No pain no gain

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Loca
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Dear Almosters,

this was my third Intermediate drive and the first one with some of the experienced Intermediates. Furthermore it was my first drive led by [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] All those first of a kind triggered some pressure and short sleep the night before O_O

The short sleep was also due to Friends I had had for the dinner who left my apartment at 1am ... At 4.15am I was up but I really couldn't rest. However the beautiful sunrise I watched while driving to the meeting point did put me back into life. The transfer was long as the meeting point was in Al Ain. I drove alone for most of the time but I met [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] , [mention]Johanna[/mention] and [mention]Scorpio[/mention] at the last petrol station approx 30Kms before the meeting point. I decided to fill also my 2 jerry cans as my Pajero is thirsty when I demand all of her power and I expected this would have been the menu for the day

At the meeting point there were a few Almosters who made it earlier and few others reached later but still in the schedule. After some chit chat in a nice place atop of a dune [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] called for the briefing and formed a single convoy of 18 cars. [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] was appointed 2nd lead and cameraman, [mention]giorgio[/mention] sweeping and [mention]Booy[/mention] and [mention]Scorpio[/mention] floating. Rashid warned us about the softness of the sand and recommended us to check air pressure every 30 mins and keep the right distance in order to enjoy a smooth flow which is very important in such a long convoy.

The landscape around us was beautiful with medium/high dunes and red sand. We spent the first part of the drive plying in that area as it was offering many side cresting opportunities. Rashid delivered a great drive with many side cresting, with different levels of complexity. My position was in the middle of the convoy which was good as I could still find lines not too much destroyed by the cars before me. This is key importance for my car as I don't have high performance suspensions like Jeeps and FJs and if the track is not smooth I cannot floor and get all the power from my engine for the steep climbs.

I learned a lot in this drive and I realized the great feeling I have with my Pajero helps me a lot in the most challenging passages. I really enjoyed all the sand flying on the windscreen during the side cresting. It reminded me the water shower you get when you go fast on a boat grin

Thanks [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] for having organized such an amazing drive. Thanks to [mention]Booy[/mention] and [mention]Scorpio[/mention] for all the support during the drive

I can't wait for the next drive with you, dear Almosters in love
Gianluca (aka Loca)
Black/White FJ (aka La Ciccina)
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Scorpio
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Hello Everyone,

First of all, I would like to thank [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] for organizing this wonderful drive, straight after Eid to satisfy many who were missing sand and adrenaline for quite some time thumbsup

I remember the last time when we had the drive in this area we were able to climb the dune that is right in front of the meeting point with un-deflated tires but this time the sand was soft and did not allow us to do that you're kidding, right! The briefing included safety warnings and drive terrain advices to remind everyone again of the basics and to respect gravity at all times.

The drive lived up to its expectation; and what would you expect in an inter drive. Rashid threw a lot of climbs, side crests, high arches and what not, to the convoy. We had 3 pop-outs, 2 cut-tires, heated cars, convoy losing the track, stuck cars, second tries, during the drive ORLY but it was an enjoyable morning and everyone got their share of the fun. I was floating around the convoy with [mention]Booy[/mention] and would like to share my observations:

• Second try is always better than taking the unnecessary risk of fighting with gravity
• Always be the master of your momentum
• Radio communication is a must if you are doing the 2nd try, stuck, lost the track etc.
• If you cannot make the full arch then make a smaller one and avoid riding on the bushes while you do the arch curve – it’s very risky. The car traction won’t stay the same, the moment your tire comes on the bush and you cannot afford that while making a vertical U-turn on a dune. Don’t push to go above the bush to reach to the same arch height, if you know that you don’t have enough momentum and you cannot make it
• Listen to the marshals instructions carefully on the radio and follow them
• Learn from the car in front of you
• Make yourself as parallel to the crest as possible before doing the side crest – it will allow you to ride on it smoothly. Keeping your car parallel to the crest enables your car to come on the crest naturally and just don’t try to do it (going to the other side of the crest) quickly
• Whether it is a side crest on a small dune or high dune, whether it is sharp one or edgeless, give respect and full attention to do it properly – it is training of your mind until this practice becomes a default for you
• If the marshal is saying to hold your ground and nobody should do the side crest, please follow

I believe it was a drive that will be remembered for very long for the many lessons that we learnt from it. I saw some drivers doing meticulously well on the side crests and also some who needs more practice and time to learn the right speed and angle to do it, the text book way.

Keep coming, keep learning, and keep enjoying. Wishing you all adventurous yet safe off-roading journey.

Thank you Rashidjass and Booy for your continued guidance and all who participated for your lovely company yuush

Cheers 8-)
Scorpio
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Booy
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Hello Almosters,

A few months ago we drove the same area, but it started raining as soon as we started the drive.
This Friday we started the drive on soft, dried out sand, and it almost felt like a different area.

We had quite a big convoy, but that did not stop us from riding all the high crests that Rashid could find. Thanks Rashid for a great lead.

Looking forward to seeing you again this coming Friday for more sand fun!

Regards,

Booy
@Booy

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giorgio
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No Pain No Gain:

And the drive live up to its name.

On a 46 degrees weather a 18 car convoy set off to cover 44km in nearly 4 hours. From the statistics one can understand that it was not an easy drive.

With [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] taking the lead having [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] second lead me as as a sweeper and [mention]Booy[/mention] along with [mention]Scorpio[/mention] floating the long convoy was not as agile as usual.

The mix driving skills of the older and new intermediates in combination with the length of the convoy was an additional challenge for our leader.

The soft sand the high dunes and the sharp crests was challenging the drives on every climb

We had more that few pop outs several second and third and fourth tries, cut tires and the list did not finish here.

Radio communication was good but it could have been better. The drive itself was challenging enough to put the majority if not all of the drivers to re-think and evaluate their driving skills and strategies.

In the intermediate level it is important that the drivers get to listen and execute to the letter the instructions/advice of the Marshall. The room for mistake is down to almost 0. Or you are doing it right or you are in trouble and this is something that we all understood in this drive.


Over all it was as always a well organized drive well supported by our guardians and the drivers could not have asked for something more challenging than what was delivered.


Thank you all for the good time on the sand and looking forward to see you all soon on a new adventure.



















.
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Saeed FJ
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hello everyone
well when I reach to the meeting point in and fixed my GoPro which give me the advantage to be a second lead, and thanks to Marshall [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] for that opportunity, I really enjoy it and love to do more and more.
I will let you enjoy the video to see what we lived it, hope you like it



in the end, I would like to thank the organizer and supported marshall and explorer to make it happen
till nest time stay safe
see you on sand
Abu Madi
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Johanna
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Hi everyone,

I drove the same track couple of months back, I remember standing at the meeting point in rainy weather with a jacket…

No rain this time, instead burning sun and soft sand.
I drove as third car behind [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] and [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] so I could enjoy the fast pace and the clean tracks in the front.

We had a lot of high climbs followed by sharp sidecrests, and it was pure fun in love
One combination of high climb/side crest was tricky and I remembered this bowl clearly from last time. I struggled last time even in wet sand, this time I could make it in soft sand. grin

Our convoy was quite big with a mix of old and new intermediates, and we had it all in this drive.
Pop out, cut tires, one stuck and the usual second tries.

Until 10am the temperature was ok, but the last part was really hard. I had to drive the last hour mostly without AC, as the cars temperature climbed steadily together with the outside temperature.
When we stopped and got out of the cars I was close to fainting couple of times, this kind of heat is not for Northern Europeans. Psmiley

We finished around 11.30/12, I was totally finished but incredible happy with the drive, I had so much fun, a great moment of success and the car is also in one piece thumbsup

Thanks everyone in love
BR, Johanna

If it excites you and scares you at the same time, it probably means you should do it.
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Jasper
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Hello everyone,

Every time I go for a drive with the club it’s always an amazing experience. Well worth it! As everyone said above, the drive lived up to its name. I remember seeing this slogan No Pain No Gain mostly in gyms and where you experience muscle pain to gain more muscles.

The meeting point was 1.5 hours away from my home. On the way along Dubai Al Ain road I’ve seen [mention]Booy[/mention] and [mention]Rooies[/mention] and decided to follow them until the meeting point.

During the briefing I’m just thinking if I can follow and catch up to the level of the drive. Keep telling myself to focus and concentrate. As [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] mentioned in the briefing, safety first. If you can’t do the climb go down or don’t do it at all and risk it.

During the drive, I was assigned as the fourth car, following [mention]Johanna[/mention] . This is the first time for me with the experienced Intermediates and in this area. The sand is very soft. We keep stopping to re-check tire pressures as the temp is very hot. The drive gave a lot of challenges and big smiles when I was able to do the crests properly and there were “oops” moments where I did the side crest too fast and jumped a little bit on the other side and were it was perfect and you’ll flow nicely on the other side. This drive gave a lot of learning for me and I’m sure for the others also. I keep on watching the other drivers how they approach the crest and you’ll learn a lot.

Overall an amazing morning. Can’t wait for the next one. Thanks to our leader [mention]Rashidjass [/mention] for keeping us challenged during the drive, [mention]Saeed Fj[/mention] for the second lead, [mention]Booy[/mention] and [mention]Scorpio[/mention]for giving valuable inputs while floating and [mention]giorgio[/mention] for sweeping and to all the other drivers that participated and supported.

See all again soon and take care!

Jasper
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