Re: Gravity
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 10:57 am
Good Morning Almosters,
it was the first time that we had two intermediate convoys as far as I remember.
We met early at 7 in Al Faqah, I well known area for most of us I believe. It is great area to polish all the skills we learned so far - side cresting over different shapes of dune, driving safely on side slops and dealing with ditches and bushes.
I was assigned as second lead driving behind [mention]Scorpio[/mention]. It was my first time as second lead in an intermediate drive, so I was a bit nervous, hoping to do a good job. confident!
One of our convoy rules say "always follow the second lead", so in order not to endanger the convoy, you have to strongly focus on the following:
- correct distance is essential
- listen carefully to the radio
- keep in mind everyone follows you when adjusting the track
- make quick and safe decisions when adjusting the track
- watch the leading car carefully
We started with an easy warm up, so I had some time to get familiar with [mention]Scorpio[/mention] leading style.
The drive was a technical one and I believe a good exercise for all of us. After the warm up Scorpio gave us the full side crest package with all variations you can find in the area. In addition to that we had to deal with bushes and ditches in the area. I think I gave my poor suspensions some hits and jumps to deal with Psmiley
It happened that could not follow [mention]Scorpio[/mention] line with the Patrol and I had to slightly adjust it, quickly evaluating and make the correct decision:
- Usually I have to turn down earlier while riding on top of a crest, as I have less clearance and a higher risk to get stuck on top of it.
- Also I have to straighten my approach line to a crest a bit as my front is very heavy and pulls me down. The weight in the front also makes it hard to stay on side slops, you need to master the throttle to keep the car on the wall.
As [mention]Isfand[/mention] said to me this drive: "If you can handle a Patrol, you can handle every other car too." I dont have enough experience to agree with that, but he might be right Psmiley
In the middle of the drive I was more or less happy with my performance - beside some second tries due to wrong lines- I did not have any issues- and then…. pop out TT TT because of a rookie mistake (sharp turn). Thanks to helping hands it got fixed easily, thanks everyone.
As I tend to overcompensate my mistakes, especially stupid ones, I postponed destructive thoughts and feelings about this incident to after the drive. This tactic worked well, it stills bothers me XD
While the temperature was climbing the visibility got poorer. Sand was flying on the crests and with the sun rising higher the contrasts got less and less visible.
The last hour I could barely see Scorpios exact tracks so I had to make some educated guesses, also the crest was hard to see, so Scorpio tried to avoid side crests.
Dont get me wrong here, it may sound that I was stressed out. It was straining, but I had a great time with all of you. I truly believe that its impossible to have a bad day in the desert cool
It was a great lecture, I learned a lot this drive, thanks @Scorpio for assigning me second lead and by the way - great lead thumbsup and thanks to @Booy for showing us the Marshals time travel skills and keep the convoy safe.
See you all soon in the sand have a nice day
it was the first time that we had two intermediate convoys as far as I remember.
We met early at 7 in Al Faqah, I well known area for most of us I believe. It is great area to polish all the skills we learned so far - side cresting over different shapes of dune, driving safely on side slops and dealing with ditches and bushes.
I was assigned as second lead driving behind [mention]Scorpio[/mention]. It was my first time as second lead in an intermediate drive, so I was a bit nervous, hoping to do a good job. confident!
One of our convoy rules say "always follow the second lead", so in order not to endanger the convoy, you have to strongly focus on the following:
- correct distance is essential
- listen carefully to the radio
- keep in mind everyone follows you when adjusting the track
- make quick and safe decisions when adjusting the track
- watch the leading car carefully
We started with an easy warm up, so I had some time to get familiar with [mention]Scorpio[/mention] leading style.
The drive was a technical one and I believe a good exercise for all of us. After the warm up Scorpio gave us the full side crest package with all variations you can find in the area. In addition to that we had to deal with bushes and ditches in the area. I think I gave my poor suspensions some hits and jumps to deal with Psmiley
It happened that could not follow [mention]Scorpio[/mention] line with the Patrol and I had to slightly adjust it, quickly evaluating and make the correct decision:
- Usually I have to turn down earlier while riding on top of a crest, as I have less clearance and a higher risk to get stuck on top of it.
- Also I have to straighten my approach line to a crest a bit as my front is very heavy and pulls me down. The weight in the front also makes it hard to stay on side slops, you need to master the throttle to keep the car on the wall.
As [mention]Isfand[/mention] said to me this drive: "If you can handle a Patrol, you can handle every other car too." I dont have enough experience to agree with that, but he might be right Psmiley
In the middle of the drive I was more or less happy with my performance - beside some second tries due to wrong lines- I did not have any issues- and then…. pop out TT TT because of a rookie mistake (sharp turn). Thanks to helping hands it got fixed easily, thanks everyone.
As I tend to overcompensate my mistakes, especially stupid ones, I postponed destructive thoughts and feelings about this incident to after the drive. This tactic worked well, it stills bothers me XD
While the temperature was climbing the visibility got poorer. Sand was flying on the crests and with the sun rising higher the contrasts got less and less visible.
The last hour I could barely see Scorpios exact tracks so I had to make some educated guesses, also the crest was hard to see, so Scorpio tried to avoid side crests.
Dont get me wrong here, it may sound that I was stressed out. It was straining, but I had a great time with all of you. I truly believe that its impossible to have a bad day in the desert cool
It was a great lecture, I learned a lot this drive, thanks @Scorpio for assigning me second lead and by the way - great lead thumbsup and thanks to @Booy for showing us the Marshals time travel skills and keep the convoy safe.
See you all soon in the sand have a nice day