Almost4x4

Outlaw:

The name of the drive was given based on the fact that we were supposed to drive close to the boarders and the oil fields in Liwa. For the members that participated on a similar drive in the past you all remember how it ended been TT TT TT TT TT TT

This intermediate drive was a continuation of the Gulf News event so as always on a Liwa drive, there was a small camp with BBQ camp fire, story telling and star gazing.

The evening was cool and for short periods even cold. [mention]JockJKU[/mention] Vash and my self we were the first ones reaching the camp site around 7 pm. Unfortunately option one location was already occupied from some others ( the ones that last time were playing the music too high) and location option 2 was too close to the road, so we needed to find a new spot just few hundred meters away.

The camp fire was set quick, and all 3 of us sat around waiting for the others. [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] was the next to arrived followed by [mention]Phoenix[/mention] [mention]Bu Zayed[/mention] [mention]two_up[/mention] and others.
Around 11 pm we all set off to bed as were tiered from the GNFD event.

The night was fairly cold and humid but much better than other camps in Liwa. During the night and early morning more members arrived and we all met for bf around 630 am

Drive briefing took place at 8:20 am and trip started at 8:30. We were supposed to drive from Mooreb to Hammem.

As it was promised the drive started and it was intense from the get go. Second tries was the first thing that was announced from the radio. The sand was very soft and the climbs and drops were aggressive and long. In many cases the convoy could not stop and wait, for others to recover so the part of the convoy in front of the car that had the problem had to keep going until a safe ground is found.

At one point there was a drop followed by a right turn and an short sharp left arch. The distance on the convoy was big so although i was the third car I could rarely see the lead car so for me [mention]JockJKU[/mention] was my link to the convoy. When i arrived to the latter point i ve notice that [mention]JockJKU[/mention] did not followed the line of the leading car but rather went more to the left and climb more of a vertical line than an elliptical one. With me been the next car to follow, I had to chose which of them to take. As we have several times discussed the jeeps in some cases cannot follow the lines of the FJ's so they need to approach the climbs on a more vertical. When i saw the drafted on the sand lines for a first time on the sand (rather than a drawing on a paper) i clearly understand what it means. The confusion though was that this was not a steep climb so why [mention]JockJKU[/mention] chose to not follow the lead car? maybe he is used to do that as a jeep driver? anyhow i had to make a decision fast and i chose to follow the lead car line. So i floored it and of i went.
Immediately on the bottom of the climb i hit a ditch and continue to complete the arch and kept going.
Not even a dune or two later a ticking sound was developed coming from the front bottom of the car. The first chance I had (the convoy stopped) I checked my car (all looked fine) and I went to [mention]JockJKU[/mention] to tell him that i saw what he did with the different lines. He smiled and he said the reason i didnt follow the lead car line it was because there was a hidden ditch and as I saw [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] taking a strong hit I avoid it.

That wrong judgment from my side call, cost me missing the rest of the drive. In the next 15 min the noise from my car became very loud and i did what i did not want to do. I called on the radio to stop as my car has a problem.

The decision was made that I will have to abort the drive and [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] had to take me out to the nearest road.
Although I know that the rest of the drivers understand and share with me the sadness of having to abort, I still have the need to apologize for the 30 min delay to get me out and return to the drive.

I was dropped on a safe location just 3km from the nearest tarmac. [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] told me "follow this road straight and in 3km there will be a gate that will put you on the Moreeb dune and from there you can take off.

I said good buy and left. Driving off I could hear the instruction from the radio fading away till i lost reception.
Approaching the gate there was a nice surprise, the gate was closed and there were 2 police cars parked in front of it and 6 officers standing out side looking the opposite direction of me.

So passing through the gate was not an option and since this was the outlaw drive i decided to act like one. I took the decision to climb from the right side and go around them without been spotted. At the end I ended up enjoying a nice drop to the Morreb camp which made me feel less sad.

I drove to Dubai with a sad face and straight to the garage. The diagnosis was that i had a damaged front gear and pinion caused either by a self recovery that was intense, or a strong hit)

I continued my day from the bench watching the pictures and videos posted by the event drivers and i am not going to hide it i was pissed jealous and sad.

I can t wait to read the rest of the reports to see what i missed.

Thank you all, organizer, supporting crew and members for the beautiful full of adrenaline drive and looking forward to see you again on the next drive.

giorgio wrote: Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:45 am The diagnosis was that i had a damaged front gear and pinion caused either by a self recovery that was intense, or a strong hit)

Bad luck [mention]giorgio[/mention] !

Should have being a very strong hit!

Hello everyone

As mentioned by [mention]giorgio[/mention] the idea of the drive is to successfully go from Moreeb dune area to Hameem with falling in the restricted areas . Having that in mind with objective to make it fun for intermediates.

" Less is more " unfortunately some members dropped in the last minute which meant smaller convoy and more driving grin

We did everything you can think of in offroading except the ADVANCE level of Liwa. You might think

what could be challenging than what we did ???

Climbing the drop of Shah dune was the main highlight of the dive, we were lucky that the dune was forgiving and gave the chance for our intermediates to do the drop cool

All in all, it was another successful drive and we did it the way we LOVE to do in Liwa.

Till next time, stay tuned our PADAWANS there will be Liwa for you!!

Shamsi is signing out


Important note: ZOOOOOOM IN Psmiley

Hello Everyone,

What a wonderful day we had in Liwa this Saturday - thank you so much Bu Salem!

Well, Liwa is always super fun but this time it was special and not only tested our off-roading skills to the max, our cars’ capabilities, passengers’ fitness :lol: but also gave us some really breathtaking views from the top of Shah Dune 8-) (after the most interesting climb I have ever had on any dune).

After finishing the GNFD, me and [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] reached the campsite by 11pm I think. By then, everyone had left for their tents and the last ones, [mention]Youssef.Abdelhady[/mention], [mention]two_up[/mention] and [mention]giorgio[/mention] were leaving. I also setup my tent immediately and went for the badly needed rest as well.

The morning, as usual, was rejuvenating, and after the breakfast we had the briefing by [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention]. He briefed us about the plan having Section 1 and Section 2 with Section 1 being the harder part of the drive. Bu Salem led the convoy, [mention]JockJKU[/mention] was the 2nd lead followed by all the Inters and Advanced drivers and [mention]Solmaz[/mention] was to sweep and Rashidjass was to float around.

It was an intermediate drive and Bu Salem was more unforgiving then Liwa itself on fire. Apart from the usual Liwa challenge of dealing with the soft sand, the drive involved going through the dunes without giving any consideration of their shape and size. The track was being crafted in a way that you see a chain of dunes having all sizes of bowls and then enter it from one side, join the chain and then drive over whatever comes under your car. Keeping the momentum, keeping the distance, keeping an eye on the track and keeping the communication alive was mandatory. There were many a places where the convoy sent the message of a second tries but the part of the convoy who had crossed that point and went in front only could stop after the complete chain of dunes was finished. So, it was different in a way that after the 2nd try one had to navigate through the dunes for quite long by following the tracks of the cars who went ahead….miles ahead :lol:.

It was a challenging drive of its own sort and really demanded off-roading skills. It would not be incorrect to say that at some points the track crafted was not to believe on and after looking at it one would say that ‘are you sure that this is the track?’. At one point, Bu Salem told everyone ‘this area is no joke – everyone go down to 8psi wtfsmilie’.

I think after couple of hours of drive while we were all challenging the dunes unfortunately Giorgio car started having some issue and he had to leave the drive - there is always a next time bro.

After dropping him at the edge of the dirt road we head back and started to move towards the Shah Dune. The drive was packed with going through bowls (don’t lose momentum), v-shaped passages (avoid pop-outs), ditches (look for your bumper), cones (floor it) and the lead and 2nd lead cars were taking all that risks to create a challenging but safe track for the rest of the convoy ninja.

In the second half of the drive, Jock’s passenger got sick and Rashidjass became the 2nd lead. The drive continued and finally we reached to our destination, at the foot of - Shah Dune. It was huge and really test your nerves when you tell yourself that I am going to do the drop from the top. The whole convoy took a good look of it from below and then Bu Salem figured out how to climb it from one side.

By that time, we already had an amazing challenging drive and everyone was fully charged with an attitude of ‘Just bring it yuush’ but this climb was the toughest part of the drive having 3 stops in between. Jock was there on the 1st stop, Bu Salem was there on the 2nd stop and Rashidjass was there at the 3rd – the Drop. The whole convoy took its time to reach to the drop point and once everyone was ready then Bu Salem broke the crest to do the drop meta knight .

It was an insane 700 feet drop requiring 80 seconds to reach to the ground (let your heart beat go faster than your rpm :lol: :lol: :lol: ). Typical of Liwa, it was yet another singing dune and what an experience it was – truly incredible.

From the Shah dune we started moving to the exit point but Bu Salem had another surprise in between – the Jeep Climb. Jock and Agalon enjoyed some high revs on that one and Rashidjass also took his fair share. The climb was a steep one with not much of a smooth approach run so it was meant for Jeeps as they have big approach angles. MEGATRON, being the naughty one, also wanted to taste it and silently tried to sneak out arr. but seems like the Boss was aware of its intentions and stopped it at the right moment and helped me avoid breaking it. Love you Bu Salem… thumbsup

Usual to Liwa are the subkha runs and we also had many in this drive with the last one to the exit point notably being the rally style – I touched 140 km/hr at one point :o . The drive ended at the road – thank you [mention]Bu Zayed[/mention] for your help while inflating. It was a big drive and a memorable one that gave a lot of memories, experiences and helped us to become a better off-roader.

See you next week at the CM drive…

Until then stay safe…Cheers thumbsup

I will write a trip report too... technically .... TECHNICALLY ...

Outlaw made it to liwa, we camped and chit chat, some delicious food by the wise one but couldn't eat much since i already ate at GNFD. Then chit chat and laugh some more and then went off to bed. slept out in the open and saw a shooting star (its nothing like they show in the movies). Woke up and outlaw got stuck. a little bit of self recovery and drove back to work.

So technically, Outlaw made it to liwa, drove at night, got stuck, self recovered and drove back home. grin grin

I think i will take that as time well spent with family on sand in love in love

before i start my report i want to say that it's always painful to see a member leaving the drive due to mechanical problem, but unfortunately it's part of our hobby !
[mention]giorgio[/mention] i'm not trying to make you feel guilty, but the delay was more than half an hour :lol: but you know what, to compensate that delay, Bu Salem took us on the Sabkhas and we literally drove it like we stole it yaeh am not durnk

the camp:

now, back to the report, i arrived to the camp with [mention]Alaa Al Ramahi[/mention] at 12am to find that everybody are sleeping like babies. it was a cold night, temperature was 12 at 5 am and i could'nt sleep well.

Dunes Formation and shape:

Liwa dunes are totally different, they dont look like any other place where we drive. there are a lot of small bowls on the top of the dunes. and if you see the shah dune drop, there is a small climb before the edge of the dune which make it hard to predict what is coming next.

The drive:

this drive broke the record in hearing the leading car driver telling the second lead : take 3 meter to the right or 5 meters to the left. or even "stop stop ! dont follow me OSMILEY ! we did almost everything can be done in offroading.. we climbed and dropped small, medium, large and XXXL dunes. We drove Safari style, technical, and outlaws too Psmiley . generally we had very few stucks where we had to use the ropes. we had a reasonable number of second tries because of the nature of the track and the very soft sand in some of the areas.

Overall:

this was my first Intermediate trip in Liwa and I LOVE IT ..
liwa is not a place where you go to play with the dunes, it's a place where you learn, and conquer your fear. it's a place where you push your self to the maximum. and most of all, its a place where you appreciate the skills of our marshals !

till next Liwa Drive !

giorgio wrote: Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:45 am
I said good buy and left. Driving off I could hear the instruction from the radio fading away till i lost reception.

That sentence hit me right in the feels TT TT TT TT . Sorry you could'nt make it buddy but glad you got back safely.

Dear Almosters,

What an amazing day! Liwa is a place that you can only truly understand its beauty only when you experience it firsthand. Pictures and trip reports don’t do justice, but I’ll try anyway thumbsup .


I started of my drive on Friday night and reached the entry point at around 9. There I met two other members heading to the camp, so we all drove together. When we reached, there was already quite a few people around the fire sharing stories. We were all tired so went to bed earlier than usual, but in that short time we chatted about various strange topics like jokes about doorbells and camel beauty competitions. I also got to try [mention]giorgio[/mention] delicious steak and yummy dragon fruit from [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] . ORLY


I finally understand why Pheonix calls Giorgio “the wise one”. While chatting about air mattresses, the wise one mentioned that mine was not good, but I thought it’s only the second time I’ve used it so I should be fine. But of course as I got ready to sleep, my air mattress deflates to nothing and I ended up sleeping on the FREEEEZING ground. are you for real


The stars were absolutely gorgeous in love and the night was calm. Next morning was also really cold, it was a struggle to walk around barefoot while putting all the equipment back in the car. We were all at the campfire around 8:30, then had our briefing and started the drive.


Well as you can expect from Liwa, the track contained all kinds of terrain and dune sizes & formations, and overall just an exhilarating experience. Our end goal was to reach the infamous Shah drop (700ft), but then during one of our breaks, Jock told us about the curse of Shah drop. It seems every drive that he had planned to reach there, one issue or another prevented it from happening. So sure enough, the second tries, stuck cars, and invisible ditches started to increase, and the hope of seeing Shah Drop was starting to fade. O_O


We finally made it there at 2pm, and wow what a sight! OSMILEY The drive was supposed to end but of course no one is heading home after being so close. Seeing the drop from the distance made me think “Are we really gona do this?”. The track to reach there was challenging, but we all finally made it and spent some time admiring the view from the top. It felt strange how all the dunes in Liwa seemed small from up there.


One by one we started to do the drop. All I can say is... going down Shah drop is something I’ll always remember. I hope everyone reading this gets to experience it one day.


After the drop we started driving towards our inflation point, where most of the track was a dirt road.

VALUABLE LESSON BELOW:
As our marshals say many times, the most dangerous time of a drive is in the beginning and at the end. You’re rusty in the beginning, and at the end you get tired/overconfident and lose focus.
Well I made the second mistake. While we were driving on the dirt road, we were all driving fast (some members hit 140km/h). I was driving at 100, despite the fact that I could barely see in front of me from the dust. My gut said drive slowly, but I was tired and wanted to head home as soon as I could. As I was driving fast, there was bump on the path around half a meter high. By the time I saw it, it was too late to move and I drove over it with my right wheel. The car went up on two wheels sideways OSMILEY and I was incredibly lucky it landed back on four. you're kidding, right

Lesson learnt: Always stay focused and drive smart till you’re home, and avoid wishful thinking. I’m fortunate that all I suffered was a sore neck and back from the impact. ouch...it hurts


This is my first Scorpio / Giorgio style report, but what can I say, THIS IS LIWA!!!

See you all soon. pacman

Youssef.Abdelhady wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:49 pm Dear Almosters,

VALUABLE LESSON BELOW:
As our marshals say many times, the most dangerous time of a drive is in the beginning and at the end. You’re rusty in the beginning, and at the end you get tired/overconfident and lose focus.
Well I made the second mistake. While we were driving on the dirt road, we were all driving fast (some members hit 140km/h). I was driving at 100, despite the fact that I could barely see in front of me from the dust. My gut said drive slowly, but I was tired and wanted to head home as soon as I could. As I was driving fast, there was bump on the path around half a meter high. By the time I saw it, it was too late to move and I drove over it with my right wheel. The car went up on two wheels sideways OSMILEY and I was incredibly lucky it landed back on four. you're kidding, right

Lesson learnt: Always stay focused and drive smart till you’re home, and avoid wishful thinking. I’m fortunate that all I suffered was a sore neck and back from the impact. ouch...it hurts


This is my first long report, but what can I say, THIS IS LIWA!!!

See you all soon. pacman

Buddy sorry to hear about the mattress but i went through the same problem with you and i end up sleeping on the ground as well.
Also regarding the incident at the end of the drive i had the exact same experience with you last Ramadan. One of the scariest feelings i had with the club so far. Glad you made it safe. make sure you check you alignment and steering. See you on the next drive. All I can say is that we leaved to tell the story.