Metal Dunes with 9Ball report

[9ball]

After picking up some wood in the Iranian Souq I met the rest of the group at the ADNOC after Mussafah Bridge. Ahmedhammad called me on the way to tell me he was sick, could not come. Next time dude! So it was a small group that headed for the dunes in AL Khatim, with Tillybean and her friends from work, Kieran, Desertfun ( the only newbie in the group) and me. In the dunes Desertfun was able to keep up easilly so we increased the level and it was basically an Intermediate trip more than newbie. That gave him a chance to learn a lot of new skills and gain a lot of confidence as the day went by.Tillibean led the group for a little while, nice learning experience, more to come! Around 1600 Desertfun told me he had an appointment at 1700, so we escorted him back to the road. Next time make sure when you sign up for a trip you tell us in advance if you have to leave or commit to stay until the end! Anyway, no worries, hope you had fun with us, it was nice having you in the group! SO that left us three to play a but more and play we did! Nice challenging route with lots of up and down, dune sliding and play areas, hope you liked it! At some point Tillybean had a flat tire after rolling over a piece of metal that was sticking out of the sand. Tire finished! While she was changing her tire with Kieran I dug out that metal spike, nice souvenir, 2 feet long thing! WHat are the odds in the middle of nowhere! After a while we headed to the usual BBQ spot where we later met Yayos who came out of nowhere, and Viking's group, nice to see you back in the dunes dude! Awesome BBQ and fire with some heavy metal. ANd of course the best T-Bone in the universe! HOpe you all liked your day, see you all in the dunes again soon!

[tillybean]

For once, I was really early at the meet point and my guests were incredibly excited. Met up with Desert Fun who I havent seen for ages and then Kieren and 9Ball rocked up and we headed off to Khatim.

The sand was nice but a little soft. The drive was great and Desert Fun did really well as our newbie going on advanced! The challenges of sweeps, nice dunes, cresting and everything else were met head on by all and we had a great day. Really nice of 9ball to take time out to give us some instructions and advice on how to tackle dunes - great learning curve.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead - scarey but in a good way!

My passengers had such a blast so a huge thanks to 9ball for letting them drive with you - they think you are the God of Off-Roading. Thanks to Desert Fun and to Kieren and his passenger for making the drive a really good one.

Yes, I managed to get a puncture and had to change my tyre. 9ball decided this was a "teaching opportunity" so everyone else hung back whilst I wedged up the jack, cranked it up, undid bolts, removed tyre etc etc etc. Boy was I hot and horrible by the end, but have great confidence that I could change my tyre on my own if needs be. Bit worried that for my last two trips I have had to change the tyre and Kieren has been on both those trips......good or bad omen Kieren?!

Fab to meet up with Viking - long time no see - and the others. BBQ was amazing and the fire, chat and music was really good. Finally got home around 10pm and my friends had the best day so thank you to everyone.

See you all out in the sand soon .... when I have fixed the tyre!

PS - watch out for my modified Jeep...cannot wait

[9ball]

Album created in the gallery. I will put a few pictures tomorrow when I have a minute.

[Ahmedhammad]

It seems that I missed alot of fun

I cought a cold Thursday when crusing with my new tarmac toy , which showed up badly in the morning.

Thank you 9ball for your understanding, I will safekeep myself next time.

A big thanks to my dear freind Sam, who checked upon me more than once.

Ahmed.

[desertfun]

Thanks 9Ball for an excellent trip! So many new things i haven't done before, cresting, going in reverse down a slope, etc. etc. Quite scary at times and certainly challenging to keep up with the rest of the group. Many times i saw where you were leading us and thought to myself "no way i can do this", but then sure enough it went ok. Must be a Jeep thing (tm)

Also, thanks to Tilly Bean who gave some excellent advise when she was sweeping. Learned so much during this trip and 9Ball's lead was very inspiring, pushing us to new limits, but always in a controlled and safe way. Thanks a lot for this experience!

[Kieran]

Thanks 9Ball for not the usual newbie trip, the level kept on increasing as Desertfun confidence grew, Desert fun you did really well definitely not so newbie now. It was great fun to go out as a small group and just play, especially at the end, looking forward to the next one.

Tillybean it is not me with the bad tyre omen, now you have done the advanced tyre changing training so can do it yourself you won’t have problem for ages (Hopefully!). See you on a trip soon with your new mods and leaving with all tyres intact

[YaYoS]

thanks 9Ball for a nice metal bbq

[tillybean]

Album created in the gallery. I will put a few pictures tomorrow when I have a minute.

Cant add any pictures.....

[9ball]

Worked for me yesterday, not sure why you can't. You sure you're using the sidebar the add items?

[tillybean]

Working now and pictures uploaded.

Sorry Desert_Fun but the guys got your nickname wrong and I didnt realise until after I had uploaded them, so you have been rechristened Desert_Fern for the purposes of the photo shoot

[desertfun]

Quick lookup on the meaning of fern:
"seedless, flowerless plant"....hahaha, i prefer fun all the time

Thanks for pics.