Progression

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David
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Very interesting and enjoyable Newbie 5- drive in Nahil perfectly lead by Optimus and supported by his co-pilot Rashid and Mabubaker floating around.

Only one 5- driver (that actually did very well) and convoy mainly with experienced 10+ and intermediates, I was positioned in the sweeping position which I actually enjoyed greatly (thanks Optimus)

Starting from Sweihan side towards Nahil park & petrol station, we only covered part of the distance leaving on the gatch road after the "nice Nahil bowl". Convoy did very well in my opinion, I believe rope came out only twice, a few 2nd tries due to not enough momentum in climbs and 2 pop-outs (do NOT fight gravity, take a lower line in arches if needed). Drive was mainly straight crests, arches of different sizes and as a bonus we got to play around a little bit in some of the nicer dunes which was very appreciated.

Thank you Optimus, Rashid and Mabubaker for making the drive possible, highly appreciated.

See you on the sand soon!!!
ahmadtodxb
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Many thanks for @optimus , @Rashidjass ,@CARLOSS , @Mabubaker ,@David and the rst of intermediate and support drivers for there guidance and support.. i was the only one with 4 drives in the group.. I really enjoyed it and i never thought i would do it. The way optimus increases the difficulty lvl at least for me give me more and more confident that i cld do it...

In some tricky areas, specially switching between dunes, i felt the second lead was slowing down to let me know how to do it properly.

Some important notes from the team i will always work to improve; dont fight the gravity, proper momentum and i should know where to stop.

Bellow are stats i recorded via Gaia Gps app as i started to explore offroad navigation apps.
Screenshot_20221225_202237_Gaia GPS.jpg
Screenshot_20221225_202219_Gaia GPS.jpg
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Mghoneim
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Another great day on the sand after a couple of weeks off.

Arriving to a Newbie 5- drive with low expectations to find only 1 5- member (Who performed very well) and the rest are all either 10+ or intermediates. I was looking forward for an easy/smooth drive , which what is was. Our Almost King of pop outs @galindakis got warmed up for GO FAST 2 with two pop outs.

Towards the end of the track , we got a chance to stop by Nahil's big bowl, and for the first time @optimus was very generous to let the 10+ have a go at it after the intermediates.

Many thanks for everyone who made this happen, especially that it was on the 24th of December.

Special thanks to @optimus for organizing and leading the convoy, @Stephan for the second lead, @Mabubaker for floating and @David for sweeping.

Wishing everyone a Happy new year
Mghoneim
Cheers,
MGhoneim
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galindakis
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Progression.
Fantastic drive in one of my favorite places. Nahil.
The drive was 5- but as only one 5- came, it was a private drive for him.
@optimus chose a perfect tract for training straight cresting and also big arches. Also we allowed us (10+) to play towards the end which I really appreciate.
I also had the opportunity to be in the car with @David, while intermediates play, IT ALL ABOUT THE DRIVER!!!!

Thanks to @optimus @Mabubaker @CARLOSS @brett @PedroLeal @David qnd the rest of the support team. It was a great morning on a 24th of December.

Now off to Egypt where I will try to do a little bit of off-road as well.

See you soon in the sand. Best
korym
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Thanks @optimus for such great Drive

i was coming from Ajman and unfortunately late arriving to the last second before drive start, after calling @optimus he was kind to accept my late

once i reach i got support from @Sorin and @David but i was already deflate (thanks a lot for support)

drive start smoothly but again i was not in focus and i crested once @optimus said it is a little sharp once don't jump and i saw couple jumped already
thanks @PedroLeal to get me out of that.

later on the drive was really great with that arches i had some difficulties with some arches (mainly it was my focus and then may be my Pajero)

i had 2 pop out with full support from everyone specially @Sorin @Mabubaker @David @Rashidjass @CARLOSS @Carlos

i believe that i learned some lessons on that drive will help to improve me on future drives

once again thanks everyone who was there n that great drive.


Korym
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Drive : Progression
Level : -5
Area : Nahil
Lead : optimus
supporting Marshal : @Rashidjass & @Mabubaker

I started the drive from sweihan. The plan was to cover 45 kms & to finish the drive at nahil park. We had good fun. Those 3 hours flew so fast that we could cover only around 29 kms.

The drive at the beginning was kept low level considering that we had single -5 member in the convoy. Gradually the level was increased to see if the lone member would be able to catch up. I then had to cap the drive to a level where i could see the -5 is playing safe and even the 10+'s are having fun. In the last section, the intermediates were unleashed to clims & sidecrest the nahil bowl. The 10+'s were given the opportunity to speed climb & arch the bowl. It was a good training for all the members.

thank you all for a lovely morning.
thank you to all my intermediates & last but not least thank you to my supporting marshal @Mabubaker & my co-pilot @Rashidjass



Happy new Year & Happy Holidays!

Until next time!
Optimus
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brett
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Dear Almosters

Firstly a big thank you to @optimus for changing the time from afternoon to morning - many of the members had family commitments on christmas eve changing to the morning allowed many to join.

The drive was called "Progression" and as mentioned there was only 1 x 5- member so he was in for a VIP drive with so many 10+ and intermediate drivers on hand.

I personally felt a bit like a "Regression" drive in the early stages, but once I blew the cob webs out of my head things improved, it was a really nice track and @optimus managed to increase the level gradually allowing all the Newbies to attempt things they have not been able to do previously. Some lovely arches at a decent pace and height. congrats to everyone on the progression.

I want to also thank @Rashidjass as copilot Marshall @Mabubaker floating Marshall. @Stephan as 2nd lead and @David for sweeping up at the back. thanks to the intermediate support team
@PedroLeal @CARLOSS @Sorin I know I have missed some - apologies

After A great morning it was time to head home and prepare for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - Merry Christmas to those who celebrated it. now looking forward to 2023 HAPPY NEW YEAR to one and all see you all again at the upcoming Almost4x4 events and drives

Who knows Helen might even show up at a drive in 2023 - depending on her gym class schedule
Until the next Adventure

Brett
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Martin
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Firstly thanks to @optimus for organising this drive and allowing us to move it to the morning. I was going to try and make the afternoon timing but would have scored some minus points with the wife :secret_laugh:

I would have found a way to join this drive because it combined to things I hold in high regard.
  1. The Sweihan/Nahil area
  2. A drive led by Optimus
  3. It was a morning winter event
…and as expected this combo did produce a really nice drive. It was a really good convoy and from my position near the back I could see that everyone was doing a great job following the track. There were a few second tries and a couple of pulls with the odd pop out for good measure.

As the level was increased and we progressed through progression the drive was more and more fun. We had a show from @korym in the middle who was struggling to complete one of the challenges. @optimus kindly gave him multiple tries until @Rashidjass stepped in to give him a master class. He was able to a bit better but was also not able to completely reach the the right exit point of the bowl. His hand gestures seemed to depict that in fact, it was just a 4 door Pajero thing :evilish:

We finished at the Nahil bowl where the marshalls and intermediate showed us how to have fun in big bowl like this. Was a great lerning experience. Once they had fun, the 10+ drivers like myself were allowed to show what we could do. After a few attempts I was able to find a route that took me to the top lip of the bowl, so much fun!

Support on the day was admirably provided by @Mabubaker & @Rashidjass, @David @CARLOSS & @Sorin

A shout out to 5- driver @ahmadtodxb for driving the hell out of his LC200, @korym for keeping his head and using the day as a learning experience and to the rest of the newbies @AntonT, @galindakis, @Higazy, @LuckeyM & @Mghoneim

See everyone in the new year for more Almost Adventures!
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CARLOSS
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Hi everyone!

Amazing "-5" drive with not less amazing company, well-executed by @optimus seconded by @Mabubaker and @Rashidjass .

I brought a friend of mine visiting us for a few days and advised that "dont worry, it will be fine. -5 is not a big deal" and he is still shaking and freaking out wtfsmilie

Drivers did very well and supporting team has not too much work.

This is my last drive of the year so happy new year and see you very soon.

Carlos
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Stephan
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Hello everyone.

I am very late writing my trip report, but better late than never.

@optimus was the leading marshal of this drive and he did a fantastic job, making sure the convoy had a nice drive, being safe at the same time as well and pushing members to increase their skills. This Newbie -5 drive was an unexpected drive with the way the drive was executed! I was a bit rusty during the drive, but none the less I tried to keep up as second lead. The convoy did a fantastic job making sure they keep the right distance + they had great time playing in a bowl, which was an extra bonus.

I took my brother with me on this drive - this was his first drive ever in the desert. He enjoyed the drive to the max but at the same time was scared because he didn't realize the level of adrenaline when driving in the desert. He always watches the videos from the club, but the videos never justify the real experience.

Thanks to everyone for organizing the drive as well as support.

Happy New Year to all!

See you soon.

Cheers
Stephan
See you soon
Cheers
Stephan
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