Fury Road

User avatar
Johanna
Golden Member
Golden Member
Posts: 192
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 8:04 pm
Location: Dubai
Has thanked: 1 time

Hi all,

I just reached home after the drive so I want to write the report as long as my memories are still fresh and clear...
After the drive in Umm Al Oush two weeks ago with its high dunes and a challenging track I felt somehow relieved when I heard the drive area is Al Faqaa - familiar terrain, medium sized dunes - perfect opportunity to practice the skills for a fresh intermediate. Psmiley

[mention]JockJKU[/mention] pointed out in the briefing that this is exactly the purpose of the drive- practising skills after we played in the big dunes for two consecutive weeks.
The track was great, a side crest festival with some nice arches and technical spots. in love
After I was really nervous in the beginning, I realized after around 15 minutes that I could handle the level without getting stressed, but just with the right level of adrenaline.
For some reason I still cannot believe that I made it to intermediate level,
slow but confidence increased after a positive feedback during a debriefing and so did the fun. Side crestings starts to feel more and more natural and this technique increases the fun so much, I was smiling the whole drive. (If this was not visible, my mind smiled for sure) grin

I am still in the process to figure out what is the best line for a patrol to approach a crest. I did not face difficulties in the higher crests, but the ones with steep and short climbs were a bit tricky. I had a few second tries at these kind of dunes, trying to follow FJ´s line - turned out that it is much easier for a patrol to do it like a jeep - climbing more straight, thank you [mention]Barish[/mention] for showing me the line.

On our way back we enjoyed a beautiful sunset - together wit al lot of safari cars around us who obviously found another playground after the closing of the famous spots in Sharjah.

This was one of the best drives I had, thank you [mention]JockJKU[/mention] for this, great job. thumbsup
And thanks to marshals and advanced drivers for keeping an eye on us and everyone safe.

Have a great week ahead and see you all at the anniversary have a nice day
BR, Johanna

If it excites you and scares you at the same time, it probably means you should do it.
User avatar
Daggerfall
Marshal
Marshal
Posts: 341
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:23 am
Has thanked: 163 times
Been thanked: 142 times

It was a nice afternoon at Al Faqa with fellow Almosters. Thanks [mention]JockJKU[/mention] for the organization and lead and all supported and participated

Hope you guys like the photos grin



https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater
Last edited by Daggerfall on Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
" I feel the need, the need for Speed " cool

Drives Black FJ " VF-1 Valkyrie " , Mob: 050 725 09 31
JockJKU
Club Member
Club Member
Posts: 231
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2016 5:47 pm

Daggerfall wrote: Sat Dec 08, 2018 11:28 am
Hope you guys like the photos grin
Thanks [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] great pics!!

Hi all!

I guess my briefing might have been a bit short and sharp but I guess I was trying to say that huge dunes and crazy drives are awesome, but unless you have the right skills and technique they can be crazy dangerous!

The aim of this drive was to go to a relatively safe area and focus on the basics! I think it was mission accomplished and a few lessons were learned, including for myself!!

Thanks to all who put their faith in me to lead, to those that supported me all week in prep and pep talks, and to the drivers for making it a fun afternoon!!

Till next time!

Jock
User avatar
Barish
Marshal
Marshal
Posts: 212
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:54 am
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 50 times

Faqa is one of my fav areas for an intermediate drive, especially to practice site crests in both directions.

Thanks to [mention]JockJKU[/mention] for the organization of the drive and all marshalls for the eyes on the convoy.

Dont forget your improvement during your chg; otherwise, chg has no meaning..!

Barish
User avatar
Bu Zayed
Intermediate
Intermediate
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 4:46 am
Location: Sharjah

“Fury Road” is a drive I won’t forget.

Since I don't get a lot of off days when the 10+ drivers are, and since I had this Friday off I missed driving with the club so I asked Bu salem if he can take me as a passenger on the intermediate drive, but he said his car still at the garage. So I offered him to drive my car and I can be passenger in my car. He agreed. So I came to the drive as planned. He told me to start deflating so I did. When I was deflating I heard Solmaz telling me to “be safe first then have fun”. So I was thinking why would I be safe if I am just the passenger! Then Jock came to me and told me that I will be driving part of the drive and Bu salem the other part, so I said ok. Then when we gathered for the brief, Bu salem turned to me and said “BTW you will drive and I will be a passenger with Booy". I was like “Oooh that’s why Solmaz said be safe :-p “

I was excited to drive as this drive concentrate on mid size dunes side cresting which I felt I need to practice more. Plus it’s inter driver which is challenging and I love a challenge:-D

The drive was nice as Jock was the lead followed by Giorgio and I was the 3rd car for the entire drive which gave me a better look on how two jeeps ride the dunes , one is Explorer and one is intermediate (what else I can ask for :-D )

The more higher cresting we take the more I come to know the capability of my car and my skills. If someone was filming me he will find the video as education video since I was repeating what the marshals always tell us how to take the side crest smooth and easy and I was talking to myself (Right angle approach, two tires on the other side of the crest, stay for 1 o2 sec then move the other tires in a smooth angle down the dune ) lol. It did help a lot as towards the end I was so comfortable side cresting. Let me tell you all, listen to what the marshals say they know better.

Some at the drive asked me if this is an exam or not, I said I don't know honestly as I was hungry for a drive and I treated this drive as another drive with music on and soft drink just enjoying my time with my 2nd family .

Towards the end we reached an area full of safari companies cars and many tourists on foot. The area was so crowded with a big numbers of tracks which confused our members and made the area as a danger zone. So Bu Salm asked Jock to take us out.

It was a nice drive, I inflated my tires, thanked Jock and Bu Salem for giving me the opportunity to drive in an intermediate drive and left.
Then at the night Johanna PM me saying Mabrook and I was like “Thanks but Mabrook on what?” She said check your profile I think you have been upgraded. So I looked and I was like “Whaaaaat that is amazing “ didn't really expect to be upgraded. Then minutes after that The announcement came out of my upgrade :-D

So thanks my 2nd family and Marshals, Explorers, Advanceds, Intermediates, Newbies and crew for all the help and support.

Let’s see you all on the sand ;-)
User avatar
giorgio
Marshal
Marshal
Posts: 450
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:04 pm
Has thanked: 671 times
Been thanked: 476 times

Furry Road.

And what a furry road it was.

So lets take things from the beginning and report on this awesome drive.
It is been a while that i have been complaining that i am not happy with my current set up of gear ratio (4:56) and my tire set up (315 70 17) so after consulting (off line as the topic on tires has been discussed to death) i got my new set up (same ration but 285's Coopers ) and i was anxious to try them on and see the results.

On Friday morning after waking up and while I was enjoying my morning coffee i had a short chat with [mention]Petr[/mention] and we both agreed that will be nice if he joins me as a passenger on the afternoon drive. So we both got together and we arrived to the meeting point on time and after deflating we spend time chatting with the other members.

For this drive i was more exited for several different reasons. First i had a new set up and i was curious to see it my investment will pay off secondly the lead car was a Jeep something that I had not seen since I was a newbie following [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] and last but not least [mention]Solmaz[/mention] had raised the bar so high on the latest drive that i was wondering how the big Scotsman will pull this through especially on the selected area which was providing a landscape of mid to small side dunes with the sand not been particular soft.


[mention]JockJKU[/mention] called all drivers for a briefing and he was short to the point and sharper than any crest i have ridden. His approach to briefing the drivers was simple. We ( meant the Marshall's in general at least this is how i conceived it ) have noticed in previous drives unsafe driving so I would like to bring you back to the basics of side cresting and work on your technique versus big arches and high dunes.

To my opinion that was a bold move from our explorer because he was actually was putting all intermediates on the spot challenging the fact that our driving skills, convoy discipline, radio communication, reflexes etc, was under question. I was hopping that we will stand our ground and deliver a flawless drive proving to all that we are masters of the basic concepts and we deserve to be on the big dunes doing what we all love most climb high and big.

The order of the convoy was [mention]JockJKU[/mention] as the lead car followed by me as a second lead with [mention]Bu Zayed[/mention] been third with the rest of the convoy following and [mention]Johanna[/mention] taking over the swipers duties.

The drive started on a fast paste and it was not more than a hand full of dunes where i had to call in my first second try. I said first because there were several other that followed.

The dunes were mid size the sand was reasonable soft but the crests where coming one after the other like drops on a raining afternoon.
Between keeping an eye on the lead car (speed, approach angle, etc, ) my rear view mirror ( make sure i am not going to lose my fellow driver) and trying to understand the new behavior of my new set up I had my hands full..

The weaknesses of the drivers in general were relieved in the first 20 min proving for one more time that our Marshall's and explorers know exactly what they are talking about.

The convoy lost control, we were all over the place, second tries were been announced on the radio left and right. As I was in the front of the convoy I could not really tell how bad the situation was but when [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] called for re-briefing I knew that we are far from doing OK .

[mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] briefing started with "the club has invested time and money ( I am sure you all understand how the money is related to us here since this is not a paid service) to make you confident drivers and you are an investment that we don"t want to loose" Right there i understood the severity of the problem.

The briefing went on with our founder indicating to all drivers individually in detail their strengths and weaknesses. The group was quite with sad faces looking at the sand. I am sure if not all most of us felt the heat.

The drive continued with [mention]JockJKU[/mention] keep pushing us on every crest he will see in front of him. At one point i realized that I was actually experiencing a one to one private side cresting lesson.

From that point on i started behaving accordingly. I focused on not what I know but rather on what I can learn and improve (as my fellow [mention]Barish[/mention] always says). Fine tuning my technique and actual practice different ways of doing the crest was now my main focus. I was so glad that i could do that without having the anxiety of the danger that the high dunes are presenting.

Soon enough we were called for an other re-briefing. [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] this time did not do alot of talking but rather chose to present a convoy order change. It felt like the chef was not happy with the results ones more and was trying to find the right convoy chemistry to balance it out.

Back on the dunes again with [mention]JockJKU[/mention] hammering the crests, the area started changing landscape vegetation, hidden ditches, double steps, sudden change direction of the crests and all these needed to be tackled on a fast paste.

To make things worse the sun was going down and it was coming in our eyes distracting the drivers even more. I don"t know if that was one more challenge from our lead car but the fact that the end of the drive had the convoy driving against the sun it did not make the drive any easier.

At one point we found our convoy surrounded by safari clubs and other off-roaders, so [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] asked [mention]JockJKU[/mention] to drive us to the exit point.

We all manage to exit with only our ego damaged. I am sure that driving home I was not the only one thinking that going back to the basics was a necessity and a wise call from our leaders.

I would like to thank the organizer and the support advance drivers for always keeping an eye on us and providing an umbrella of safety. I am sure that we will come back stronger and better as a whole on the next drive and we will be ready for the new challenges that the Marshall's will have ready for us. I am sure that this is not over yer.

Till next time drive safe and i will see you soon.

P.S [mention]Mohanad[/mention] I hope all is ok and it was just you been tiered. [mention]Issa[/mention] he now owe us big time and it will not be just lamp chops this time .
The Wolf is not concerned with the opinion of the sheep
User avatar
presa
Marshal
Marshal
Posts: 370
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2016 7:52 pm
Has thanked: 563 times
Been thanked: 256 times

giorgio wrote: Sun Dec 09, 2018 9:00 am
So lets take things from the beginning and report on this awesome drive.
It is been a while that i have been complaining that i am not happy with my current set up of gear ratio (4:56) and my tire set up (315 70 17) so after consulting (off line as the topic on tires has been discussed to death) i got my new set up (same ration but 285's Coopers ) and i was anxious to try them on and see the results.
How did you compare the 315 vs. 285 after this drive?
User avatar
giorgio
Marshal
Marshal
Posts: 450
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:04 pm
Has thanked: 671 times
Been thanked: 476 times

Smaller size made my second gear way stronger and my 1st totally useless traction Is better on the steep short climbs. I hope that is going to be the case on the big ones too
Last edited by giorgio on Mon Dec 10, 2018 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
The Wolf is not concerned with the opinion of the sheep
User avatar
Scorpio
Marshal
Marshal
Posts: 221
Joined: Fri May 06, 2016 12:05 pm
Location: Dubai
Has thanked: 275 times
Been thanked: 167 times

Hello Everyone,

Although I attended this drive as a passenger but I think I owe my trip report to you all thumbsup

I was [mention]SINGH[/mention] passenger and got the opportunity to view the things from outside the convoy. [mention]JockJKU[/mention] gave the briefing and reiterated that we are here to learn & practice to make ourselves better in terms of our skills. He mentioned that we should learn how to perform side-cresting safely and should know the best angle and momentum to do it on small and medium sized dunes. The aim was to learn the trick and practice it often so that it becomes the habit. One might escape from an incident while doing it in an unsafe way on small or medium dunes but it is extremely risky on big dunes where the margin of error is none.

JockJKU led the drive and [mention]giorgio[/mention] was the 2nd lead and [mention]Johanna[/mention] was to sweep the convoy. [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention], Marshals and Advance drivers were to float around but Bu Salem asked the Marshals to be at the sides of the convoy and Advance to float at the end of the convoy hence [mention]Booy[/mention] having Bu Salem as a passenger, [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] in [mention]Shah[/mention] car as a passenger, [mention]Daggerfall[/mention], and [mention]Solmaz[/mention] with [mention]Agalon[/mention] as a passenger hovered around the convoy and Singh and [mention]Barish[/mention] positioned themselves at the end of the convoy as floaters. Too many passengers in this drive grin

The drive was fast and packed with side cresting on one dune after the other yuush. Jock made it a point to provide all the Inters enough opportunities to practice side cresting and I am sure everyone would have felt it the same way. As explained in the briefing, it was not just about going to the other side of the crest rather it was about doing it the text book way playingsmiley. If at first time one cannot do it then learn from it and do it again properly rather than doing it unsafely on the first time with the mindset to just cross the crest anyhow. It’s fun to do side-crest but its about learning it the way our Marshals have told us because these small things that we do in our drives eventually become our habits and if they are not correct from the beginning then they could lead to unwanted consequences in future not safe for the driver and car both.

After the first 20-25 min of the drive, we had a very important briefing called by Bu Salem; what he said were GOLDEN WORDS in my opinion. He told that once a newbie becomes an intermediate then he/she becomes an investment because the Marshals put a lot of time, energy, money into mentoring him and the club don’t want to lose him. Bu Salem informed everyone of the areas where they need to focus to improve and also highlighted the after effects if those weaknesses are left unattended. For me, it simply shows how much he cares about everyone and shows his vision to see us as a better and safe off roaders. The drive continued after this briefing and Jock did not disappoint anyone for not providing more crests to cross. After some time, Bu Salem called for another briefing and this time the convoy cars order was changed. Doing a side crest when you are towards the beginning of the convoy versus when you are at the end of the convoy have their own specifics as what I have learned from the Marshals. Even though by the time the end of the convoy reaches the crest it usually gets flattened by the front cars so, comparatively it is easier to ride on it, but on the other hand the approach area gets chewed up also which is not the case when you are at the front of the convoy.

It was a great drive by Jock and provided a lot of learning opportunities; there were many second attempts during the drive and on few points the drivers were advised by Marshals to focus and apply the techniques properly. The drive ended at the same area where we had started from. Towards the evening there were many safari cars and tourists in this area which was a little surprising as this area was known to be away from safari activities previously. I had a good time being as a passenger and enjoyed the drive.

I would like to congratulate [mention]Bu Zayed[/mention] for his promotion. Welcome to the fun level; keep learning and stay safe.

Hope to see you all at the Anniversary!

Cheers thumbsup
Scorpio
+971 55 5804488
Drives a grey FJ 'Everest'
The race for excellence has no finish line!
User avatar
Booy
Golden Member
Golden Member
Posts: 258
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Dubai
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Well done Jock on your first intermediate lead - it was a great success thumbsup
@Booy

Blue FJ Cruiser, with an Atlas on the door
Post Reply