Desert Gazing - The beginning

[alshamsi_m]

Hi everyone

What a wonderful night and the weather was so cool, I still have the effect and can't open my eyes :slow: I reached home around 5 am. We had a very long drive of 50 km in the dark with Newbie members that some might driving for the first time in the dark. The sky was dark and so beautiful to watch the stars.

We started the convoy on time without any delay, Thanks all for coming on time. The drive was expect for 2 Hours nevertheless, with the condition of new members in the dark we made three cut offs so who ever wants to leave while driving can stop and go home and the rest of the convoy keep driving without being effected.

I had [MENTION=9649]matts[/MENTION] on my second lead, [MENTION=10405]Adam[/MENTION] in rescue, [MENTION=9155]Mark B[/MENTION] as flouting rescue and [MENTION=10413]Booy[/MENTION] as a sweeper. all of you did a great job by making the convoy reach the final destination safely.

I'm not going to tell you about the drive because I want to give the chance for our members to tell you.

See you next Wednesday

[alshamsi_m]

POP Quiz : How many times I said the word DARK in the above post ? :yaeh am not durnk:

[Mohanad]

Last night I had the opportunity to be Alshamsi's passenger. being in the leading car, I have enjoyed the cool breeze without swallowing any dust or sand and I had a very good insight on how the leader choses the track. there are no words that can describe the weather and the general atmosphere in the desert , we didn't feel like leaving that place !



Bu Salem did not make it easy for the drivers, there were a lot of sharp drops and plenty of ditches. however, we have crossed 50 KM in less than 3 hours which is a very good time for my newbie brothers :)


N.B. last night I did not drive my truck based on an advice from Bu Salem. he told me that the track is very hard for my truck. honestly, I'm so happy for not driving yesterday because the track is basically a torture for any LWB. and having the company of our Founder is priceless.

thank you Bu Salem, I enjoyed the chat and the music :enjoying mah playli

[matts]

Good Afternoon All,

Thanks [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] for the drive. It was a nice drive with some technical sections and some nice relaxing sections. At one point i was so relaxed I forgot to put the car back in 4wd and so when Bu Salem cried floor it, I did but it didnt exactly go to plan :D

Everybody drove very well as it was most people first night drive. We had a couple of stucks and second rounds but all in all made good progress through the night. I cut out just before the eating and drinking commenced as I had to be at work quite early.

The weather was amazing, i cant believe its so cool in June. Well done to all, looking forward to more night drives.

[JockJKU]

Afternoon Everyone,

We arrived at the meet point ready for a 10pm start, as has been mentioned, the weather was lovely and cool so we got some chairs out and shared drinks, Krispy Kreme's and stories. @alshamsi_m showed up and gave us a briefing detailing the various terrains we would encounter and also the cut-offs for those who could not stay out to play all night!

We set of into the night with @alshamsi_m leading, @matts in second lead and @Booy, @Mark B and @Adam on rescue duty spread throughout the convoy. The drive was an interesting mix and the night and shadows added to the experience! There were a couple of crestings early on which I think is totally acceptable with the darkness tugging at nerves! The group soon gained in confidence and flowed very well with only a few slow downs for second tries and quick pulls.

unfortunately having been at work from 6am in the morning and needing to be back in at 6am this morning I had to leave as the convoy made the last few km's to the sitting area at around 1.15am. I would love to have stayed and enjoy the chat and food but I would really be suffering today if I had!

Thank you very much @alshamsi_m for scouting over the weekend and finding good routes to lead us over! Thanks also to the advanced and intermediate guys who kept us altogether and moving nicely!

cant wait for next week!!

[Saifarif]

Had to pleasure of riding shotgun with [MENTION=11226]mahesh_bmj[/MENTION].

Thanks [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] for organizing this, it's a whole different sense of adventure driving offroad at night vs. daytime. This was my first experience and wow, what an experience.

Looking forward to more.

[Adam]

What a nice night drive. I never thought I'd say those words but I really had a lot of fun. Some of the sections of the track were a pleasure to drive, especially the slalom course around the trees.

It was the first time with the new heavier bumper and winch and man was it tricky to get over some parts.

Thanks to [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] for the lead, [MENTION=9649]matts[/MENTION] for 2nd and [MENTION=10413]Booy[/MENTION] for sweep.

As usually, course stats below. Please note that zero calories were burnt during this activity :D

Name: Night Drive
Activity type: driving
Description: -
Total distance: 49.87 km (31.0 mi)
Total time: 3:06:11
Moving time: 2:26:59
Average speed: 16.07 km/h (10.0 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 20.36 km/h (12.6 mi/h)
Max speed: 73.04 km/h (45.4 mi/h)
Average pace: 3:44 min/km (6:01 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 2:57 min/km (4:45 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 0:49 min/km (1:19 min/mi)
Max elevation: 193 m (633 ft)
Min elevation: 40 m (131 ft)
Elevation gain: 555 m (1822 ft)
Max grade: 20 %
Min grade: -11 %
Calories: -
Recorded: 08/06/2016 10:07 p.m.

[IMG]http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss15 ... ivakzy.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss15 ... 536lyj.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss15 ... gypgb4.jpg[/IMG]

[Alok708]

[quote=alshamsi_m;47523]POP Quiz : How many times I said the word DARK in the above post ? :yaeh am not durnk:[/quote]

Four times!

I am happy to note that all had a fantastic drive and were blessed with amazing weather as well.

Feeling a bit sad that due to late nomination my name remained in the waiting list and could not make it to the final list. However will ensure that I nominate myself early for the next drive!

Cheers!
Alok

[KIMOz]

Here was another fantastic drive which was mastered and lead by [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION]. Thanks alot Abu Salem for such amazing Night.

We started the drive on time as it was scheduled at 10:00 pm from the meeting point at Maliha. It was so nice for having the drive at night as there was a cool breeze. the drive was so smooth although there were some drops and ditches. we drove nearly 50 km in 3 hours although it was programmed to be 2 hours as we had a couple of stops for rescue.

We reached a big dune for having our Sohour, It was a strange dune as its was high. After climbing the dune, [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] exploded a surprise in which he told us that we were at the top of Al Faya Dune. We stayed there enjoying the weather and having a chit chat while eating. Thanks [MENTION=9967]ZaheR[/MENTION] for the Manakeesh and [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] for the Harees and the Freedj.

I reached home by nearly 4:00 am and spent yesterday fully sleeping (but after work:059:)

Thanks [MENTION=9649]matts[/MENTION] for being the second lead, [MENTION=10405]Adam[/MENTION] and [MENTION=9155]Mark B[/MENTION] for rescuing and [MENTION=10413]Booy[/MENTION] for sweeping.

See You in Sand

Cheers,

:grin:

[ZaheR]

well my friends have said it all about the drive!

thank you marshals advanced intermediates!

i had [MENTION=10133]Jerome74[/MENTION] as my passenger, we enjoyed it much.

i enjoyed the dinner after drive and i think that i ate too much!

arrived home at 4:00am and was late for work the next day :005: