I'd like to start by thanking @alshamsi_m and @giorgio for this amazing trip. Also a huge thanks to @rapailo for all the advice and tips.
Todays drive we were split into two convoys, my convoy was led by @giorgio and we had carlos and @rapailo and marco for support. I was the third car in the convoy, unless when @rapailo joined into the convoy, then I would be the 4th car .
For the first 10-15 minutes of the drive I felt something was off but I couldn't quite figure what was wrong and then @rapailo noticed my tyre pressure was too high, after deflating back down to 9psi I was good to go.
Todays objective was climbing large dunes, riding the dune and some basic cresting and arching. We also learned to keep the right distance between ourselves so as to not loose the convoy in the ocean of tracks, and at the same time be able to stop safely incase the car infront needs a second try or a recovery. It took me a while to understand this because I was misjudging the second lead, but I got better gradually. We also did some large arches which were really exciting. A couple of times I needed second tries, but I'm learning to use gravity rather than to fight it.
We also got to see the intermediates play with some of the fish bowls we encountered on the way.
I always enjoy drives in Badayer, the big dunes are really fun and great to learn on .
Thank You Everyone for making this possible .
See you in the sand !
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 5:44 pm
by David
10- in Badayer, most important moment came when the group got separated in 2, must be honest, I got lucky, I am keen on speeding up the learning with the FJ and I got allocated alongside Tom and Brett with Shamsi who lead the more experienced drivers. Giorgio supported by Rapailo the other convoy.
First words of Shamsi during the briefing were "I want to go fast", to be honest, the rest did not matter to me, happy already, good enough for my 1st drive with an FJ.
The amount of tracks really spoils an area that is absolutely fantastic, a day in Badayer after a sand storm or rain is always amazing, unfortunately for us a bit bumpy, maybe also me since I felt it more than with the Jeep, probably also lack of practice as towards the end of the drive I seemed to have it more under control.
The convoy did generally very well, good drivers on the making no doubt, this area full of tracks and the pace that the leading car delivered made everyone to be very aware of distances, too big and you lose the track (as so many around), too little and no room for reaction if any incident ahead of you, in my opinion the main lesson to take from this drive for the newbies in our convoy.
Finally to thank Giorgio for organizing the drive, Shamsi for taking care of the 2nd convoy and Rapailo as well as all my fellow intermediates for the support.
See you on the sand soon.
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 6:58 pm
by alshamsi_m
Hello everyone
I need to file a complaint against @giorgio who keeps forgetting to send me the pm .Nevertheless, I managed to reach the meeting point on time .
The drive was a VIP with 6 newbies in my convoy and 3 with @giorgio . The target was to keep the right distance no matter how fast or high the leading car goes.
All in all, the whole convoy was doing very well even my passsenger @Ehab was impressed by them.
We couldn't finish till the end because we spent more time attacking each dune from every possible side .
Thanks to @brett , @David & @Tomvanhouten who were my only support
Get ready Liwa is coming and what we did today is going to be repeated but for FULL day.
Till next time, keep the sand flying
Cheers
Shamsi
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2022 9:34 am
by Tomvanhouten
Hello everyone,
Very short trip report this time, as my driving time was short as well.
We had @alshamsi_m leading in a beautiful way, carving the most smooth' tracks and having the level just right for the group, creating such a great flow!!
That flow however wouldn't have been there, if the convoy wasn't at its best. Very well done guys!!
Sorry to have to quite early on, as a nut on my upper arm was loose, but I really enjoyed that single hour of fun!
See you soon again
Tom
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 10:40 am
by brett
Good Morning Almosters,
Prior to “Lets Do it Again” a small group of us decided to camp the night before. Our camping spot was approx 30 min from the meeting point. After a pleasant night around the campfire and rising early to the sight of 15 – 20 hot air balloons rising with the morning sun we decamped and headed to the meeting point.
Arriving at 740am we found the group of eager Almosters. I was immediately lambasted by @giorgio for the changed grill and headlights ! Luckily, or unlucky depending on your point of view, I was assigned to @alshamsi_m , who had @Ehab riding shotgun convoy consisting of the newbies with more recorded drives. @Martin was appointed 2nd lead, with intermediates @David and @Tomvanhouten mixed in the convoy to be on hand to render assistance if required. I was positioned as sweeper – which in this area means a very bumpy ride as the track is very cut up by the time the last car covers it.
Off we headed with @alshamsi_m stating he wanted to go fast ! watch your following distance – not too close not too far.
We had a few 2nd tries which is to be expected, only a couple of stucks requiring recovery and more than a few cases of the car losing the correct track and having to be reconnected with the convoy but all in all a great day and some valuable lessons learned for sure. Unfortunately, @Tomvanhouten had a suspension issue and had to leave us early. luckily for @David and myself the drive continued without any major incidents requiring recovery or intervention.
We ended the drive around 1130am with many smiling faces.
Big thank you to @giorgio for arranging the drive @rapailo for assisting as floating marshal, @CARLOSS , @PedroLeal and @marco for supporting @giorgio convoy
And the newbies who are all starting to show great improvement. @galindakis , @Martin (great 2nd lead) not as easy as it seems sometimes to stay “connected” with the lead car
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:10 pm
by CARLOSS
Hi everyone!
As mentioned before, I was placed on @giorgio convoy along with 4 newbies and 2 more interm (@mpodroid and @PedroLeal ) with @rapailo floating.
It was a VIP treatment for our drivers thus they should not complain too much.
The drive itself was as expected with some second tries, stuck cars but a decent pace was achieved specially after the second briefing. Drivers understood a bit more about the basics of this game and learned how to make gravity your friend. Keeping a proper distance and radio communication were also reminded.
I was a bit sleepy after a long night hanging out with friends in the desert but after 1 hour of drive or so, Giorgio gave us a nice surprise when the following was said on the radio: “Intermediates, it is time to play. The dune is all yours” and suddenly, the adrenaline rust came again in my veins and we “bite” every single corner of Iftar Bowl. I don’t recall how many times we go up and down, but it reminded me the level of excitement of my dog when seeing the leash after some time bored at home.
No need for more coffee since then.
After, we continued with our drive still with a big smile in my face and you know what?…in another break we heard the same “beautiful music” on the radio : This time I went solo and started to scout the surrounding area doing side cresting here and there and having a lot of fun on my own…after a while I thought, maybe it is time to come back and when approaching the break area I saw nobody. Double-checked on the GPS and this was the place where last time I saw my friends…A bit weird . Then, I decided to take some altitude, climbed on the biggest dune I found and saw the convoy in the distance starting to move and caught a weak/noisy communication on the radio: “convoy is moving, time to come back” or something like that and I replied: “I see you, coming” and recovered my position. 10 or 15 more seconds driving on my own and I would not have been able to make visual contact with them and would have embarrassed myself asking for coordinates.
All in all, everything went well, and I had (unexpected for this level) tones of fun so thanks @giorgio for organizing and for the play time and @rapailo for keeping an eye on all of us.
Looking forward to the next one!
Carlos
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:11 pm
by korym
Drive Name : let's do it again
Organizer: @giorgio
Level: -10 newbies Drive
Location: Al Bayader
Good Afternoon Every Almosters
I can not find good start for my report I almost in shock since that amazing drive
First i was not able to join the drive or even the waiting list coz i was so late to register but thanks for our marshals to accept my registration later on
as mentioned before drive had been spilt for 2 convoy and I was lucky to be with @giorgio supported by @rapailo@Carlos@PedroLeal@mpodroid
We start the briefing and our marshal welcome everyone and start ordering the cars and he look at me mention that I will be his second lead and i was looks like
@mpodroid smile to me and talk to me saying do not panic
from that point i did not hear anything else i was thinking what will happen next
@giorgio did not give me any chance he just drive the car so fast (and I mean fast) we didn't even get in order, i was soooooo stress i lost him some times and finally he stopped.
i stopped behind him telling him could you please slow down to be able to follow you and he mention that he drive fast with intention to put me on stress
next he was gentle with me and the convoy and we follow him with some second tries
most of my mistakes was about distance which is leading to lose of power so i need to do a second try for the dune.
we got a second briefing and it was going smooth after that but i was so dumb to not learn from my mistakes, but i can say that i learned so much from that drive
and once we reach the Big Dunes (Iftar Bowl as i think) and our intermediates got the secret word “Intermediates, it is time to play. The dune is all yours” it was amazing and so fun i was taking a video just like the one who see the city for the first time
suddenly @rapailo appear and waive to me to be his passenger and let me feel the excitement, and WOW it was amazing feeling to clime up that dune with @rapailo i really wanna thank you for that @rapailo so much.
later we continue the drive till we finish it with Big Thanks for @giorgio to organize that drive
and for @alshamsi_m our founder that we can find his support in each drive
also thanks for our intermediates wfor supporting us in our second tries and once we stuck @PedroLeal@Carlos@rapailo@mpodroid
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2022 4:51 pm
by Martin
I met at the start point around 7:30 to find a few guys chilling on top of the meeting point next to the Al Badayer buggy hire companies. It didn’t take very long for the rest of the crew to arrive and get ready to get going.
We had an initial briefing by the organiser @giorgio and during that briefing, I was told by @alshamsi_m not to go anywhere! Oh dear, am I in trouble? Well turns out yes but it was the fun kind. More on that later.
We were split into 2 groups. The slightly less experienced drivers were supported by @giorgio , @rapailo And @mpodroid . The rest were to be led by @alshamsi_m with support from @David, @brett & @Tomvanhouten.
During the briefing, we were first told that the plan was that we were "going to go fast" and then I was told that I would be 2nd lead. To complete the fun the route was also going to take us the top of the 9 highest dunes in this area! So there was the trouble I was facing... Keeping up with Al Shams leading in Al Badayer. He’ll take it easy on a 10+ newbie, right? Kind of .
We set off at a nice pace and it really is a privilege to follow such an experienced lead. The lines were smooth and easy to follow. I could see he was also modulating the pace really nicely and allowing me to keep up as long as I also kept my distance and followed his tracks closely.
After that first 30 minutes or so the pace gradually increased until I suddenly realised that my work load keeping up and following the track was greatly increased. I was having to use all of the concentration at my disposal to keep an eye on where the lead car was and which route they had taken, because now at a few points I would occasionally fall back a little and have to work extra hard to up my pace to eventually catch up again. I think I was doing OK and only making small mistakes here and there but able to follow the track and keep up so the convoy behind me did not get lost. I gave myself a light pat on that back.
Ooops, spoke too soon. We eventually arrived at Super Bowl, the last dune on our track. After a little chit chat and a couple of technical breaks, we set off on a last little run. @alshamsi_m took us around to the spine that runs up the side of Super Bowl, which we had just watched a stock Jimny easily complete. I was following well but then disaster.
I lost his track on the spine, only by the width of a wheel. That’s all it took to lose all of the important things I had going for me. Momentum, speed and safety of the lead track. So eventually gravity had it’s own plan for me that did not involve staying on the tail of the lead. I had no choice but to turn down the dune and head safely to the bottom. I used the radio to call "second try" but when I circled back to join the line I could not see an easy way up. So instead I decided to follow the line of the others but from the lower level and try and catch them on the other side. I think that was a mistake and probably should have just waited for one of the marshalls to pick me up from where I lost the track. I ended up back where we started at the bottom of Super Bowl, where @David found me and guided me back to the convoy who was waiting patiently for me. Sorry guys .
I think the marshalls were picking up that the newbies were getting a little sloppy at this point and as we were near the finish time for the drive they decided to take us from there over some slower & technical dunes on our way out.
Another unforgettable drive.
Thanks for the opportunity @alshamsi_m and the support @David, @Brett & @Tomvanhouten. And well done to the rest of our convoy
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2022 10:48 am
by giorgio
Hi All,
Let's do it again was a repeat drive in the same area as Long time no see. As a continuation of the previous drive we again repeated the fundamentals of early off-reading skills including radio communication, proper distance and momentum.
Always driving with the skills of the newest members of the VIP convoy we practiced climbing mid size and small dunes.
The convoy had difficulties early on the drive with signs of improvement as the drive was progressing
The only way to improve is to keep driving and repeating the same tasks over and over again till they become second nature to you.
I would like to thank all the drivers support team and marshals for the wonderful day on the sand and I am looking forward to seeing you all again on the upcoming drives.
Until next time drive safe
Re: Lets Do It Again
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2022 12:10 pm
by galindakis
Hi all.
It was a super fan and nice drive.
We have camped the night before 30 min away from the meeting point.
When I woke up I feel a little bit sleepy but right after climbing the first dune I was perfect. @Shamsi briefing was short, “I’m planing to drive fast”. This are is always challenging because there are thousands of tracks so you could easily get lost. I managed to maintain a good distance so I’m happy about that. After @Tom left the convoy due to a problem, I was driving behind @David and his brand new fj.
This is the first drive I had no mistakes at all and I only suffered a problem in the tire valve while deflating during the drive.
Thanks a lot to @giorgio@Shamsi@rapailo@CARLOSS@mpodroid@PedroLeal and all the crew and members for this fantastic drive.
Looking forward to driving as much as I can and my bike races allow me.