Desert gazing : Mini bats

[Ely]

Dear Almosters,

Great to see some familiar faces and to share this night “star gazing” drive ! The weather was ideal, with a little fresh breeze which made this drive very agreeable.

When we had the briefing, Rashid announced this drive will be similar to the catch me if you can track, with the same speed but in the dark… moment of truth !

Rashid at the head of the convoy, took AhmedDXB as his second lead. Rathika was sweeping, Bu Salem was floating in his grasshopper while Mpdroid, MGhoneim and Jeremia were in support.

We started head over heels with a really good pace ! That was exciting ! At the very beginning we encounter a group of gazelles ! I think I never saw so much of them altogether in one place !

Overall the drive was really smooth, with some arches, lots of side cresting, couple of switching, and cresting.
And I could tell that Rashid was really enjoying it, as he was trying to find the best dunes for side cresting !

The sand was soft and there were a few bushes and camel herbs here and there, which gave us some challenges. I had my first FJ pop out… don’t blame it on the Khumo (!)… it was the combo of soft sand and driving on a very generous bush with 10psi… even though I tried to made it straight the angle of approach was wrong and I couldn’t dodge it ! But that’s alright this was a very quick fix and everyone helpt ! (Thank you !)
A couple of second trials took place, but no dangerous situations encountered so well done everyone!

I must say this felt easier than the real CMIYC… which is really positive then and means progress has been made !!!

Thank you Rashid for organizing this beautiful night drive ; Bu Salem, crew & Intermediates for the support !

As always, it’s a pleasure to drive with you all
See you soon for more sandy adventures !

Ps : @AhmedDXB very smooth second lead .

[alshamsi_m]

Hello everyone

Thanks for @Rashidjass & @giorgio for taking over the night drives this year due to my commitments and unavailability to design Desert Gazing drives for 2024.

Also thanks for @Rathica for the date, my mom will put the for Iftar and you will get all our good deeds till the last one

The weather was just fresh breeze and we had a great drive in Al Faqqa , also our leader finished on time so at midnight we were all ready to head home for Sahur.

Till next Ramadan, Stay tuned because the weather is going to be better for Ramadan Desert Gazing Drives.

Stay Safe and keep the sand flying.

Cheers
Shamsi

[alshamsi_m]

Dear Almosters,
Mpdroid were in support.

@mpodroid was not with us in the drive

[Ely]

Opsy my apologies That was Nidal78… don’t ask me why but I thought at the very beginning that Nidal was Mpdroid… since then I have difficulties to call Nidal Nidal …

[Vika]

Hello everyone!

So! I guess I'll start my trip report. I must admit, I have never participated in the drives under the leadership of @Rashidjass , previously I could only hear stories about a Legendary Mountain Goat and guess what it would be like to follow him. Yesterday I experienced this on my own skin. Besides this, perhaps the first and last time I drove a car at night, these were the times of Madam Ghost, which remained in history as a legend passed from mouth to mouth near the campfire. And even then, it’s important to add that at that time I conquered the dunes in the dark on my two wheels
I don’t know why I was so excited this time, but it was crazy
Having carefully read the instructions for the drive, just in case, I took with me moral support in the person of my good friend Yana. In theory, she was supposed to be responsible for the impressive video footage, but for unknown reasons, we ended the drive in our hands with three photos, and that was taken during a stop)))))))

I certainly don’t remember how it all happened, but I definitely don’t remember so many moments when the dune ends, not because it really ends, thank God, but simply because nothing was visible, and there was no moon yesterday. This was a really good test of the quality of our offroading light.
The drive was very intense, including a huge number of climbs, drops, arches and crests at speed.
This was that moment of truth when you have to use all your driving skills in extreme conditions, conditions of limited visibility, the only thing missing was thick fog . I remembered my last camping, when I had to get away with my foot in the full sense of the word while driving in thick milk, when I couldn’t even see my own nose, and my nose is not small
Yesterday i kept myself in full tension and concentration throughout the drive. At some point, three cookies and two coffees, generously provided by our founder @alshamsi_m , made themselves known to me and my moral support. But we made it
Lesson learned! Never be greedy, especially in the evening before the drive
Finally, in the end, our leading marshal @Rashidjass reassuring phrase sounded: “dear members, we are moving towards the exit.” And I finally relaxed, so much so that I found myself on the other side of the chain of dunes, driving alone, separately from the entire convoy Reacting instantly, I called for the second try, returned to my position and we all continued on our way to the exit.
Lesson learned!
NEVER RELAX WITH ALMOST4×4.
As a result, the convoy came back safe and sound, with big smiles on their faces.
It was just WOW!
I want to thank @Rashidjass for organizing that unforgettable drive. Our founder, supporting team @Rathica , @nidal78 , @Mghoneim for keeping us safe. And all the participants, who made this event possible.

Looking forward to see you all soon!

With love,

Yours Vika

[AZK89]

Hi everyone , i miss Alot from this drive it was nice from the start but middle of the drive iam out because i have issue with my Stomach and really sorry from all of you ,
I saw some of the people present, I do not want to mention the names, they were upset because of me because I stopped several times, and I apologise for this, but I did not have anything in my hand and I asked to leave because of my stomach. I do not know. It was because of the food and it containing oils, or my body was storing cold from the inside and after eating was affected. The important thing is, thank you @Rashidjass
@alshamsi_m and the rest, and I apologize once again to everyone


Thank you Rashid for your call to ask about my Health

[Paddy]

Desert gazing : Mini bats!!

We were briefed that it will be a fast pace drive and it lived up to the expectations. I was driving at the end of the convoy right before sweeper and was only focused on driving with control on the car, not the other way around.

I started the drive with a passenger but in mid way passenger just vanished seems some one stole him what are your thoughts @alshamsi_m

I am grateful to @Rashidjass for arranging this drive, and giving a chance to brush my skills which I have learned so far with the club.

~BR
Paddy

[AntonT]

Good evening, Almosters!

Night drives are always fun, but there is no time to relax. Once you lose focus for a second, you are done—sliding down from a dune. That happened to me several times.

Moreover, CMIYC area is quite specific, with long crests, so one tiny mistake is enough to commit by radio "second try". @Rashidjass , who led the convoy, was really kind to us. I believe he wasn't as fast as he might be. Thanks to him for that!

Having a manual gearbox, I experimented with 1st and 2nd gears for climbing the dune and driving on top of the crests, depending on the situation. Generally speaking, I did not get complete control of my car. Fishtailing is still my main issue, need to work on it more. Maybe someone from an experienced driver can suggest the correct technique to me.

Thanks to all organizers of Mini Bats drive! Almost4x4 forever!