Where the Streets have no name

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Isfand
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I always look forward to Almost drives. This is my 8th drive and boy oh boy it’s Almost Winter :)
I was in [mention]Solmaz[/mention] ‘s convoy which was the 5+ convoy. 18 cars in the Convoy. It was a train... in love
It was a very technical area and if you are towards the end of the convoy you get the most beaten up/mashed up soft sand Psmiley
The first stuck was a white Patrol. If you are reading this.. I will remember your name next time. Sorry :) It was an easy pull but immediately after the recovery there was a pop out. “Learning Time”. We were taught that if you do lose your pin while removing it you can always use the valve cap which will get you close the road so you can chase up for a pin.
The convoy continued and we kept getting sticky situations but nothing major. It was all in the fun and learning.
We had a mid drive debrief where all drivers were told to keep distance so we can pick up a faster pace.
I had new tires to try out and AT (All Terrain) tires make all the difference in the sand. The traction, the stability and the confidence made all the difference.
We waited for a driver to fill up his tires and the rest of the convoy was instructed to get to the end point. Guess what... We were then led by McCloud ( [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] ) to the finish point. The radio communication was “Jock I am taking the easy way to the exit. I am not giving the convoy Technical now”
Looool! eyes on fire easy for McCloud not for the others. Hahaha!!
The drive ended and we filled up. Ready to hit back home. And the lengend of the McCloud continues...

Until next time. Thanks to [mention]Solmaz[/mention] for leading and the immense support of the others. No one is left behind!

Over & Out!
AbdulRahman
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Arrived at 7.15 which allowed enough time to connect with fellow drivers , this was my 8th drive and it was great to see the usual crowd we started with and meet new people

I got stuck doing straight crests twice today , trying to find the balance between going nice and easy and pushing the car , a chat with [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] suggested more of the latter and resolved the issue for the next 90 mins which included our part of the convoy drifting away to end up being led by alshamsi through what he suggested is a non technical part of the course ; and technical it was !

Driving at the end of a long convoy also meant we were left with chewed up tracks that made the drive even more challenging , I think ill move up the next time to make sure I get more technical skills rather than the “fun” we were having at the end of the convoy

Learned how to balance a car that is not laying flat for a popout fix (which I knew this before) and how a valve cap can work if one loses his valve core

Thanks to [mention]Solmaz[/mention] , [mention]JockJKU[/mention] for leading a great drive , thanks [mention]Ghanem[/mention] for helping with recovery (twice) and for [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] for the tips as usual
Haani
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This was my first drive with the Patrol and also my first drive without getting a single stuck. Did have a couple of second and fourth tries. 😊

After reaching the meeting point, [mention]AbdulRahman[/mention] showed me how to remove the fuse for the ABS and TCS and [mention]Solmaz[/mention] helped me inflate one of my tires which I had deflated too much with her very handy on-board compressor.

[mention]Daggerfall[/mention] led the 5- convoy through a fantastic track with technical bits. I was hesitant to push the car too hard as it still hasn't completed its break in period but with constant support from [mention]Barish[/mention] and [mention]Booy[/mention] who was also driving a patrol today 😁, I was able to make it through at the same time learn about the lower limits of my car like finding just enough momentum to get across a crest.

There was 1 particular long dune face where I was the first to get stuck in. The chewed up tracks combined with my hesitation to stick my foot in resulted in having to try it 4 times. [mention]Booy[/mention] and [mention]Barish[/mention] took away that hesitation quickly and since then, it was smooth sailing.

As usual, this drive was an amazing experience. I had a smile on my face throughout the drive and look forward to many more of these drives!

Thank you to the Almost team. See you soon!
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Daggerfall
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Hi Almosters,

This is one of the untouched areas of Dubai, a beautiful desert where you can find small to midsize dunes mixed of technical areas and really soft sand.

I was leading the second convoy. The plan of making a 10 minute relaxing drive and throw them something technical and enjoy the desert while watching worked like a clock you're kidding, right grin

Thanks to our support team they helped our fresh members to learn how to tackle those obstacles and made sure they were always safe during this training.

[mention]Barish[/mention] He was everywhere! Didn't rest till the end of the drive you're kidding, right
[mention]Mark B[/mention] and [mention]Booy[/mention] They watched over the convoy and made sure everything went smoothly
[mention]presa[/mention] [mention]Red Baron[/mention] [mention]giorgio[/mention] Thanks for the second lead and sweeping.

It was another great morning in the desert and hope you guys enjoyed it!.

P.S. Thanks to our members who understood the importance of following the convoy rules for their and other members safety and did the necessary corrections which as mentioned in our short briefing during the drive " Safety is our number one priority! "

See you all soon

Best Regards
Last edited by Daggerfall on Sat Nov 10, 2018 3:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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alshamsi_m
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Hello Everyone

We had the lead by [mention]Solmaz[/mention] who did great job thumbsup having in mind leading newbies with 5 drives or above in our club in a convoy's size 18 cars still the drive as challenging and interesting at the same time.

Towards the end of the drive we had to split the convoy to two parts . The lucky ones who reached the safety on time, the other part was the left behind members, well we don't leave anybody behind. I had to choose between 4 km against the wind direction or 1.2 km technical area before having an easy exit.

At the end of the drive and I was inflating my tyres and got this awkward moment

[mention]Agalon[/mention] is asking me : Where is my wife ?? brigade.baka-wolf.com ... We had that longe quite moment then I replied: She used the main exit , we took a shortcut grin

Thanks all for another successful drive

Cheers
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Petr
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This was my first second lead role after getting to intermediates. [mention]Solmaz[/mention] gave me a couple of instructions - mainly to keep distance to be able to stop the convoy when she gets into trouble exploring the track. It happened a few times, and we handled it safely. Once I Iost the visual contact with her, when I crossed a dune and got into a canyon between dunes. I followed the track I thought was her’s to reconnect, but soon I realized I get lost and I stopped the convoy. Solmaz didn’t hear my calls from that point, but fortunately [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] helped and we reconnected.

It was a nice track perfectly suited for 5+ and at times we got to a good pace interrupted only by a few pop outs and other breaks. Good job Solmaz!
Last edited by Petr on Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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presa
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Hi Almosters!

I was at [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] convoy with our 5- members.

After the great camping the night before I was willing to have a good trip with our Marshals.

I was surprised by the presence of [mention]Mark B[/mention] one of our Marshals that moves out of UAE! Great to see you Mark!!

The are were we were going to drive is challenging by it’s small dunes but soft sand and several ditches.

We had a relaxed drive with some technical areas that everyone could learn about their cars and some soft sand areas where we could learn new skills.

Everybody did great and hope that could learn and polish their skills.

Hoping to see you guys next weekend!

Remember that although 10- can’t drive on Egg and Basket it is a great challenge and is mandatory to be upgraded, so I recommend you go - as I will do - as support or as watcher!!

See you all on the sand!
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RubiKhan90
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Hi Fellow Members!

It was my 2nd drive with Almost and as always, I was really excited to hit the sand.

I arrived for the drive a bit late as I left the camp at 3am and was operating on 2 hours of sleep. I was the last one in our convoy which was lead by [mention]Daggerfall[/mention].

We had a second briefing shortly after the drive started to remind everyone to keep a safe distance with one another.

We had some minor sticky situations where people were attempting second tries but the marshal's were always patient and ready to help everyone.

The location was beautiful and the desert was untouched. It was a great drive for everyone to learn and explore the capabilities of their cars at a our newbie level.

I can't wait to join you guys again.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead of them!

Thank you once again for an amazing weekend.
Zahran [Rubi]Khan
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JockJKU
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Morning All!

Firstly, thank you to [mention]giorgio[/mention] for lending me his Jeep so that i could still drive!

Secondly, big thanks to [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] for stepping in and leading the convoy that i should have taken!!

We met near the road, mostly everyone was on time and we split the drivers into 2 convoys. It was pretty much split to be 5- and 5+ with a few guys being shuffled around to balance the size of the convoys.

I was with [mention]Solmaz[/mention] in the 5+ convoy, the track she picked was very nice for this level. Technical and good fun! We had a number of issues, but mainly all were caused by distance so this is something to work on in future drives.

I had a great time, and thanks to all that turned up to support and make sure this drive happened, even though there were many car problems behind the scenes the team came together and overcame them!

Till next time,

Jock
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giorgio
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Where the streets Have No Name.

After 2 weeks off as a result of a health issue, i returned to the desert hungry for action.
The night before the drive, I attended the camp just to drive back home and return the next morning for the drive.

Early morning i arrived to find several new members as well as older ones preparing for the morning event.

The briefing was given as always and the drivers were split in two convoys.

First convoy was led by [mention]Solmaz[/mention] and the second by [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] .

I was instructed to support [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] convoy as a second lead but i requested from the lead Marshall to allow me to sweep instead of been second lead since i had no flag ( as a result of lending the Jeep to [mention]JockJKU[/mention] I had to drive Titanic, something that i have not done for the last 7 months) and i had just realize that the night before. Thank you [mention]presa[/mention] for taking over and i hope that this was not the reason that your little princess got car sick as I know that you had to follow the truck religiously)

The drive was technical and the convoy early in the drive had several issues to a point, that the leaders had to interrupt the drive and give a new briefing highlighting the shortfalls of the drives:

a) following too close (SZR on a Thursday evening)
b) luck of communication
c) not following the exact truck

The drive continued with some of the above mentioned issues been addressed from some of the drives, where others still struggled to comply,

In these early drives it is vital for all new drivers to adapt good habits specially for issues related to safety. Almost 4x4 is well known for its safety record and all leaders are working hard to maintain the safety standards at any cost.

The challenges that the drivers faced (please considered the fact that this drive was a 5- which means we had members with just one drive and others with 4) where the usual suspects: multiple tries, stucks, checking tire pressure and in one occasion loosing some car parts.

Overall it was a nice technical truck that gave the opportunity to all drivers to practice and either review and improve their driving skills (older drivers) or been introduced to new challenges and how to tackle them (for the new comers)

Closing my report I would like to thank the lead car as well as the entire support team that put the effort to insure that all members will have a great drive and we all will enter and exit as a team.

Looking forward to the next event. Until then drive safe.
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