there were a technical area, with bowls and some soft sand. There were a few second tries and a few overspeeding, what can be damaging for the car. Overall I believe everyone was enjoying it.
At the second part we reach bigger dunes. We did some climbs, got into some large bowls and rode some walls and many were enjoying the faster pace.
We had some time off to correctly disengage a Jeep TC, but after a few jeepers assistance we took off the right fuse.
We then made a pause for chating and photos on the back of Nagrah Dune, since the front and nearby were very crowded.
Sunset was around 18h15 and we were leaving Nagrah around 17h30, so we have 45 min, counting any problem, 2nd tries and others to cross ~15km of sand.
Going at a faster pace, with only a few 2nd tries and using the terrain we manage to do it in ~30min and I guess some members enjoy the faster pace :)

Hope to see you all in AGA 6.0!
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osman
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Hi all,

The meeting point was almost split into two places, the ones arrived early with the deflated tires climbed up and made themselves visible from the road and a deflation station at the base of the dunes for the rest to get prepared. @presa made the attendance check and split the convoys then he continued with the general briefing, and then the individual convoy briefings followed. I was in the convoy led by @Booy at the second position and our task is to practice side cresting as well as managing to drive on relatively small bowls with the correct entry timing so that in case of a stuck, there wont be more then one car to rescue from the bowl. The large bows and walls were also in the menu, as well as the technical areas.

Within the first 20 minutes of the drive, we had the first re-briefing after completing one of the side crests as driving a second or two on top of the crest rule was not honoured. We saw many convoys during the drive, some crossing our paths. One of these cars caused me to lose the momentum and I had to announce a second try and made a spiral on a large bowl then reconnect to Booy at the other side.

The menu announced at the briefing was delivered with the fast pace, which made this drive very very very much enjoyable. We did not have any pop-out but we had some technical issues with one car, which had to be escorted to road by @Agalon and another car with overheat that needed some rest before continue and of course many stucks and crests. That speak itself that this drive was about pushing the comfort zone. All of this was until we reach Nagrah Dune. Once we reached the main face of the Nagrah Dune, there was a huge crowd watching and participating to climb the top of the dune in a chaotic manner. I think such sightings are making us to appreciate the level of safety and quality of our club and should also make the marshals and founders to be proud what they achieved.

With around a half an hour left to the finishing time, we said goodbye to the big dune and drive off from the main attraction area even faster pace than before.

When we reached to the finishing point, I drove through the gate and pulled the car close to the road to inflate the tyres and could not say goodbye to anyone in person, my apologies to everyone. It was totally unintentional, I simply did not block the hard dunes and kept driving for a suitable point.

A big thank goes to @Booy delivering such a memorable drive, I enjoyed every second of it! Extending the thanks to @presa for organising the trip and @Agalon being the supporting marshal and the supporting drivers.
Warning: Sand is addictive... and also the sea salt.
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mpodroid
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Dear all,

I left Dubai very excited: finally in the 10+ convoy.
The day did not start in the best way: I got flashed on my way to the meeting point. I did not realised that I was in Abu Dhabi, so 100km/s is 100km/h, no grace. 195 AED fine.

Interesting enough, my previous fine, already discounted by 50% was not affected.

@presa led the convoy and I have been the second lead. We started a bit late, waiting for everybody to join us.

After a while, I had a first problem with my rear bumper: stock plastic jeep, with low plate which digs the sand, departing from steeper dunes. It was already broken by previous drive on right side: I fixed with some steel wire. After a few more minutes, the final touch: it fell apart completely.
It took some time to be able to disconnect the harness, to avoid cutting the wires. Put the bumper in the trunk and restarted.

We had some pauses and second tries, but overall it has been very fun: especially the latest 30 minutes, when we had an uninterrupted drive at higher pace.

Thanks everybody
If you don't care where you are, you ain't lost.
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Preggy
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The meeting point for this drive was interesting - everyone huddled together in a fairly tight spot on a little balcony. It was nice to catch up with Almosters that I hadn’t seen for a while.
The drive got off to a little bit of a slow start, but this was expected since it was a rather technical area and it required good attention and focus.
We had a few car technical issues in our convoy but once those were resolved the convoy found its flow again. @presa increased the pace of the drive and everyone was able to keep up due to his amazing lines. I’m sure that the entire convoy wished the drive would not end. But alas it was sunset and time call an end to a wonderful afternoon drive.
Thanks for a memorable drive.
Ride or Die🚙
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