The Long Road endurance drive attracted a small group of seasoned Offroaders.

It’s a pity that the drive was not attended by more of our recently graduated Offroaders, since it was a great opportunity to build stamina  for those long drives in the winter months, further afield from Dubai. What the drive lacked in difficulty it certainly made up for in sheer distance.

We warmed up on the dunes near the town of Nahil and proceeded to drive in a south westerly direction towards Sweihan. Almost all of the dunes that we encountered in the first segment of the drive were covered by a fresh layer of sand that made it appear to be untouched, at least for the past few days. This freshly deposited sand was deceptively soft and created sharp ridges that were challenging to crest or switch across.  As a result, dune crossings were limited to the low points between successive dunes or via small bowls, which were used to catapult the convoy from one side of a large dune to another. The high slopes in this area were conducive to side sloping and high climbs, which the convoy thoroughly enjoyed.

The only rescue of the day occurred when our lead bellied out on an extremely high and pointed crest which formed the wall of a large bowl. Thanks to our sweeper’s well honed rescue skills, a swift recovery was executed and the convoy was promptly back on track.

Shortly afterwards,, the convoy got onto a gatch road which led us to the spot where we would gather for brunch, under the shade of a ghaf tree. With our hunger satisfied, muscles relaxed and car’s cooled, we were ready to take on some big dunes. Despite the dunes in this area also having pointed ridges, switching and cresting was possible, with some caution, and a proper angle of approach.

The convoy increased pace, and for the next hour an a half, was caught up in a trance of adrenaline filled dune bashing. The experience and skill of the group meant that a smooth flow was maintained even when the level of the challenges increased. This provided an opportunity to cover more ground in short period, and explore a larger section of this area. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to really take in the scenery, since all focus was on staying on track.

We exited the desert after covering nearly 120 kilometers of sand driving. Mission accomplished.

Thanks Zoubeir, Hussam, Victor and Johann (sweeper) for participating in this grueling drive.