Star Gazing: Is It Dark Yet

[giorgio]

Hi Almosters,

The first night drive of Ramadan was yesterday with a mix of levels of 10- and 10+.

Over all the drive was slow with no major challenges other than dealing non stop with the vegetation and ditches.

It was not maybe an ideal drive (for from it) but it was better than a night on the couch

I would like to thank the support team and Founder for all the support as well as all the members that kept the pace and completed the drive with no complaints

Car wash is on Alsamshi_M

Drive safe looking forward to the next drive

[alshamsi_m]

Hello Everyone

I couldn't resist the chance after knowing from the forecast that it is going to be another night which we are going to miss for the upcoming week.

I brought my Jimny for this drive which made it easy to maneuver among the bushes but it was hard to hit a big one . For some reason, the time flew and found out that we were reaching midnight.

At the end of the drive we didn't sit down in our normal places due to the high density of mesquite in lake areas . Nevertheless, we sat in the parking area of the Last Exit and chill while having Sahour!

Thanks everyone for joining us for the newbies night drives which are exclusive for Ramadan only in our club so consider yourself lucky

See you in the Grand Iftar

Car wash is on Alsamshi_M

P.S I have no clue how the wash on me and @giorgio was the leading marshal !!!

[galindakis]

Hello dear folks,

Yesterday night was the first and the only Ramadan drive for me this year.
The track was fun with a lot of vegetation and ditches but the convoy managed well.
We only had a couple of situations due to the lack of communication and not maintaining proper distance to the car in front.

We finished around 12:30 in Al Qudra which was quite convenient for me. Thanks to Giorgio, Shamsi and all the support.

I am happily surprised that the weather is still very good.

See you soon after I come back from the races in South Africa.

Best.

[brett]

Dear Almosters
“Is it Dark Yet” the first in the Ramadan 2024 night drive series. Thanks to @giorgio for positing the drive for the 10- level and later opening it up for a few 10+ drivers.
I arrived at the meeting point to find a few drivers already assembled. It was a chilly night at around 20C with a light breeze.
The start time had been adjusted to 930pm to allow for people to attend the evening prayers before take off. The track was intended to be relatively straightforward with a finishing point at Al Qudra.
During the briefing @giorgio mentioned the sand conditions were still very firm from the recent rains and the drivers should take care as the conditions can be tricky. Also there was a lot of vegetation in the area to be avoided.
I was the designated sweeper. We had @alshamsi_m floating in his mighty Jimny to keep everyone safe and shepherd the convoy to ensure no one strayed off the course
The route was a mix of safari style sabkha areas some climbs, drop, climb sections and some technical dunes making for a really interesting tack requiring lots of concentration with the darkness adding to the challenge. The correct choice of off roads lights is a must – with one poor chap finding out the hard way what happens if you don’t have enough lights and drift off the path of the car in front of you. Luckily he only ended up emulating a bulldozer and hitting the wall of the dune head on – the dune did not move, and his bumper came off second best from the encounter. It was lucky as a few more meters to the left and said car would have toppled over and rolled down the steep side of the dune.
I also had a “moment” with @Aljamhi in the car ahead of me he went over the crest, called clear and I proceeded, only to find once I was crossing the crest I realized he had not cleared the next steep climb, I came to a stop as quickly as I could but by now I was at the bottom of the dune and he was reversing back to have a second try. A quick honk of the horn and he realized I was there – these thing all happen very fast ! he then attempted to pull forward so I could move out of his way – my car was then showered in wet sand from his spinning wheels ! I had enough space to make a left turn and get out of his way, he reversed further and was then able to make the climb and we continued the drive to catch up with the rest of the convoy.
We reached the end of the drive at the entrance to the Cresent Moon lake, where we found the last 20m to the road was still flooded so a quick splash through the muddy pond and we were back on the tarmac – all the cars were in need of a deep clean to remove the caked on dirt !
It was a great night in the desert – a bit bumpy down the back with the chewed up track from the cars Infront and the never-ending bushes and bumps.
Big thanks to fellow intermediates for taking part and helping out with the few recoveries @Mghoneim , @Bu_Touma, @galindakis

[Ely]

If that drive was to be published in a magazine you would probably read extracts such as :

« The bumpiest drive of my life »
« I couldn’t see a single straight dune »
« I have never seen so much camel grass in a place ! »
« We were driving on a mine field !! »
« After tonight, I feel life is like this drive, you never know what kind of ditch you will come across »
« I love my double suspensions, triple bypass! Cause it was like driving on the road wallahi ! »
« They said -be careful for the ditch…- but seriously this was a hole for me » (probably a Jimny driver)
« A war zone… I lost my bumper that day »
« I had a fine going to work the next day cause my car was so dirty… »
« By the end of the drive, I thought we were in Salalah again… so much mud and mosquitoes ! »

—————————-///——————————————

Dear Almosters,

Hope you are all doing great, it was a pleasure to see you during that unforgettable night drive full of little and bumpy surprises .

I would like to thank Giorgio our leading marshal for organizing this drive and Bu Salem for supporting. As well as, all the supporting members : MGhoneim our second lead, Brett, Galindakis and Abu Tuma.

The drive was smooth, we had a few stops here and there, 1 rescue and some second trials. It was a beautiful night of Ramadan with an excellent weather and we could see some very cute gazelles wondering around. I was surprised by how green the area was !

We started in Al Faqa went all around the farms and new fence and finished our drive by reaching Al Qudra. The terrain was quite interesting, it was mostly technical and flat where we could speed up and we were driving at a good pace. The technical area was very bumpy, full of camel herbs and ditches which was a really good exercise to control your throttle.

The great amount of ditches all around and the darkness of the night were an excellent reminder on how important it is to follow the track, as you could find yourself in some uncomfortable situations if you missed the right way.

We ended our drive on a muddy note, finding our way out by crossing some water/mud ponds…

This is it !
See you all very soon for our grand iftar !
Ely

[Paddy]

Star Gazing: Is It Dark Yet!

First night drive for this season and it was meant to be for 10- newbies.

10+ Newbies requested @giorgio for few spaces and he generously made few.

Drive was perfect for the level it was designed for and gave a new perspective to all newbies, it was a clear reminder of what all to expect while off-roading in desert. Its not always gonna be just sand

Thank you @giorgio and @alshamsi_m for the first Night drive.

~BR
Paddy