Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” & "Rolling in the Desert

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caprihorse
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We organized 2 trips on Friday, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and “Rolling in the Desert”. Both trips in their nature were built for Newbies and Club Members.

We started on Thursday evening at Al Badayer Shops, with an idea to drive to our camp. As the last sand storm, redesigned the desert again and new dunes were built, we were forced to drive around and find easy track for our Newbies. After reaching our camp, we all built our tents, made fantastic BBQ and let the balloons fly in pleasant no windy atmosphere.

Next morning the first impatient birds were testing their proper temperature of their engines and blood. They were rewarded by Mother Nature with first stucks and pop-out, just to realize, what they can expect during the day.

We created a convoy of 18 cars, with 2 Marshals and started to drive A53 area. Small and tricky dunes and certain level of adrenaline caught some drivers unprepared and Viking ropes came into the action. Some other drivers did self-recovery under the supervision of Marshals.

At noon we all arrived back to the point of origin, to get fresh air into the tyres.

Afternoon trip, mostly build from Club Members, started at Tawi Nizwa shops on time. At briefing, we explained the basic principles of the driving the desert, demonstrated it by our small car toy and then started our bigger toys and came into the action. Our lady drives explained in a practical way some male drivers, how to properly deflate with proper equipment to have a proper tyre pressure.

On the way to Pink Rock, some drivers were forced by dunes to experience the first self-recovery, again carefully instructed and watched by Marshals, and some experienced again the power of Viking.

After climbing to Pink Rock, we decided to show also harder way to challenge to the dunes and we climbed higher. Again some pop-outs and stucks proved to the Newbie drivers, that the real off-roading skills are built only by proper experience and driving practice.

At sunset we arrived back to Tawi Nizwa, to get air and share amang all their experience from this trip.

We would like to thank to all the drives for their contribution to the another memorable day in off-roading history, our ladies drivers for their help and commitment and sharing experience with newcomers and Gorgin for his second lead.

Some testimonials from the trip:
[03-03, 01:46] artx: Thank You Bu Salem, Caprihorse and all the Members. It was an exciting fun drive.
[02-03, 22:12] damian.martin: Dear Almost4X4, i wanted to thank each and every one of you again for the making today one of the most amazing trip we had. YOU ROCK!

[02-03, 13:25] Warrior: Awwwwwwsome
[02-03, 13:25] Warrior: just cam back from the trip


Some pictures you can see at following link
- https://www.facebook.com/almost4x4.club
Milan
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In addition to what Silvester has wrote about, there was also an Intermediate & Advanced part of the drive, lead by Khatib.

It was a great drive which created a lot of learning experiences for our Intermediate drivers. There were some stucks and pop-outs and - unfortunately - a roll-over. The group showed a high level of teamwork and support for each other. Seconds after each pop-out, a board, a jack, and a compressor appeared on the scene, and the problem was solved. Similarly, each stuck had been solved within minutes.

Well, over all, as I said, it was a great drive, and I would like to thank Khatib for his leadership, and also Faisal, Naser, and Hussain for their supporting roles.

Milan
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Hi guys,

As always, what a great weekend with Almost4x4!

Its kind of hard to believe, but this was my 25th drive with Almost4x4 since I joined the club!

I participated in 2 drives on Friday. The first was the Intermediate drive in the morning lead by Alkhatib. First Naser took us to the camp site where we met the rest of the gang plus the Alain 4x4 guys. Then Alkhatib took us on a fast-paced drive with many interesting challenges. The sun was hot, the sand soft, and the drivers hungry for action!

I experienced my first pop-out fairly early in the drive, and within 6-7 minutes I was up and running thanks to my great friends Pwood, Khalid, Faisal, Delta, and Googloid. And thanks to Milan for well documenting the event through his camera lens! It was good to use my jack and board for the first time!

The rest of the drive went smooth, with a few pop-outs and stuck cars, but not that many. The Alain 4x4 guys put on a show for us when ever they were in sight, with their loud Jeeps and aggressive hill climbing! It was fun to watch them challenge the big dunes.

As always Alkhatib did a fantastic job of leading the fairly large convoy and kept replacing the second lead to give everybody a taste of front row access to the desert!

The drive finished around noon at Albadayer shops.

After a short break, I headed up to Nizwa shops for the afternoon drive. Had some flaming @%$#&# hot spicy Indian food thanks to Miss D! The food acted as medication, the kind that you DON'T want to take! I had a running nose and impaired vision as a result!!! Just kidding! It wasn't bad. It was AWFUL! Again, just kidding! It was good, as in a once in a lifetime experience!

Then it was time for the afternoon drive. It was good to see many new faces and cars. The afternoon drive started with a briefing at the meeting point by Alshamsi, and followed by a second briefing by him and Caprihorse at the deflation point. It was flashback to my first drive with Almost4x4 where Alshamsi explained the basics of desert driving with a little help from Silvester's toy car!

I was the second lead behind Alshamsi throughout this smooth drive. The first time drivers seemed very excited to be a part of the convoy. The desert was packed with safari cars and quad bikes, specially at the Pink Rock. After a little break at the top, we started heading back to the meeting point. There were a few stuck vehicles, and I believe only one pop-out. Overall it was a fantastic relaxing drive.

Once again, I like to thank my Almost4x4 family for making my weekends fly! Special thanks to Khatib, Alshamsi, Caprihorse, and all the marshals who organized yesterday's drives. Your efforts are much appreciated.

Looking forward to the next drive.

Cheers,
G
Paul
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Hi Guys

Yes, another great trip with Almost4x4.

I enjoyed the high speed, soft sand and tricky dunes.

I had the pleasure of driving behind Milan for about 1/3 of the trip. To watch and learn how a 4x4 glides over the dunes effortlessly was fantastic to experience. As my experience and confidence grows, i have started recognising different styles and techniques. All part of the learning. Thanks Milan, for the unofficial lesson. From a personal prospective, i have realised how powerful my Jeep is.... smooth and conservative use of the 'right pedal' seems to be far more effective than my previous 'heavy foot' approach.

Gorgin - "It was good to use my jack and board for the first time!"..... I think you mean WATCH your jack/board being used!!!!!
It was great to help. i have the same jack/board, so it was great to use...... This 'buddy system' was a first time for me. I like it. Thanks to Gorgin and Googloid for allowing a 3 way buddy, i couldn't find my own buddy!!!!!

Thanks to Khatib for being lead marshal and to the rest of the almost gang. Your dedication to the sport is always appreciated.

Regards
Paul
Milan
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[quote=pwood;8381]
I had the pleasure of driving behind Milan for about 1/3 of the trip. To watch and learn how a 4x4 glides over the dunes effortlessly was fantastic to experience. As my experience and confidence grows, i have started recognising different styles and techniques. All part of the learning. Thanks Milan, for the unofficial lesson. [/quote]

You are more than welcome! :)

Milan
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Miss D
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Yet again a great weekend thanks to Almost 4x4 :057:

It all started with a great camp on thursday followed by a early morning drive with newbies and few club-members... the leading marshal was the great SHAMSI and the paparazzi master SILVESTER as our sweeper! The drive was amazing, got to learn more as i do with each of my drives..this one was special for me as it was my 1st time do rescue for others and guess what did i tow??? JEEEEEEEP :011: (No offense the Jeep guy was really sweet) so now i have put back my signature of Jeep Recovery Team!

And also towed a Pathfinder ( Driven by a Warrior ) :005: ..not once but twice... ok ok enough of me bragging ... he he he

1st drive finished,, met the big boys (intermediates) at badayer... went to Nazwa for Lunch (the flaming @%$#&# hot spicy Indian biryani George was talking about,, he forgot to add that we had to eat ice cream to cool ourselves down...YES IT WAS THAT SPICY) and we all had chit chat... till the next batch of clubmembers joined us. It was nice to see alot of new faces :057:

The 2nd drive also was superb like the morning one..again led by Shamsi and we were well looked after by the Silvester as our sweeper. George was 2nd lead and did an AMAZING job :045: ... George managed the entire convoy well whenever the marshals had to go for rescue. Good going Georgy! Me and Madlene got to show a club-member how to use the airgauge and check the pressures... felt happy to help and yes we girls learned how to rescue ... thanks to the 2 great "S" ...Shamsi and Silvester! Thank you for ur efforts for making me what i am today, i really appreciate it as i never ever dreamt that i could drive in the desert the way i do now!

All ended well and all were back before sunset to Nazwa shops where again we had chit chat with KARAK and all said their goodbyes and headed home with ALL SMILES :018:

Special thanks to Shamsi, Silvester, George and all my fellow Newbies and our new family members the Club members :047:



And yes i did miss Falcon, Hamdan, Lamboo, Abu Jimmy, Diver & Bashar .... Have always had you all camping with me so really missed you all alot...

Big thanks to KHATIB too :057:

Looking forward to see u all in sand soon :057:
samjed46
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Firtly I thank Almost4x4 to include me as a member and Special thanks to Mr.SHAMSI and Mr.SILVESTER through whom i learnt my first derest drive and thanks all the member at the drive for all their support & encouragement, i enjoyed every moment of the drive, inshallah will join again for next drives too. not to forget Miss D and others too.

Thank you once again all for the best time i had in desert.

regards
samjed46
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Hey! Thanks alot i dint see that i got a STAR!!!!!!! thank you , thank you
strawb
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It was another epic day of off-roading with almost4x4 …… the newbies was spearheaded by our al shamsi and the sweeper marshal duties was taken care by caprihorse …… this was my first time out as a JEEPER ….. and I clearly recall capri whispering to me “traitor” …. Hehe ….

As always ….. the convoy lines were as diverse and challenging taking the small and high dunes in progression ….. the marshals will always have very good pointers ….. listen and understand and you will definitely reap the benefits ….

In my case ….. I was used to pumping the throttle pedal to gain acceleration in my previous drives in the Pajero ….. with the loud Borla Exhaust system in the XJ …. Capri was quick to notice my pedal techniques and gave me advise on taking it light and smooth with constant throttle acceleration in the crests …… I did as advised and it worked like a gem in the remaining dunes of the trip

See you guys this coming friday
Aboud
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This was my first trip with Almost 4x4 (defiantly not my first in the desert though :P), I was a part of the second trip (Friday afternoon).. Great people, nice rides, very organized and professional. Although the track was a bit too relaxing if I can say that, I had a good time out there.
Although I was looking forward for a second trip as soon as possible, unfortunately when I was out in the desert yesterday my crankshaft gave away.. managed to get home safely but I think I will need some time till I repair the engine (or swap it in this case).
I hope I will see you out there as soon as I my vehicle is up and running again. Thank you for a great day on Friday, it was nice meeting you all!
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