JEDDAH, 1 May 2006 — Management’s finger pointed. “Left,” quoth she who must be obeyed.
After the best part of 35 years of conditioning on the anvil of marriage, obedience becomes a reflex and tends to take precedence over wisdom. “Left” found us up to the door sills in a pocket of soft sand. Having tipped out five passengers and the paraphernalia of a day in the desert, dug sand away and taken the tire pressure down to a desperate 10 pounds an inch, we were going nowhere.
Only a kilometer or so off road and near a busy track, this was not a life-threatening situation. I have to admit to giving in to devilment when pronouncing loudly that all was lost and we were sure to be bleached bones by morning. Management was utterly convinced; 12-year-old Shams raised an eyebrow and sighed theatrically. Younger brother Muhammad thought it was a huge joke.
Miss Shams reads a lot and knows far too much for her age.
It was just becoming fun when a large and rather “experienced” looking Land Cruiser turned up and disgorged several cheery souls with a towing strap, shovels and such a positive attitude to the whole situation that management almost broke into song. The Jeddah 4x4 Club seems to attract that sort of chap, bless them!
The club is less than a year old and grew out of a group of 12 teenagers and young men who shared a common interest. They all love pitting themselves against the considerable challenges of driving across the most difficult bit of desert they can find. They are in the right place.
In less time than it took to read that, we were out of the hole and on firmer ground.
Now boasting about 90 members, the club is on a more formal footing and recently entered a team in the Hail desert rally. They came in third, highly commendable for a scratch team in standard four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Our “white knights” — Fahd Al-Rashidi, 21, a young businessman, Faris Azzani, 19, studying computer science, and Khaled Al-Harbi, 18, still in high school — were hugely happy at being able to help out. Al-Rashidi has been driving off-road since he was 12 and the other two boast seven years off-road experience between them. They spend a good deal of time rescuing individuals.
“Usually it is a result of poor desert driving skills,” said Al-Rashidi. “Other times it is burst tires and breakdowns.” (Oddly, he did not mention commands by co-drivers.)
Rolling a car seems to be quite popular.
“That comes from most traveling at an angle across a dune and either braking or stopping. People get into a panic as the angle increases and they touch the brakes; then it is all over.”
Getting hung up on a ridge is another common problem.
Up until now, the Jeddah 4x4 Club has been one of local adventure’s best-kept secrets. They are happy to welcome members to join them.
To join the club as a full member, you need a four-wheel-drive vehicle, need to be an experienced driver and cough up SR500 per year. Club members will take you out into the desert to test your competence. There is no formal test, but a practical bash over varying terrain to establish whether you have the basic driving skills and can learn more.
The club spends much of its time helping out people stuck in the sand — so members have to be able to get to them and assist.
“The desert is our clubhouse,” said Faris Azzani. “It is where we meet and enjoy the clean air, sand and social life around barbecues under the night sky. It is great.”
The good news for those who want to experience a day or more in the sand or out in rough country but lack the right vehicle is that the club will take you. Four times a year they have full safaris — perhaps to the Wabar Crater or Wadi Haqaq — the hard way. They can even provide a car for individuals or families who just want a taste of the desert for a day.
What Al-Rashidi and his companions get out of forcing themselves through really quite tricky conditions is the adrenaline of the challenge. “It is a nice hobby,” said Khaled Al Harbi. “It is exercise and it gives you courage and confidence in your abilities to handle a vehicle and you make a lot of friends.”
The challenge, adventure, the social life, barbecues and camping were a better option for these young men than just racing. All agreed that tackling the dunes enhanced their ability to handle a vehicle.
“It gives you greater confidence and teaches you the limits of the car. It adds a level of safety — you cannot push the limits in the desert — and this crosses over to urban driving,” said Al-Rashidi. “It makes you a better driver.”
The authorities are generally amenable to the pursuit. When there is a loosely organized event, they discreetly support it and generally leave the group to get on with their hobby without interference. They see the good it does and adopt a tolerant approach.
The club, though young, has big ambitions. They want to compete in desert racing regionally and internationally and have set themselves a five-year plan. Eventually, they aim to compete in the Dubai Desert Challenge. Speaking with these competent young men, you get the feeling they will not stop there.
Having hooked our group out of the sand, Al-Rashidi asked if we wanted a bit of a challenge. As I had the car keys, “Yes” prevailed.
They led us over stages one to five — each increasing in difficulty — in a patch of desert just off the Makkah highway 30 km east of Jeddah. Hundreds turn up there every week to watch others challenging the dunes or have a go, under the watchful eye of Al-Rashidi and his co-members. It is all good innocent fun.
Just to prove a point, we managed nearly all of the stages — even the precipitous stage five, but a torn tire took us out on the last hill — and not a distracting finger in sight.
There’s no clubhouse, but you can find out more at www.jeddah4x4.com or by calling 055-662-6300.
