Aces High II

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Isfand
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This trip was one from the movies. You know how you see something on TV and then see it in reality and you are literally mesmerized! This was it! Had seen [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] ‘s video and then [mention]Solmaz[/mention] mentioned that it was her favorite area.
I had to get on this trip and lady luck was by my side because the alarm worked for registration.
Calculating the time to get to Remah meant I had to leave at 3:30AM. Was it worth? Read ahead to find out....
Reached meeting point ar 5:47AM and boy was it Hot!!! It was a special kind of hot! The kind of hot we have been experiencing in the city!
HUMIDITY!
In the middle of the desert! And no wind!
But it was ok... because the trip was fast... the air kept moving! Hot matters to me because I like driving with my Windows down! The sound of the engines, tires, sand just make my trip a whole lot worth it!
As I said the dunes were high. The side crests were beautiful and there was a sense of peace. Just us!!
I was the 4th on the convoy, right behind [mention]Johanna[/mention]. [mention]Abu Odai[/mention] was the 2nd lead today while [mention]Yazan Ali[/mention] sweeped for the convoy!

The drive started and the momentum picked up. The convoy moved like a train and We only stopped when 2 cars had a pop out together! With team work this was fixed in no time.
Actually that was the start. We had a couple of popouts today for whatever reason. All different cars.

The area is beautiful! As you get on top of big dunes, all you see is dunes far far away! Just nature and you. [mention]Solmaz[/mention] - Request - would love to go to this area in the Winter again for the part 3 😃

We reached civilization at 10AM where we inflated on the side of Sweihan road.

Things I learned during this trip:
1) Communication is key. When you are doing a 2nd try its important to let everybody know on the radio!
2) More Distance = More Momentum = Ability to stick to the crest and side crest
3) [mention]Solmaz[/mention] hides behind a smile but is fast and furious 😅 This is her first Intermediate trip that I am attending.
4) [mention]Barish[/mention] calls me the guy behind Johanna 😂🤷🏻‍♂️

It was a good good morning!!! And waking up at 3:20AM was worth it!!!!

Thank You [mention]Solmaz[/mention] and all the other Marshals, explorers and Inters. You all make the whole trip worth it!
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Loca
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Dear Almosters,

this drive was really an early drive .. when the clock alarm ringed at 3am was like being slapped in the face O_O

I left home at 3.30am and drove alone for most of the time with just the exception of meeting a few trucks and couple of flashes from the speed radars .. hopefully just an heads up wtfsmilie

When I reached the advised last petrol station finally I met the first friendly and smiling face of [mention]jose[/mention] . Time to refill the car and a jerry can and we reached the meeting point with [mention]Johanna[/mention] and [mention]Rooies[/mention] who we met on the way.

As mentioned by [mention]Isfand[/mention] we got shocked by the humidity which was not expected in the middle of the desert. Temperature was hard to bear and it was only 5.30am melt
Like him I also keep my windows open and yes I like engine roar and sand singing but I also have no choice .. in the Intermediate drives I need every single drop of power from my engine grin

Everybody arrived in time which was a strong indicator of the excitement around this drive. [mention]Solmaz[/mention] delivered a quick briefing and set the car order. She recommended to keep longer distance and I'll come back to the point soon. The 13 cars convoy started to move

Drive was just started and still on a warm up pace and as an appetizer we had few 2nd tries and 2 pop outs at the same time on 2 different cars ORLY

At the beginning of the drive I was struggling with the steep climbs and after some time thinking I realized why .. I was not keeping the right distance. When I realized and I had put more distance between me and the car at the front the music changed and I started to enjoy the fun. I have to keep my speed high and play with momentum as I can't rely on torque and power from the low revs.

I also learned something new about the behavior of my car: usually I switch off the engine when we have a break for rest or recoveries but I realized this practice is increasing the temperature of the engine as when off the cooling system doesn't work. Every time I was restarting the engine the temperature was higher than usual and under these conditions there is power cut that lasts a few minutes until temperature is back to normal. Lesson learned: never switch off the engine during the hot summer drives pacman

The drive was amazing, medium to big sharp dunes, bowls, many technical passages. And never-ending side cresting which are the bread and butter for our drive Leader ... what to say about @Solmaz ... she is a nice and smiling creature who switches into a flying fire-spitting dragon when she grabs the steering wheel of her FJ

In this drive I discovered a new area, I polished side cresting and approach to the most technical maneuvers .. thank you [mention]Solmaz[/mention] and [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] , [mention]Scorpio[/mention] and [mention]Barish[/mention] for all the support and thanks to the fellow Intermediates who are always great company

Looking forward to meeting you soon
take care

PS guys we've to improve on radio communications: some 2nd tries are not called or missing the name of the caller. Let's focus to do better next time
Last edited by Loca on Sun Jun 23, 2019 4:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Gianluca (aka Loca)
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Scorpio
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Hello Everyone,

Thank you [mention]Solmaz[/mention] for keep taking us back to this amazing area. It was a humid morning when we met in the sand, not a common thing for Al Ain you're kidding, right .

Solmaz lead the convoy and offered an interesting track full of challenges with learning opportunities. [mention]Rashidjass[/mention], our guardian angel, was keeping an eye on all of us. Me and [mention]Barish[/mention] were floating around and making sure that the convoy stays as one unit and flows together.

The drive was full of fast paced runs with varying level of side cresting in between. The convoy followed the exact lead car track most of the time but once I saw part of the convoy changing the track and making a new one to avoid a high climb followed by a side crest. Being not only against the convoy rules, creating a new track puts you and the cars at your back at risk at one hand and you also lose the opportunity to learn from that challenge that the lead car has provided you. As we say that if you cannot do it then there is nothing wrong in 2nd try but don’t avoid it – challenge your limits and not limit your challenges yuush . Learn from whatever is being thrown at your direction and improve gradually. The second point that I would like to emphasize is the importance of radio communication which needed some improvement.

Generally, the convoy performed well and it was good to see all flowing smoothly and enjoying their time. We had pop-outs and 2nd tries during the drive and also couple of short breaks to cool down our cars due to hot weather. I hope the convoy gained more experience on side cresting and on having proper distance between cars.

I would like to thank Solmaz for organizing this drive in that area and giving us a bonus area to explore and ending the drive at a new exit point; thanks Rashidjass for guiding us and making us feel protected. Thanks to my buddy Baris, it was fun flowing around with you thumbsup .

Hope to see you soon in the sand..

Cheers!
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Barish
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Very early drive but name and location worth that..What can else make an human wake up that early rather than to go and drive in lovely Remah. The first Remah drive with [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] and Aces High 1st version with [mention]Solmaz[/mention] were still alive in memories.

Unforgettable day of popouts, stucks, second, third tries..despite all intermediates made it successfully with high momentum to the end. Important point is radio comms for the second tries with the car name or driver name to help the leading car and support team to get to know where the convoy is cut and heads to guide.

Thanks to [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] for the eyes on all the convoy and help in my valve fix together with [mention]Scorpio[/mention]. Thanks to [mention]Scorpio[/mention] pushing me to the site crests and high climbs at the end of the drive with one of my tires fully inflated due to a leakage...but psi challenge was accepted and succeeded. cool

Thanks to [mention]Solmaz[/mention] for the 2nd version of the Aces High and helping me to see and verify my Jeep readiness to summer after the pampering done in the week.

Chg is good if accompanied with improvement.

See you on the sand at the earliest.

Barish
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Johanna
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Dear Almosters,

it was my first drive in Remah and wow, an amazing area, I totally understand why it is one of [mention]Solmaz[/mention] favorite areas.
I woke up at 2:45am, even before my alarm XD and left home at 3:30am.
Close to the meeting point I found [mention]Rooies[/mention] who slept in his car Psmiley
and we drove together the last meters to the meeting point.
The weather was not that hot but super humid, I have never experienced this during summer so far from the sea. OSMILEY

After the car preps we started our drive at 6:00am just straight into the huge dunes. The area is similar to Sweihan, it has big and sharp dunes but less bowls than in Sweihan.
I drove as car no. 3 and we started with little warm up which I always appreciate, so you can adjust yourself to the area, the leading style of the Marshal and the driving style of the car right in front of you.

After we drove for around half an hour, it happened that me and second lead car had a simultanious pop out. Same spot, same tire XD
It was a nasty V-ditch, and I realized its nastiness too late and hit it just in the moment when the car in front of me reported a pop out. beaten
But the pop outs got fixed quickly, thanks all for helping.

I would say after the pop outs the real action started. [mention]Solmaz[/mention] gave us all varieties of side crests, and all drivers where challenged to focus and react fast to the situations given. We had high crests, sharp crests, crests with very soft sand and weird shapes, sometimes a mix of all.
Second tries got more frequent, but most of the time the convoy flow nice and smooth in love
As mentioned, there are not many bowls, but Solmaz found one and we drove nearly a full round, sticking high up in the wall. I love that, best part is when you can feel the G-force like in a rollercoaster, this feeling becomes addictive grin
In this drive I could polish my skills and techniques. It is getting easier with every drive to keep the patrol on the wall and climb with minimal difficulties. The drive went very smooth for me in the front, just at the end I had to call in 2 second tries. grin

It was a super nice drive and an important one for me, as I now got proof that I dont need new tires or an expensive suspension system or other mods to keep up with with Fjs or Jeeps. It is all about the right handling and techniques (and tire pressure, I drive on 6 or 7 PSI).

In the middle of the drive we reached a nice playground with beautiful high dunes, and while the convoy was playing around, [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] filmed us with his drone, looking forward to this video in love
It was fantastic as usual, thank you [mention]Solmaz[/mention] for the great lead, [mention]Barish[/mention], [mention]Scorpio[/mention] and [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] for keeping us safe and everyone else for joining grin

Conclusion of the day:

1. Getting up in the middle of the night was absolutley worth it!
2. Starting drives early in summer is perfect, so drivers and cars have to deal with less heat.
3. Its the driver not the car
4. Radio comm and distance is essential
5. I want more of this
BR, Johanna

If it excites you and scares you at the same time, it probably means you should do it.
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Abu Odai
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I still remember the first version of this drive with [mention]Solmaz[/mention] and really I was relaxed that we are going to have such a fabulous and brave female marshal wish is rarely happened at another club.

I headed up toward the meeting point with only 30 minutes of sleeping in order to not to lose the opportunity of this drive.

I had the honor to be second lead behind [mention]Solmaz[/mention] and here I have to say that whoever had this opportunity to be second lead , he is so lucky but in same time it’s not an easy responsibility especially in a such drives where you have to focus in the leading, and manage the distance (+ or - ) and try maximum to read the leader’s mind while he/she is reading the dunes just to be prepared for any reaction needed.

All the scenarios has been well elaborated by the fellow members , and I have to say to [mention]Loca[/mention] that I’m stunned how the Pajero is performing ( as they always said : it’s the driver not the car ) Keep it up man [mention]Loca[/mention] .


Thank you [mention]Solmaz[/mention] for the nice drive , thank you [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] , [mention]Barish[/mention] , [mention]Scorpio[/mention] , and all the participant for making this drive success and joyful .

Till next time , stay safe…
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Loca
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Abu Odai wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 10:14 pm and I have to say to @Loca that I’m stunned how the Pajero is performing ( as they always said : it’s the driver not the car ) Keep it up man @Loca .
Thank you my Friend thumbsup
Gianluca (aka Loca)
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Rashidjass
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Straight Roads Do Not Make Skillful Drivers yuush
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