Desert Gazing - Rock the sand

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Johanna
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Hello everybody,

I was looking forward to the first night drive this Ramadan, as it is a special experience to conquer the desert at night.
We met at the Badayer roundabout and started as planned at 9.30 with two convoys. [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] made it clear in the briefing that all the general rules like radio communication, distance and the right speed are absolutely essential during night drives. Everything looks different, so even on relatively easy tracks you have to stay focus, so you can see little ditches, steps, stones, bushes and so on in time.

I joined [mention]Barish[/mention] convoy and we took of from Badayer towards Pink Rock.
This first part was mostly safari style with only a very few second tries around Pink Rock. @Barish advised everyone to check the tire pressure, even if its not that hot in the night, the pressure will raise while driving.
The track to Pink Rock is very familiar, but in the night its a totally different story. I was surprised when I suddenly saw the rocks to my left, it looked really a bit spooky boo!

After we passed 2.December cafeteria and crossed the road, the area got a bit more technical, but everyone did well and we arrived the flat area in no time. The "coffee dunes" gave us a bit of a challenge not to cut our tires as there are many stones around, but this area looks beautiful also in the night in love

Unfortuntely I missed the last part of the track, as I was not feeling well brains...! So I decided to leave the convoy and head back to the city.

I hope you guys enjoyed the drive and the gathering afterwards, next time I will be there as well.

Thanks to the Marshals for the effort and work to design the night drives tracks, it is truly a great experience, you guys are amazing thumbsup

See you all soon in the sand have a nice day
BR, Johanna

If it excites you and scares you at the same time, it probably means you should do it.
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alshamsi_m
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Hello Everyone

I reached the meeting point and the roads were so quite without any signs for offroaders but ones I came to the other side of Al Badayer flyover it was a different story " All the members were there long time ago cars deflate - drivers ready ". It was interesting to see excitement in the eyes of the intermediates as much as you can see it in the NEW COMERS of the night driving have a nice day.

The plan was to take the members in a familiar area so they can test the feeling of " driving in the dark " and make them prepared for the next 3 drives in Ramadan. Since it is the first week , we had a dark night drive where you see the sharpness if your offraod lights and you can see if you have the right combination of :

1. Correct light power
2. Correct light selection Spot VS Spread
3. Correct angle


The drive went smooth as expect without major issues and fished as planned in 2 hours. At the Fossil Rock the breeze was so cool and we enjoyed watching the sky and the view of the second convoy with their night lights approaching us. We sat there for around 1 hour to catch up the chit chat and catch up the feelings of this new experience to our 10+ members.

As always " Good times fly fast " that exactly what happened with us , we had to leave back to the station to say Good Bye to our members because we all have a working day in the next day.

At the end, I would like to thank [mention]Barish[/mention] & [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] for their support to create another convoy.

See you next week in the " Suger Rush " it is going to be a FAST DRIVE !!! So you better be fast to register and get READY !!! cool

Cheers
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Sostick
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Simply I love midweek night drives. They break the week and even if you are really tires the day after ... it’s totally worth it. As said we were all on time and excited like kids. To tell you about the excitement there were as many intermediates as newbies. I was in [mention]Shamsi[/mention] convoy. He explained the preparation needed to lead a night convoy, where the marshal follows exactly a track previously scouted to avoid surprises. Thanks again for doing that for us. The convoy moved smoothly even in the more technical areas. We covered 35km in 2 hours and at the end we sat down for chit chat on top of the highest dune. The climate was perfect, the sky full of stars and we had so many nice topics to cover... 1 hour flew and we had the opportunity to try amazing home made food that [mention]Shamsi[/mention] brought for the occasion! What a night! I reached home at 2.30am but sooo happy! Looking forward to the next ones!!!!

Thank you Almost4by4!!!!

Sostick
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Barish
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It was an amazing night; breezing weather, the crescent and the infinite desert with all its community. You see more at night than daytime..!

We had our first night drive of the season with [mention]kriskian[/mention], [mention]Lenny[/mention] , [mention]tabubaker[/mention] , [mention]mekaeel[/mention] and [mention]osman[/mention] , [mention]optimus[/mention] as my second lead, [mention]Mohanad[/mention] as my sweeper, [mention]Johanna[/mention] , [mention]KIMOz[/mention] and [mention]Gabor[/mention] as the convoy support. [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] was the eyes on all of us.

We amended the track time by time, started with safari style changed to technical sometimes and a little bit cresting and drops, played with the pace and happy to see that all drivers adjusted very well. Convoy distance and radio comms was as requested. Reading the sand and the track will help definitely to adjust the momentum.

Thanks to [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] for organizing the drive and giving me the opportunity to lead and the delicious food accompanied by the fantastic scenery. Thanks to [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] for the priviliged support, [mention]optimus[/mention] for flawless follow and [mention]Mohanad[/mention] for continous update from the back.

Lets keep changing if your change keeps improving.

See you on the sand soon.

Barish
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First night drive of Ramadan.

Last year my first night drive was something that I will not forget easily, sliding sideways down a dune in the dark OSMILEY .

This year I was ready, I have decent tires so no more sliding down the dunes.

We got the the meeting point early & [mention]Johanna[/mention] & [mention]osman[/mention] was already there deflating. The cars started coming in & the group got bigger & bigger. For some it was their first night drive & you could see they were a little bit nervous.

[mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] called us together & we did the briefing, two convoys, he will take one & [mention]Barish[/mention] will take the other one. We started of first & headed towards Pinkrock. The pace was good & things went well. Now & then we got a bit too close to each other but nothing major. The convoy flowed nicely over the dunes. We had a short break close to Pinkrock, but when [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] saw the other convoy he said we must make a run for it grin . We reached the tar road & everybody crossed safely to the other side. We continued with the track with hardly any issues, some places there were a lot of rocks but we crossed safely again. Just before the last leg we had a quick biological break & then headed to Fossilrock. We reached Fossilrock before 12, sat down & waited for the other convoy. We saw their lights bobbing & weaving over the dunes towards us. Finally they reached us.

We sat for a bit, chatted but then it was time to head home, working dark mood in the morning.

Thank you you to [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] , [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] & the rest of the family for a nice drive.

Till we meet in the sand again, take care.

Greetings
Rooies
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Lovely night . The weather was perfect for a night drive. I was sweaping in [mention]Barish[/mention] convoy enjoying the breeze with the windows open. We drove from al badayer to fossil rock in 3 sections... big part of the second section was very dusty. We did around 40km in 2 and half hours which was as per the marshals plan.

After the drive was over a group of us stayed after the drive to enjoy the cool weather and the good company.

Thank you [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] for the Suhur, the Harees was so yummy :d

See you all in the next night drives.
If you Hesitate, Accelerate !
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osman
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Hi,

I loved the night drives form last year and did/do not want to miss any one of them this year, but due to a technical hick-up, I lost few seconds when the registration was opened. I was last one to enrol after [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] kindly announced the convoy extension but second one to arrive (shortly after [mention]Johanna[/mention]) to the meeting point for this great night drive. Shortly after, the nocturnal desert creatures - some call it almost4x4 drivers - started to accumulate and get ready for an adventure to remember.

[mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] started with the briefing, we would have two convoys, warning that the night vision can be very deceiving, especially during the climbs and we have to keep about 20m distance for safety and keep the convoy flowing. The hard work was done before and the exact route was already defined in detail for everyone's safety. [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] was observing both convoys and assuring the extra safety for all.

I was in [mention]Barish[/mention]'s convoy which was the second to leave after giving about 5-10 minutes time in between. We started to drive on a "trail" at the first part of the drive which seemed to be used by many cars before. The later part of the drive was more technical and we enjoyed driving on softer sand with some sharper turns. We finally ended up climbing to Fossil Rock area to wind-up the the drive with some talk, watching the sky, catching nice breeze and having very tasty home-made food from [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention]. Our thanks extends to your (first) family for the variety of the food they prepared.

Thanks to [mention]Barish[/mention] for the very enjoyable drive, it was a great lead. The overall scenery under the lights look very different than the daylight and I enjoyed every second of it. Looking for more...
Warning: Sand is addictive... and also the sea salt.
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Tekton
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Hello everyone,

Special thanks to [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] for giving us opportunity to ride in the dark...

Drive was really nice and cool there was nothing serious since it was basically night introduction drive and everyone was testing his capability...

The time we reach fossil rock was so amazing and quiet to relax your brain and to forget everything else at least for a moment!!

Thanks to [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention], [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] and [mention]Barish[/mention] for leading convoys and ensuring everyones Safety.


Thanks & Regards,
Tekton - Almost4x4
Tekton
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Night drives are really fun & an amazing experience to be a part of as we learned last year & we are back for more! grin
Thanks to Bu Salem for taking this tradition forward & doing all the homework on this one!

It’s completely different driving in the dark with limited visibility which means you need to be more cautious about every move & have your wits about u , but not forget to floor it when required. XD

I was in Bu Salem`s convoy & we all did well except for a couple of 2nd tries, we did go through a couple of tricky areas and had fun in the sand navigating the desert at night through varied landscapes. cool

The highlight of the evening for me was the gathering at the finish point where the late birds sat in the darkness on Fossil Rock sipping Karak & enjoying a chat - we got to sample some traditional homemade delicacies courtesy Bu Salem which were irresistibly delicious.

Thank you & see you all very soon, can’t wait till the next one!

TC
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Saeed FJ
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Good evening everyone

I was waiting this drive since long while i miss the night drive.
I was in [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] convoy some where in the front
Our convoy did very well only very few seconds try

The most important thing in the night drive to keep the radio communication and the good distance

Thanks for the organizer and supporting marshals and explorer and all intermediate for there support

Till next time stay safe
See you on the sand
Abu Madi
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