DESERT RISING (SUN CHASERS)
The drive got off to a nice and early start in an area that some of our Fellas had started from previously.
The beauty and mystery of the desert though, is that you almost never have the same experience twice.
The convoy warmed up in a technical area with some medium sized dunes and got into a nice rhythm. But it wasn’t long before that rhythm was abruptly interrupted by an onslaught of small technical dunes. This area was a true test for our sweeper, Gianluca, who was inundated with rescues and self recoveries. But he took it all in his stride and got everyone out safely.
Considering the amount of focus and sheer will power that it took to get through this rather difficult leg of the drive, I think that our convoy coped amazingly.
In retrospect this drive should have been named 1001 Crests, because for a while that was all the convoy saw – one small crest after another. At the end of this drive the convoy was approaching small steep straight crests with superb technique and confidence. Great job everyone.
Thanks Sven and Gianluca for your support on today’s trip.
11 comments on DESERT RISING (SUN CHASERS)
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Thanks for the nice and intensive refresher of techniques. It was a nice drive, always a pleasure to drive with you guys
This was a good learning trip. The 1001 crests had us focused and afterwards felt a bit drained. But it was worth it. Thank you to DF team for managing us safely. Looking forward to more learning trips with the adv jr group!
Oh man what a day! Early wake up and catching the sunrise on the way to the deflation spot is how every morning should be! Seeing the first telegram messages pop up about fellas already there and deflating and encountering additional fellas on the road was a bonus. It showed the motivation and dedication of all to be on time and with the correct attitude. One fella had a midnight battery change just to make sure he could still attend and the late fella was directly surrounded by 4 other fellas to deflate all tires and move on and move on we did!
Literally ONE dune at a time. Not the Liwa dunes but the camelback type of dunes 🤣. All small some steep others dangerous and others surprising with patches of very soft sand. Every single fella had either a stuck or a second try. Yes also the leader, the second lead and the sweeper! This was a good reminder the dessert is a dangerous place no matter the amount of experience you have. Beijg prepared is what its all about. We needed to keep our cool even with temperatures hitting 45 degrees. We agreed to stop counting at 1001 but pretty sure we did much more and not one belly dancer in sight 🤷🏽♂️ Still we were professionally guided and made it out 45 min beyond our planned exit time. Another proof it was a demanding trip. But we ended the trip just like we started, everyone in convoy order with social distancing and huge smiles all around. If we could we would have high fived each other i am sure! It felt good to have made it to the other side. Smiles all around and needing showers and deodorant badly we hit the road only to start the countdown clock once again looking forward to the next trip!
Great drive, I’ve been out for a couple of weeks because of my car but it was great to restart with a technical drive in order to regain the sensitivity on the controls.
I loved to see the sweeper observing from the side of the convoy instead of the back, this allowed him to make some very helpful observations through the drive and help us out overcome some of trickier challenges.
The only suggestion I have (if feasible for logistical ways) would be to start maybe 1h earlier, since around 10ish it was really hard to read the sand and see the track, also because in technical areas it’s hard to see where the cars in front of us put the wheels.
Thank you very much for all the tipe spent to organise and plan this.
See you on the sand!
It was really reassuring to see the convoy in such high spirits after a very demanding drive that extended beyond the planned duration. It was a true testament to the spirit of comradery and willingness to learn that makes Desert Fellas great.
Starting the drives earlier will definitely be considered, however, it’s also important to note that some Fellas travel longer distances than others to get to our meeting points and we would not want to unfairly disadvantage members based on their locality – it’s all about finding a happy medium.
This area has many hidden gems that are just waiting to be uncovered, so we will be returning shortly to have more fun. Watch this space!
Being in the last car in the convoy in this area was very challenging for me because the sand become very squishy after the 7 cars tires who were front of me destroyed the fresh sand layer which allows you to float, it requires to maintain a higher amount of torque & to choose the right spot where you are going to put your wheels to avoid swimming in the collapsed sand and in the same time to follow the track. However, i was enjoying that soo much & i gained some new experiences & new skills to learn. Unfortunately that feeling didn’t last because a technical issue in my air suspension which makes the car vey low from the front like i am driving a sedan car in the desert for almost the full second half of the trip.
Overall, I’ve drove in this area for almost 5 or 6 drives & every time it looked like a completely new area & it has all the types of challenges.
I was able to see the smile on Peggy’s face during the drive because everybody had a stuck or multiple second tries and that’s mean it was a good choice for the track.
Thank you guys for the support & believing in us.
See you next week 🤙💪
I hope you get your suspension is sorted out in time for the next drive. We will be driving in the same area but once again the route will look completely different 😜
Thanks Preggy and the team for a nice drive, it was a bit tough at the and because of the heat but the high spirit pushed everyone till the end.
see you on the sand next week.
I really hope all of you had a good Friday morning, because I certainly did enjoy the drive. You gave me all a lot of work but enjoyed eating every bit of sand grain :-). All of you did an amazing job navigating through a challenging environment, stay tuned guys more to come and don’t forget fun only gets better going fwd
I was really happy and felt safe seeing you everytime overlooking us. I don’t know much about sweeping duties but I felt that was a very good one. At each and every couple of turns, you were there on a higher dune overlooking us and that was a nice feeling being at the back of the convoy.
Nice drive Preggy , indeed plenty of short dunes for the team to practice with and learn the behavior of the cars