This Time I 'Unskirted' Her

The 4 of us..

Last weekend I officially started my winter activities by joining the first desert offroad trip. Normally I join my usual group doing laid back slow paced drive to a picnic spot in a desert but this time it was different. And I found out about this during the trip itself...:-)

The 'super fine' sand dunes

For this trip I invited 3 other friends to join me. After some effortless suggestion, Jumper, Shajil and Helmey agreed to come with me riding as passengers in my Nitro. We were on the way to meet the rest of the group behind a petrol station when the adventure began. I was the first person who got stuck in the sand and it was only on the way to the meeting point ! My car climbed its way out of the delicate sands in less than 10 minutes after some push by my friends.

Nevertheless I was not discouraged by that moment though I felt embarrassed a bit. During the briefing I was introduced by the organiser to a group of marshalls who will accompany us. These men are seasoned offroaders from the Lion Desert Club. I checked out their vehicles and it was obvious that these guys were hardcore. So I made a mental note that this trip was going to be different from my previous ones.


The route was from Kalba to Al Awir desert which was approximately 20 kilometres one way. There were 4 vehicles driven by newbies like me and 4 vehicles by the marshalls. We were taught on how to handle a climb on steep sand dunes of more than 3 metres high and descent from it. I learned about the steering technique to avoid rolling from a hill as well as various methods to rescue a car from a sinking situation. It was a trip full of tips and information. The most interesting part was that we learned all the techniques hands-on and on real situations. All of the newbies got stuck several times that day !

oucchhh !

But the most tragedic one was my Nitro when I first hit my front bumper a bit rough against the sand during a descent and hit it again whilst maneuvering a slope. My front bumper detached from its mount after the second hit. I was not really surprised when it happened but it was not a pleasant feeling to watch the first injury I did to my Nitro.

Hmmm..

Naked Nitro !

I must say it was the best offroad trip so far. I got the thrill and adventure that I was looking for...with a price. Fortunately the price I paid was only AED350 at a small workshop in Umm Ramool the day after. Now my Nitro is back to its usual shape and ready to hit the sand again.

I hope I got lucky the next time.

Leave sooner, drive slower, live longer.