Solo Challenge Reborn

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Saeed FJ
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giorgio wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:13 pm
Petr wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 5:03 pm Let me say first: this was an amazing and completely different experience.

I was driving to the meeting early morning in the pre-dawn dark and passing thick fog patches. Since I abandoned my FJ I had been too worried about the size of my JK tank so I decided to go and take petrol at the nearest station to the meeting point that was actually 9 km past it, so it made me to drive another 18 km forth and back. I also filled a 20L jerrycan scared. Later that day @Agalon explained what I should have realized by myself - even if I consider 20l/100km consumption I would be out of the desert several times before emptying the tank. Yet I arrived to the camp on time.

At the briefing I took away a couple of important points @alshamsi_m mentioned:
1) it is not a competition, the time to the destination doesn't matter
2) don't drive beyond your capabilities, don't stretch yourself
3) you will be a different person after this drive (which @giorgio mimicked promptly :-D)

I was grateful for this information. I decided to maximize the enjoyment - I stopped at several view points to enjoy the scenery in total loneliness and take a couple of pictures before proceeding. I also didn't follow exactly the track, when I saw an interesting crest or a "virgin" sand, I wen't on that route. Sometimes the excitement brought me quite far from the given track and I had to give it a large correction. This is why I didn't meet may cars on the way - just @Scorpio, @Saeed FJ and a Jeep couple - I suppose it was @giorgio and @Issa. I thought Giorgio is such a social person that he couldn't simply help himself to make the solo in the way it actually honours it's meaning :-D.

This way i got to the middle of a huge bowl. It was somewhere between AS1 and AS4. With heart beating I made a few cycles inside, when the devil started to 'whisper in my ear "Hey buddy, go and make a side crest on the top, you can make it!" . But the idea was too much "shit in my pants" and also I replayed @alshamsi_m's voice "don't do anything beyond your capabilities" so I told devil f*ck you and instead made another circle and exited at the bottom.

I felt I played really hard, and all the excitement and adrenaline made me tired, so for getting to Old Lady I chose the easiest path I could. Here I met many family members playing at the wall. I took a break, got a snack and somewhat refreshed I continued in more playful mode to the end. Again there were many interesting dunes and bowls, but I felt I had enough and didn't want to make a mistake at the very end.

Then I spotted the trees and most of the members already sitting in the shade. Knowing the fun is getting to the end, I was looking to some last challenges, and I found a razor sharp dune of a middle size that was untouched, at the end of desert before the plateau. For a moment I thought - don't be silly, if you get stuck there, you will be displayed to the eyes of the whole group, don't show off! But the devil saw a second chance and said "Go, you are skilled enough to handle it".

So I climbed up this beautiful untouched dune that appeared to be a heap of super soft sand and in a second I ended up sitting on the top helplessly like a crippled duck. The next second I heard in the radio @giorgio, who was comfortably sitting under the palm with others and puffing from his midwakh, "Petr, engage A-Track, hahaha". F*cking devil (to make it clear, I don't mean Giorgio ;-))

Thanks to @Scorpio and @presa the duck was pulled down and limped on it's own towards the trees.

The drive was a fantastic experience, and I truly appreciate having the chance to experience it. Driving alone is a very different, I'd dare to say a spiritual experience. Thank you marshalls @Abu Jimmy, @JockJKU, @rashid, @Daggerfall and @Solmaz and the non-marshall ;-) @alshamsi_m for us to have the chance to be there.
Although social it was not me. I did not see another driver until I arrived at AS 25
I think he mean al khateb and ziko
Because they were together and i saw them couple of time
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Petr wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 5:03 pm This is why I didn't meet may cars on the way - just @Scorpio, @Saeed FJ and a Jeep couple - I suppose it was @giorgio and @Issa.
The Jeep Duo was our founders @Zico and @AlKhatib keeping an eye on all of us :) .
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[quote=Petr post_id=50614 time=1549112604 user_id=12084]

So I climbed up this beautiful untouched dune that appeared to be a heap of super soft sand and in a second I ended up sitting on the top helplessly like a crippled duck. The next second I heard in the radio @giorgio, who was comfortably sitting under the palm with others and puffing from his midwakh, "Petr, engage A-Track, hahaha". F*cking devil (to make it clear, I don't mean Giorgio ;-))

[mention]giorgio[/[mention]giorgio[/mention]

XD XD XD
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Hi Almosters,

The morning started with a very foggy ride to the meeting point. Especially the truck road was challenging due to low visibility, no lights and no lines on the road.

When we reached the camp it was nice to see all the old faces were there. I think this kind of challenges attracts everybody! (Noted)

We were assigned to the solo challenge and floating through the points. In order to have a better observation, I parked my car to the top of the biggest dune where I could sit on the tip of it and see the area 360 and start watching. It was interesting to see different styles and different approaches to the challenge by our members (All Noted Psmiley ) As I said at the end of the drive If you didnt skip and enjoyed playing in the nice dunes located on your way by our organizers you are a winner. It was a beautiful track and missing those dunes would be sad

It was great to see the development of our members and their becoming competent offroaders who can drive anywhere independently! without following a bumper!

Thanks to the organizer, our marshalls and all participants (All of you did great!) for this great day and looking forward to seeing you at the next upcoming challenges!

Best Regards
Last edited by Daggerfall on Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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It was a long drive but worth all after we have seen the area and the dunes. It was also nice to see the high participation in such a challenge..

We had a very positive briefing from [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] m and [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] my stating that it is a challange but not a race but a fun event. I love this game..!

The challenge started; all to be alone. No convoys, no leads, no sweepers, no floaters..Also no stucks, no recovery needs, no second tries and it was getting boring for advance drivers😁..I decided to get stuck so added a little excitement, [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] came to me for recovery and we had a little excitement🤣..On a serious note, all drivers were perfect👍👍👍

Dont forget; real change always comes with improvement..!

See you on the sand at the earliest.

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Daggerfall wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:07 pm
Petr wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 5:03 pm
So I climbed up this beautiful untouched dune that appeared to be a heap of super soft sand and in a second I ended up sitting on the top helplessly like a crippled duck. The next second I heard in the radio @giorgio, who was comfortably sitting under the palm with others and puffing from his midwakh, "Petr, engage A-Track, hahaha". F*cking devil (to make it clear, I don't mean Giorgio ;-))

@giorgio[/[mention]giorgio

XD XD XD
Seriously!!! You will put this on me. I was just conveying the message
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Saeed FJ wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 7:21 pm I think he mean al khateb and ziko
Because they were together and i saw them couple of time
I saw them on a difficult spot on top of a dune... went close to them, looking for a rescue point... when I was 200m from them I notice that they were out of the car to chitchat... so I went far away since there won't be any rescue point with them around :)
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Hello almosters,

For me, it was a memorable and enjoyable day in Sweihan this Friday. Solo Challenge was a wonderful event addressing every level (Newbie, Inter, Advance) at the same time yuush .

Myself and [mention]Shah[/mention] and [mention]SINGH[/mention] (who was Shah’s passenger) started our journey to the meeting point together from the Outlet Mall and just before taking the Sweihan exit on Dubai-Al Ain road we were joined by [mention]haider alnuaimi[/mention] as well.

When we reached the dirt road and stepped into the sand we saw many almosters deflating to reach to the meeting point - the camp site. Shah did not stop there and kept rolling and I also followed and the adrenaline started to kick-in. The only advantage of un-deflated tires is that you don’t have to worry about pop-outs and can keep the revs high even on turns… arr.

The camp was buzzing and it was so good to meet you all. But my day seems not to start fully until I get the coffee from [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention]. But this time, I got late and the coffee got finished in the coffee maker…..but Bu Salem never disappoints and he had his flask full of it from which I got my dose and the day was saved… thumbsup

Well, the action started with the attendance by [mention]Solmaz[/mention] and then the briefing by Bu Salem and [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention]. The earlier reports mentioned about the briefing already so, I will not repeat the same but few things that I would like to re-iterate here are that the message for this drive from the Marshals was to:
  • Stay safe
  • Enjoy your drive
  • Do what you KNOW you CAN do and not what you THINK you can do
  • It’s a strategy game to cover the entire distance (and distance really mean distance here) so, don’t over stress yourself early
  • Get the most out of those skills that you have learnt; and
  • Don’t experiment anything new today!
The Inters and Advance started in an alphabetical order and [mention]JockJKU[/mention] was sending every Advance after every 3-4 Inters, I think. I started easy and had the plans to enjoy the middle part of the drive which was amongst some big dunes. I am familiar with this area and knew about some big bowls where you can enjoy your full day until you run out of your adrenaline so, wanted to keep the energy saved for those :twisted:. As per the plan, I kept the moving and saw [mention]ALKHATIB[/mention] and [mention]zico[/mention] many times on the way who were watching over us. After reaching the desired area, I started doing what I like the most! Climb on highest dunes in the area and then do the side crest then come back and do it again – practice to master it but don’t forget to enjoy flattening those crests :lol: :P . In one of the bowl, when I ‘floored it’ to climb I saw Shah and Daggerfall; they probably were waiting for me to finish so they can also get their share thumbsup.

In this drive, the Advance were allowed to rescue Inters to earn points in case, they find anyone stuck; but I was not fortunate enough to find any during the drive secret laugh . Saw [mention]Youssef.Abdelhady[/mention], [mention]Yazan Ali[/mention], [mention]Petr[/mention], [mention]Raja[/mention] and [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] in the middle but our Inters are quite good and did not provide any chance to me to earn a point thumbsup . After playing enough, I started moving to the Naqrah and kept meeting other almosters on the way. It is not possible for me to be at Naqrah and don’t play so, enjoyed sometime there grin . From Naqrah, I gave the Megatron to Singh and became the passenger. When we were near to reach the end point, the Tree, we saw Petr getting stuck on a crest. This was our chance to open the account :D . But since Singh was driving my Megatron so, I think Singh earned 0.5 point and I earned 0.5 point – up to the Marshals to decide.. :lol: :lol:

After having some chit-chat at the end point, all the Inters and Advance left for the day and I was left at the end point with Raja, Shah and Singh. I think after half an hour, the newbie convoy with all the Marshals also reached to the end point and Abu Jimmy checked the attendance again if everyone is out of the desert. After ensuring that the desert is clean and all the participants have completed the track, Bu Salem lead the convoy to the road to finish the drive.

In the morning briefing, Bu Salem told everyone that you will be different person at the end of the drive. I can say that it holds true for me; driving alone in Sweihan irrespective of the level you drove while you were alone, irrespective if you got stuck or not and irrespective if you self-recovered or got recovered, it’s a big jump in the confidence and skills yuush .

I would like to thank all the Founders and Marshals for this amazing experience and would like to congratulate all the participants.

Until next time, stay safe…

See you soon in the sand.

Cheers 8-)
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Hey Almosters,

I am a really big fan of solo drives and always very excited to participate in them. It allows you to test your skills and realise how much you have learnt from driving with the club. (Spoiler Alert: You learn ALOT)

Although there were around 40-50 ppl coming for all the action on Friday, only ~8 of us camped the previous night. The night and morning were so cold and humid, I could barely get out of my sleeping bag. Still, no regrets, I love camping. thumbsup

Fast-forward to action time at starting point, the Intermediates were sent off based on alphabetical name order, meaning I was last to go.

Finally it was my turn, and the fun started. Initially the area was really chewed up due to all the participants before me, but thankfully the playground was massive so in a few minutes I was able to find sections with no tracks at all. ORLY

It is definitely a very exhilarating experience to drive solo in Sweihan. I think what surprised me the most, is how mentally exhausting it is to spend two+ hours deciding your own track (one that is fun but also safe). But I followed [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] advice (It’s not a race), and stopped every now and then for a snack break and to take some pictures. playingsmiley

Overall I had a ton of fun, and can’t wait to do another one of these events again. in love

This drive (like many others with the club) has made me a lot more confident in my driving and navigational skills offroad. yuush

Thank you Marshals for everything you've taught us!!
Also, special thanks to [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] for the GPS training, it was incredibly useful.


See you all soon. pacman
Good Things Come To Those Who Floor It. redbullsmiley
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