Cresting Mania III

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David
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How things can change in a matter of a few hours, down on truck road towards Sweihan quite annoyed as heavy rain and clouds on the horizon, I really needed a "proper" drive, it had been a long nasty week at work plus I wanted to test some big work done on the car under warranty, on the way back on the same road with a broad smile.

2 convoys, Shamsi gave Daggerfall the chance to chose, "surprisingly" he went for the more experienced group, Rathica, Marco, Tom, Sorin and myself with Optimus keeping a close eye. Shamsi explained clearly the conditions, hard sand, higher risk of rollovers, mostly approaching dunes from hard side to avoid "surprises".

So finally the time for my first drive with Daggerfall had come!!!, convoy free to chose the order, I wanted 2nd so keeping an eye on the Black FJ with white roof movements until I realized it was Optimus' ... moved quickly towards where the right car was and I was shocked I still made it to 2nd ... hold on I thought, is there a trick here, anything I am missing???

The track was fantastic, towards Al Ain airport turning to the Old Lady to make it to Naqra from there, afterwards out towards the farms. Small convoy that I believe did really really well, rope had to come out only twice, one pop-out and unfortunately one cut tire towards the end of the drive.

What a lead that was, under those conditions Daggerfall managed to put together a fantastic drive, I could not have asked for more, plenty of cresting, sidecresting and some sectors of the drive at an amazing pace, yep, no doubt I want to see how fast he can go under favorable sand & light conditions, I am afraid no option but to start begging Daggerfall soon for another similar drive to see how fast he can go (yes, I might be digging my own grave), and of course very happy to go 2nd (yes, a very deep grave).

To sum up, outstanding leading, great convoy of good friends, beautiful dunes, only issue is that we will have to wait some time for another one like this ...

See you on the sand soon!!!
Ehab
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Oh my god, i do not know how i made it.

I am speechless, i do not have words that can explain this experience, driving with Almost4x4 for almost a year, the total number of second tries has doubled after only one intermediate drive.

The day started when i decided to leave early going through the windy and rainy weather. For a lifted jeep, wind is an issue๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ specially when passing-by a long truck on 130 km/h, yeah the car turn, it was not easy to reach the meeting point, but that was only the start.
@Sorin reached while i was deflating, we climbed a nice dune, prayed and enjoyed the view for sometime. Its almost 2 pm, my heart started beating really fast, first intermediate trip, the sand is hard, mud in many areas, how to drive in this terrain???

Other drivers started joining, briefing was done by @alshamsi_m , and he informed us that we will be climbing from the side where a wall is already built because of the wind and rain, what? seriously? At least wait for 2 or 3 intermediate drives.
We were split to 2 convoys, new intermediates in a convoy led by Shamsi and supported by @rapailo and @Scorpio, experienced intermediates in a convoy led by @Daggerfall supported by @optimus. Each convoy had 5 drivers. We were asked to lineup with no order, i jumped in my car trying to quickly get to the front, guess what i was the last one, i was too late๐Ÿ™„๐Ÿ™„๐Ÿ™„

First side crest, what is this? How this is possible? This is against the physics we learned in school????? Oh my god, i was complaining about technical maneuvering, well not any more , in the middle of the trip, big red was having a technical issue, i tried few times to convince Shamsi to call it for the day, no, big red is struggling Shamsi, its not good for its health, no, we drive till we do not see the sun, big red can make it and we continue till the sun disappear, what a day full of action and learnings.
When we were close to the exit point, shamsi informed us that we only drove 4 KM, what? are you serious? Yep, the exit point was 4 km far from the meeting point but we were making loops and zigzags parallel to the road connecting both points.
There were one crest which i tried 6 times to be able to make it, many others i was struggling with and had to retry 2 or 3 times. Honestly, i am proud i did that, i will continue to do that whenever i feel i am not able to make it.
Last but not least, tire pressure, i have BFG, i seem to struggle more compared to other cars with lighter tires, i started with 13 psi, dropped to 11 and then 9 psi which is my usual tire pressure, huge difference, i think BFG with more than 9 is a challenge on all terrain.

Cannot wait for the next intermediate trip, this is totally different experience.
Enjoy Watching
Last edited by Ehab on Tue Jan 18, 2022 12:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Tomvanhouten
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Hello everyone,

What a splendid day it was!
Arriving at the meeting point, felt the sand and said; nah, let's put that pressure up a bit. 12Psi and off we went with @Daggerfall leading and @optimus controlling.

The convoy consisted of @David , @Sorin , @Rathica @mpodroid and myself. Everyone chose a position and there we go on the hard sand, with the layers crumbling off as the cars wept thru the dunes. this truly made driving at the back survival mode and at the front skills. But man, we had fun!!!

Still the scars of that heavy machinery are visible, but driving behind @Daggerfall choosing the track, we really had a smooth drive.

Thanks to everyone for another safe and at the same time adrenaline adventure!

@Rathica , ladies first thumbsup

See you soon again
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Sorin
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Greetings everyone,

Sunday in the rain turned out to be a great day thanks to Almost4x4 and their dedicated marshals.

Fearing the wet sand might make the drive less challenging was a wrong thing to have thought.

Daggerfall delivered an amazing drive and a pace that kept everyone on their toes.

It was a pleasure driving again after a break and even more so in cool temperatures that make us Jeepers sigh with relief grin

Great to catch up with everyone and hope to do it all again soon and as David said, on soft sand and faster pace thumbsup

Thank you Daggerfall & Optimus



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Last edited by Sorin on Mon Jan 17, 2022 11:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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alshamsi_m
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Hello Everyone

As standard we do a complimentary drive for the members when they got upgraded from one level to the other like from CM to Newbie or from Newbie to Intermediate. Our organiser this time is @Rashidjass but unfortunately he couldn't join the drive so our heroes were @Daggerfall & @Scorpio.

It is been a while for us to drive back in wet sand due to lock-down and closing boarder but finally we are back grin .

Leading was really interesting because you have two sides of the dune where you have a hard side and a very soft side on the other hand you don't to scare the new upgraded too much ๐Ÿ˜‰ .

Over all we had a full fun time in the 2.5 hours, regardless the distance yaeh am not durnk and did what was expected by the marshals so keep driving and be fast on clicking to join the upcoming drives.

P. S : The picture below shows the sand, credits for @Sorin
Image


Till next time stay safe and looking forward to see you in the sand.

Cheers
Shamsi
Adventurousย League ofย Mountains,ย Oceans andย Sandย Thrills
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Rathica
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I think that @Daggerfall should be renamed FIREBALL!!!

Arrived at the meeting point thinking I will be early only to have been beaten by @Sorin @Ehab @David
@mpodroid and @rapailo who flew past me on the entry road๐Ÿš™๐Ÿ
And @optimus for keeping us safeโค๏ธ
After a swift deflation we all got a chance to socialize while we waited for the rest of the gang to join us.

We were divided into two groups (Oldies vs Goldies๐Ÿ˜‚) with @Daggerfall leading the Oldies and @alshamsi_m leading the Goldies. And we were off like lightning. The sand was wet so caution should have been held but it flew into the wind as Daggerfall found every twist, turn, and climb. It was outstanding.

@Tomvanhouten learned a special lesson: it's Dog eat Dog at Inter level! We were all vying for 3rd car position - no one wanted to be a survivor at the back driving in a muchy trench ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜… but no one was eager to steal @David "s position as second lead๐Ÿ˜

And I was in Awe of @David in second lead - he kept pace with every move of Daggerfall - not a single second try!!! I was in awe and green with envy as I must have had 4 isecond tries. Sadly, it was the short climb and switch which seems to always tease me๐Ÿ™„ rather than the high ones.

All in all - one popout and one cut tyre - this drive was a FULL SUCCESS that left us panting for more.

Until we meet again on the sand
๐Ÿ‘‘๐Ÿ’ƒ ๐Ÿš™๐Ÿ’จ
Join me drawing in the sand
๐Ÿ‘‘Dauntless ๐Ÿš™๐Ÿ’จ
Laarni
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my FIRST intermediate drive... hello everyone, i've heard this from a lot of people, that the first time they drive in a higher level, the excitement levels up also and it includes the anxiety, and thats how i exactly felt about it, i made a video in my phone to see it afterwards since im so focused that i cannot enjoy the view anymore, and also put just any music since in most of my videos im screaming or talking to myself to calm me down. It's funny, but I guess it helps.

Overall, the drive was great and a different experience, especially for those who just got upgraded. Being able to drive like this means its all because of those who are responsible for all the drives we did since we join the club, and all the supports, thank you all very much

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Daggerfall
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What a lovely weekend it was!

The conditions seemed a little bit discouraging in the beginning due to hard sand and bad visibility but with luck (I don't know how I didn't end up in one of those carved ditches you're kidding, right ) and great group of drivers, I believe we managed to turned it into a fun drive! have a nice day


Thanks to @alshamsi_m, I have given the lead of a convoy for one of @Rashidjass 's favorite drives (Cresting Mania) . So I had to make sure we don't go below the "standards" grin .


As I mentioned we managed to have a fun drive because everyone did great! We had a great support from @optimus , always kept eye on the convoy!. Great second lead by @David, I felt like Viper chased by Maverick and kept saying "This guy is good" thumbsup but there were no Jester around to save me you're kidding, right and great drivers kept the pace up @Rathica , @Tomvanhouten , @Sorin and @mpodroid .


Looking forward to do this at bigger dunes and "FASTER" pace soon guys cool have a nice day


See you!
" I feel the need, the need for Speed " cool

Drives Black FJ " VF-1 Valkyrie " , Mob: 050 725 09 31
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dorudoru
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Hello Everyone,

It was an unusual day in the desert. Rain, hard sand and lots of grubbing. Sometimes you feel like you are in a farm after a tractor worked. But every single day in the desert is fun. The rain cleared the air and I believe weather was one of the most amazing ones I encountered till day.

I've been placed in the little padawans convoy and took my part just behind our master. blank Being second lead in an intermediate drive is a fun job to do and keeps you on your toes. Always a pleasure to follow the founder of the club in love

We had quite fun time on the walls and crests. Considering a quite alien situation for all of us, the convoy did well.

Thanks for the support from @Scorpio and @rapailo nice to see you floating around.

Regards,
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dorudoru
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