Beginner's Dirt Day

[David]

Great drive organized by Ehab for the Newbie 5- that joined us recently in Nahil with a very good attendance.

Big appreciation to all of the Marshalls that attended to support, Mabubaker, Optimus, Daggerfall, Solmaz and Agalon.

Attendees were divided in 3 groups, I was asked to lead convoy 2 with the assistance of Agalon and Solmaz as well as the fantastic support of Vika, Jamhi and Ahmed (thank you guys, I really appreciate it)

As expected the convoy experienced some difficulties with some of the obstacles (straight crests mainly) but I personally felt a great improvement comparing beginning and end of the drive, better flow, better on the straight crests, better radio communication, ... well done guys!!!!

Please remember:

- after straight crest always straight down, not trying to change direction.
- moving car is always a safe car
- if stuck, don't panic, wait and ask Marshall for support, don't try to rush and make an easy rescue dangerous or worst
- second tries or stucks much much better than flying on a straight crest

And the most important one, keep on driving and have fun, there is no secret to it, the more you drive the better you will get at it.

See you on the sand soon.

[siddharthsai]

This is quite an unexpected drive, and @Ehab added me to the convoy since he found enough people to support him. Thank you, sir, for remembering my request. These are the small things I like in our community: people taking care of others and remembering them even with their busy weekday life and schedule. I highly respect that. Ehab didn't need to take on more risk by adding me to the drive, but he did it anyway.

For me, the idea of this drive, even though it was -5, was to get a better understanding of Snowy and how he handled technical stuff. My idea was to simply get more drives on the 4R, learn and adapt from my Pajero because both cars behaved differently, and how I drive them needs to chnage as well. I drive the 4R like I drive the Pajero – quick turns, not caring about the bumper, etc. Unfortunately there are some tradeoffs when you move to a bigger and more powerful, longer car. I also need to relearn to use momentum, as im using more of the car's power to do things for me than my learnt techniques using the Pajero. Pajero was all about momentum. If I didn't prepare mentally for the next dune, there is a chance I wouldn't make it, but for the 4R, it's stop and go. I literally stopped during a climb and then restarted from there again like it was nothing. The car has way too much power, and power alone isn't always a good thing.

So for me, I need to start trusting my 2nd gear and play around with some momentum. @Minhaj was my passenger during the drive and it was fun taking about the car and how it behaves while giving him a live experience.

This drive was definitely not 5- .. hehe. Definitely not. The newbies did a good job considering how the lines were. @optimus kept the lines awesome. Kept increasing the level as we went makign this drive close to 10- ...

Thank you Ahmed Moharem for giving me the radio and also @brett for the radio as well.

Good day. Will remember this drive for a while.

Ciao

[wendellfranco]

Beginners Dirt Day after the CM Drive. It just keeps getting better and better. Was in Group 3 with an awesome lead and support crew.

I was comfortable all through out. Everyone killed it. I won’t be joining any of the drives scheduled in Feb. as i will have a quick vacation and then will undergo eye surgery.

Can’t wait to see you all back in the sand in March and the rest of the year. I have 2 mates that are eager to join the group after i told them how amazing the people are. More power a huge thank you to everyone. !

Wendell - Jeep JLU Rubicon

[Minhaj]

Hello Guys,

I joined this drive as a passenger with @siddharthsai .We met at our usual spot, had a quick coffee and then headed to the meeting point. When we arrived, there were already many members around. We quickly deflated, greeted everyone, and got ready to start.

The convoy was divided into three groups, and Sid and I were part of Group 3. The group was led by @optimus , with @ahmed77moharem as second lead and @Daggerfall supporting.

The drive turned out to be quite technical, with a lot of soft sand and lot of tracks. It honestly felt more challenging than a typical Level 5 drive,Optimus increased the difficulty gradually, which really helped the flow of the drive. Everyone did well overall, with a few second attempts here and there.

I really enjoyed the drive from the passenger seat in Sid’s 4Runner. I also tried taking some photos along the way not sure how great they are, but I’ll blame the bouncing dunes and not my skills

The drive eventually came to a smooth end after a really enjoyable session in the desert.

Big thanks to @Ehab for organising the drive, and to all the support members who came out just to help the team.

[alberod]

This was my first drive after the CM event. I arrived early to the meeting point and almost joined a different off road drivers’ group that was there preparing themselves but I notice these were not Almost team soon enough…!

The group was split in 3 convoys and was assigned to number 2 lead by David and supported by Agalon, Solmaz, Vika, Jamhi and Ahmed.

It was a fantastic experience and it helped me to know my car better (in fact I was surprised of how much power it delivers when really pushing down the accelerator). Crests are always a tricky one: not knowing what you will find at the other side is a bit scary and maintaining the balance between acceleration and avoiding flying during the fall is always a challenge: that's why I got stuck right on the crest. Ahmed very kindly pulled me down and later gave me some suggestions for crossing the crest, which was very useful.

And my big learning of the day: after crossing a crest always drive down straight!

After these, a second try in an arch elevating my “frustration”. I was not in the correct track Agalon asked me to follow him and then it was sooooo easy. This is where it becomes true that experience counts.

In the end a very nice, impactful and fun driving. Thank you very much to David and the team for guiding and teaching us so patiently. Your selfless dedication is commendable!

Looking forward to the next drive

[ahmed77moharem]

Hi Almosters,

I joined the 3rd convoy for the Newbie 5-, with @optimus leading the way, @Daggerfall floating and keeping an eye on the pack, and @Mpodroid holding the middle strong. I was the 2nd lead for this run.
The drive was pure joy long straight crests, solid climbs, and smooth side arches that kept everyone engaged.
Both @optimus and @Daggerfall kept reminding us to maintain proper distance and to respect the straight crests because a clean 2nd try is always better than taking off like a rocket.
We had a few 2nd attempts and a couple of stucks, but overall the team handled the terrain confidently and performed really well.
Big thanks to @Ehab for organizing the drive and to the entire support crew for keeping everything running smoothly.

Looking forward to seeing you all back on the sand soon.

[Christie]

This was my first drive with the group as I unfortunately missed the CM drive.

Once I arrived I wondered over to introduce myself and see what was happening, the Marshals made sure I got help with the deflating and made sure everything was fine as it had been a year since I’d driven in the desert and had forgotten almost everything.

I was in the convoy led by Ehab, then the second car to ensure the lines were good and then another car following by and ensuring people were ok along the way, this was great and I felt completely supported the whole time which took away my panic of getting stuck and holding people up because everyone was so friendly and giving good driving tips and advice. I got fully stuck and had to be pulled by rope twice which was actually a good experience! As I’d never been stuck before that was part of my biggest worry but now I realise it’s just part of it and watching the recoveries of other cars and how the marshals instructed them was also good to learn from.

It was a great first experience with the club, everyone was so friendly and despite being pretty scared for the majority of the drive I felt there was great support throughout. The last of my adrenaline was used up as passenger for a quick burn round in Betsy with Kareem as driver. Was to see a snapshot of the difference between beginner and intermediate. (Think I’ll stay beginners for life! ) Also support before / after the drive with things like being able to borrow the walkie talkie and even a small piece of kit to make the deflating / inflating easier. What a friendly group Ehab went at a great pace for the beginners and made my first proper desert drive a great one!

[Mariem]

This was my first drive with the club and my very first time ever driving in the desert. It was an unforgettable and challenging experience.

The drive was led by @Ehab , who was extremely gentle, patient, and attentive throughout the entire journey. Most importantly, he made sure that everyone felt safe and supported at all times.

For me personally, the drive was very challenging. There were moments when I truly thought I wouldn’t be able to finish. I was getting stuck almost every five minutes and it tested my patience and confidence. Honestly, if I were in the marshals’ and crew’s shoes, I might have lost patience so @Abubakar I’m sorry! I promise I will improve.

What made the difference was the constant encouragement and cheering from the team. The marshals gave very clear instructions and walked me through everything step by step, no matter how many times I tried and failed. they also insisted I learn the correct technique.

Thank you to the entire crew for your patience, and for creating such a safe and supportive environment for beginners like me.