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Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 9:38 am
by Phoenix
Dear Members,

Please post trip reports here for the Morning Gathering - All Newbie drive.

Regards,
Phoenix.

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 11:26 am
by Kris
Hi there,

We had a lovely all level drive in Al Faqa desert yesterday: two convoys with mix of Newbies like me and (much) more experienced drivers.

It was my 3rd ride with you and since I had new experience I am obliged to write a short report to thank the Club Crew, Marshals for as always great organisation and fun in the sand and the best in class Rescue Team, always friendly, supportive, and finally quick and efficient to bring our cars back on the track.

We had few zigzag climbs in moderate soft sand, many steep downhills, many fast arches and a few dune cresting, where one of the latter caused couple of 2nd tries incl. myself.

I have been always wondering reading the trip reports as to what you guys are doing to have a pop out but this time it was me to celebrate one ORLY :0)
Why I am writing this I am waiting in a tire repair garage to get my tire cleaned and balanced.
Yes, so very fruitful ride with a significant new experience that I enjoyed a lot.

Once again thanks to all crew members which always make me enjoying all incidents...

See you soon.
Cheers
Kris

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 1:04 pm
by presa
Hi Almosters, we had a great morning drive for All Newbie Levels in 2 convoys, one lead by @Solmaz were I was, together with @Rashidjass, @Abu Odai, @Issa floating, with great support from our intermediates @Loca, @johanna, @optimus and @Mabubaker .

The first convoy was lead by @Daggerfall with @alshamsi_m, @Saeed FJ, @Yazan Ali, @haider alnuaimi and @giorgio floating around and support from @AMunir, @Gabor and @sameraptored.

Solmaz gave us some good challenges, with a technical area, where there were a few 2nd tries and a few popouts.

After that we went for middle size dunes where Solmaz took a climb by the soft side of it, where there were around 70% of 2nd tries. The good of it is that no one overspeed and fly over the dune, what could be danger for the car and the driver, KUDOS for everyone!

Next week we have a Club Member, so please invite your friends who may wanna join!

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 5:21 pm
by alshamsi_m
Kris wrote: Sat Jan 25, 2020 11:26 am Hi there,

I have been always wondering reading the trip reports as to what you guys are doing to have a pop out but this time it was me to celebrate one ORLY :0)

Once again thanks to all crew members which always make me enjoying all incidents...

See you soon.
Cheers
Kris

Our convoy got close to your convoy, I was wondering around to witness your pop out. It was a good one thumbsup

See you in the sand

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 5:30 pm
by alshamsi_m
Hello everyone

In this part of the world. A cloudy day is something nice because we rarely have it.

The night before the drive , a member and I were fooling around with a desert challenge that we both failed to show up on time grin .
The moral lesson in here is " Never trust the chat box, if it on the forum then it is official " yaeh am not durnk .

@Daggerfall gave us unusual climbs in this area due to the hard sand after rain which gave an excellent exercise of STRAIGHT CREST arr. .

The time fly so fast to find that it is 12 noon already. Thanks all for the amazing drive and looking forward to chit chat with you in the camps too cool

Till next time, stay safe and keep the sand flying.

Shamsi

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:12 am
by giorgio
This morning drive found us all at the meeting point looking at the cloudy sky wondering if the rain for once more will have us driving on a wet sand. Fortunately it did not rain and after quite some time we had the chance to drive on dry sand.

I was on the convoy led by @Daggerfall with @Munir  being the second lead @SameRaptoRed sweeping and me @Abu Odai and @haider alnuaimi floating and support @Gabor and @Johanna

In the first five minutes I had an unexpected pop out which later it turned out to be a cut valve which I was able to replace on my way home. Thank you @Abu Odai for the support.

The drive was of a slow pace with plenty practice on mid to high crests and moderate speed arches.

The convoy over all drove on a safe mode but the challenges were there for all drivers with plenty stuck and  second tries. I would say that the rescue team had its hands full from the beginning to the end.

Lessons learned from this drive was:

a) Keep a safe distance to have the required space to build up the necessary momentum to tackle the upcoming obstacle.
b) Throttle control when climbing (build momentum, maintain it approach the tip of the climb on a control speed, cross and release of throttle).  

I was happy to notice that the convoy was keeping a clean and sharp radio communication which provided all the drivers with the comfort to predict what is coming as well as enhancing the safety of all of us.

This was another enjoyable day on the sand organized by @Daggerfall (leaving the advance drivers wondering if his Mojo is under question) Thank you @Daggerfall  for the initiative..

Hope to see you all on the upcoming drives but If I dont you will all know why.

Till next time drive safe.

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:17 am
by Daggerfall
Hi Almosters,

It was a beautiful, cold and cloudy morning in the desert have a nice day

The purpose of this trip was to bring members from different levels together to keep the family spirit of Almost4x4 . It was good to see our members from different levels had the opportunity to come together and I hope they enjoyed this gathering as much as I did have a nice day

The drive was business as usual, went smoothly and everyone did good in general and I hope we managed to provide challenges for members to learn new skills or to sharpen the rusty ones. you're kidding, right

Thanks to all supported and participated and see you on the next adventure

thumbsup

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:16 am
by S1d
When its not one’s day, no matter what one does it just doesn't add up.

The weather was cloudy with light drizzles prior to the start of the drive. We started driving with the infamous marshal who took us through technical dunes that we all mastered promisingly. Then came the high dunes with partially wet sand (miss the soft dry ones) that put me through my greatest fear - straight cresting. Now i know this is basic stuff, but most of the dunes were high and sharp that i always left the throttle at the peak of the crest in fear of not flying over the dune as learnt from past experiences (damaged my front plastic skid plate) Due to the unfavorable sand condition and the slightly fast pace, i found myself crested on the belly quadruple times. I felt really embarrassed considering i was appealing for a challenge but wasn't fulfilled due to some unexpected logistics. I wanted to prove myself that I'm a good driver by mincing the obstacles laid in front of me, but subconsciously i loved my jeep more than proving a point. So i manned up, took out my rope and shattered my ego telling myself “My stars are not aligned today” and must accept stalemate. All the drivers drove well i must say. Apologies for being a deadweight and keeping your adrenaline volumes low my buddies. This week, I will get my sh!t together and come even more mentally relaxed & prepared for the upcoming drive and this time push my luck what may come whatsoever. A lot of the guys had bet their hopes on me that i would become a conqueror but were heartbroken with my surrender to the desert. I think maybe i was reluctant to injure my passenger as usually for intense drives, i drive alone and this my was limitation to let go off the throttle.

Thank you serkan for the obstacle course, i intend to now face these crests with more ease after driving through wet sand and getting the feel of it. Thank you desmond & giorgio for cheering me up throughout the event. Thank you johanna & barish for aiding me during rescue and ahmed for being a mentor by advising me on do’s n dont’s. And thanks to every each one of you including the support team for encouraging me to push it regardless of my limitations.

In the end, i live to fight another day Salem...

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:31 am
by giorgio
S1d wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:16 am When its not one’s day, no matter what one does it just doesn't add up.

The weather was cloudy with light drizzles prior to the start of the drive. We started driving with the infamous marshal who took us through technical dunes that we all mastered promisingly. Then came the high dunes with partially wet sand (miss the soft dry ones) that put me through my greatest fear - straight cresting. Now i know this is basic stuff, but most of the dunes were high and sharp that i always left the throttle at the peak of the crest in fear of not flying over the dune as learnt from past experiences (damaged my front plastic skid plate) Due to the unfavorable sand condition and the slightly fast pace, i found myself crested on the belly quadruple times. I felt really embarrassed considering i was appealing for a challenge but wasn't fulfilled due to some unexpected logistics. I wanted to prove myself that I'm a good driver by mincing the obstacles laid in front of me, but subconsciously i loved my jeep more than proving a point. So i manned up, took out my rope and shattered my ego telling myself “My stars are not aligned today” and must accept stalemate. All the drivers drove well i must say. Apologies for being a deadweight and keeping your adrenaline volumes low my buddies. This week, I will get my sh!t together and come even more mentally relaxed & prepared for the upcoming drive and this time push my luck what may come whatsoever. A lot of the guys had bet their hopes on me that i would become a conqueror but were heartbroken with my surrender to the desert. I think maybe i was reluctant to injure my passenger as usually for intense drives, i drive alone and this my was limitation to let go off the throttle.

Thank you serkan for the obstacle course, i intend to now face these crests with more ease after driving through wet sand and getting the feel of it. Thank you desmond & giorgio for cheering me up throughout the event. Thank you johanna & barish for aiding me during rescue and ahmed for being a mentor by advising me on do’s n dont’s. And thanks to every each one of you including the support team for encouraging me to push it regardless of my limitations.

In the end, i live to fight another day Salem...
Safety comes always first. Better stuck than flying. Keep practicing and you will see that one day you will be the master of straight crests

Re: Morning Gathering - All Newbie

Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:48 am
by optimus
S1d wrote: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:16 am
The weather was cloudy with light drizzles prior to the start of the drive. We started driving with the infamous marshal who took us through technical dunes that we all mastered promisingly. Then came the high dunes with partially wet sand (miss the soft dry ones) that put me through my greatest fear - straight cresting. Now i know this is basic stuff, but most of the dunes were high and sharp that i always left the throttle at the peak of the crest in fear of not flying over the dune as learnt from past experiences (damaged my front plastic skid plate) Due to the unfavorable sand condition and the slightly fast pace, i found myself crested on the belly quadruple times.

In the end, i live to fight another day Salem...
Hi Sid, let me know if you need a metal skid plate for your jeep. I have one from my jeep lying in my garage. If you want you can take it free of charge!