An Englishman in Dubai

With the lads over – it was really good of Chris to take us out for a dune drive around Big Red and up to Pink Rock. He has also blogged this trip here.

As it had been a few weeks since my first desert drive I was a little rusty and in a matter of minutes I managed to have a stuck with a poorly chosen line over a dune:

It was a nice introduction for the UK lads into desert driving and they all mucked in when required:

I was keen that some of the boys got first hand experience of driving in the sand so I let them take the wheel – with the rather predictable outcome of another stuck or two…

and Paul in the midst of some rather over-enthusiastic driving left the Land Cruiser with a small modification:

It was a really memorable day being able to share this exhilarating past time with good friends. It is so hard to describe to them what it is like over the phone or by email – the experience is like “nothing else” to coin a phrase.

We spent all day laughing, screaming and clinging on for dear life in Team Hummer…and the grab handles have since been re-named “Jesus Handles” in respect to the words uttered when going over some particularly challenging dunes.

I personally learned a lot from the day. First, even after just a couple of drives I am starting to really find my feet with desert driving. Secondly the Hummer is perhaps a little short of power and as such is unforgiving if the tyre pressure is not right or the line you pick is not spot on. To this end the Hummer can do it – the only question is can the driver? I think a couple of small modifications to said car to mask driver inability may soon be happening!

Lastly – I have the utmost respect for Chris whose unending patience, unerring attitude toward safety and continued encouragement not only made the day memorable but has got me well and truly hooked into this new hobby. I am looking forward to the day when I get a chance to recover his Wrangler….

Team Pink Rock: