Almost4x4

They say pressure builds diamonds.

What a smart game this is. The knowledge you gain in such a short period of time if fantastic.

On the outset I had no clue what I was getting into, just that it was some GPS game & there was eggs involved. My wife & I were hilariously speculating that the marshals would put an egg in the basket and tape it to our dashboard or seat & we were not allowed to crack it till we reached a certain point . Something along the thought process of the movie Initial D. Little did I know we would be the eggs – figuratively speaking.

This event was a highly talked about event in the chat. So much so that over 50 cars turned up to the event as challengers, time keepers & observers. When I first got the PM I thought the coordinates mentioned were the starting point. So, at home I was going through google maps checking the area trying to figure out a route & scratching my head. Little did I know that we get the coordinates when at the meeting point.

As we reach the deflating point, we had a short briefing & cut a birthday cake for @mquadros & @booy. Abu Salem tried to make sure we ate as he said we need the sugar as energy for our shoveling skills & was he was right.

As the rules were explain & the order of the competitors were given we lined up to the starting point. Abu Salem put me as the first car. Lol… I just froze out of shock . I had heard stories of people getting stuck on the first dune. There would be no one I could follow or learn from. And I just had just the general fear of not following a lead. For the first time I would be creating and figuring out my own track. The fear of the unknown was talking over.

I managed to conquer the first dune… then my training came back to me. I started to figure how to ride the dunes. I got to the first check point, then the 2nd 3rd 4th 5th then I made the biggest mistake, I got over confident & relaxed. I got belly crested on a dune. I got out and I stated digging like mad. After a while @presa came by my side. He gave me a bottle of water & said drink & calm down. He showed me how to dig without over fatiguing myself & the points where I should concentrate on digging. Few marshals did come by and said we will recover you but no I was adamant that I want to get a time (if you are recovered by a non challenger your are disqualified). So, I just kept digging. Then to increase the difficultly mother nature threw a sand storm my way. After a few minutes when I was almost ready to throw in the shovel (pun intended) XD an angel started to float around me in a silver Wrangler. Thank you @Rathica for the pull.

I was covered in sand & I just wanted to complete the challenge. I got to the finish point where I ended up 6th. Congratulation to the first three!!! And went home after that and had to miss the BBQ.

This was a special event. In one event.... I understood how to work my GPS unit that I was sitting on months on & thinking that it was stupid as I could never figure it out. I never understood how to follow to a point. Till the event I always thought either my GPS is broken or its fooling around with me. As with all drivers I was always nervous about venturing out on my own in the desert. The event took that away. It forced me to think like a lead and create my own track. I had faith in what I can do & what I can’t. I also realized that I have to be focused & not be over confident. Anything thing can happen at any time.

The event gave me more knowledge, confidence & humility. I realized to be good off roader at this event and/or rather most of off-roading it is not about the car. It is mostly about the driver’s skill & mental fortitude amongst other things. I am grateful to @Rathica for pulling me out. @presa for your kind water with advice. And to the marshal observers, crew & time keepers who all supported this event. And also, to lastly to @alshamsi_m keeps applying the pressure.

Till next time….

Alexandar
White FJ Xtreme

Hello Almosters,

Good reports thus far, it's a pleasure reading about your individual experiences.

Well done to all the contenders - whether you finished or not, you have gained a lot of experience.

Looking forward to keep driving with everyone in the sand.

Till next time.

Regards,

Booy

Hey Almosters,

I had been out of the country for a couple of weeks, so i felt the need to go for a morning drive and get the sand addiction satisfied.

After playing for a few hours, I arrived early to the meeting point and found the crew already there. So i joined them for some pre EIB preparations. Afterwards we headed back to the meeting point to find that most of the Almost family had arrived.

Then we all we went to the starting point of EIB where everyone was given their respective briefings and info needed.

I was participating as an observer, so Taco & I started driving to point 5 while the challengers were getting ready.

Unfortunately since the area is notoriously technical, Taco landed in a ditch with a popout. We had to recover the car quickly since it was somewhat h'idden behind the dune and a challenger might hit it. After pulling out the car and placing it in a safe spot, we had no time to fix the popout so we went together in one car to the point.

Shortly after the challengers started to come one by one, some of them calm, some nervous, and some covered head to toe in sand. There were challengers that liked our point so much they visited us twice. XD

At 5:15 the game was over and everyone in the play area made their way towards the exit.

Congratulations to the winners and everyone who joined the game.

At the end we had the cherry on top of the cake, a delicious BBQ feast by @presa , @giorgio , and @Taco . Thanks a lot for the yummy food!

Thank you to @Abu Jimmy marshals & crew, and all who joined.

Looking forward to the next EIB.



See you all soon.

Hello everyone


First of all, happy birthday day @Booy . Secondly, congratulations for all the members who attended the game.

For the first time in EGGS IN BASKET GAME, the audience were allowed to enter the game's area with car and by now they understand the pressure that the 10+ members had arr. .


I hope that all of you gained something that will make you a stronger or better person .


Looking for the next RESCUE THE MARSHAL which will make more sense to you when we allow you to get stuck .

It was another successful event by almost4x4 members. Finally, thanks for @Abu Jimmy .

Cheers

Although I was not eligible to join as a Challenger we were given the chance to somewhat experience EIB by either signing up as Audience or Observer and a big thank you to the organizers for this opportunity!

I always arrive early, well before the meeting time so that I have plenty of time to get ready and chat with people. This was the first time (and hopefully the last time) I arrived late because I somehow managed to read the PM wrong As I pulled up the briefing was about to start so I rushed to get my car ready and ended up missing the first few minutes but not the crucial parts at least phew!

We had a short birthday celebration for @Booy (cake time!!) at the meeting point and quickly moved over to the actual gathering point. The real briefing happened at our 2nd gathering point where rules, objectives and how the event will progress was explained to Challengers and Observers in detail. I was to tag along with @Youssef.Abdelhady at Checkpoint 5.

I really wanted to take my car to our checkpoint which I was advised against by @Abu Jimmy but @Youssef.Abdelhady was kind enough to accept leading me there. A few meters into the game area and surprise surprise, I was stuck on top of a crest trying to follow @Youssef.Abdelhady. He very quickly rescued me (I was warned upfront so already had my recovery gear out & ready!) but just over the next dune and I ended up stuck at the bottom of a dune with a pop-out this time We had to do quite a bit of digging and it took I think 4-5 tries to pull my car away from where it was pinned. There was no time left so we just left the car at a safe position and moved to our checkpoint in @Youssef.Abdelhady's car.

I may have managed to set a new record by getting stuck twice and having a pop-out without even being in the game x_x Always listen to the Marshals, no matter what, lesson repeated once again!! I've to admit, although I always err on the side of caution and take things (even more then needed sometimes) very slow for some reason I made the wrong call that day. Well, I'm sure me being allowed to give this a try was part of the learning curve, so still happy with it hehe

It was really interesting to observe the drivers throughout the game, driving alone in such a "crazy" area at our level is not an easy task. I could read very mixed feelings from Challengers but clueless and exhausted were the most common ones I think our checkpoint was quite popular as we had some Challengers visit us twice Maybe I'm wrong (as I know others have passed this game using similar cars) but I feel that it will be really hard to be a Challenger with a Pajero here and honestly I'm not sure if I'll take this challenge when the time comes. Pajero doesn't have certain advantages others do and I can see myself hurting the car very easily in this area if I were to take up the challenge, time will tell I guess.

Towards the end of the game @Rashidjass and @optimus stopped by at our checkpoint. They kindly offered to fix my pop-out before the event ended so that no time would be wasted at that point. It was just a few minutes to get this done as we had already positioned the car on a flat surface. I took a look at the car after the pop-out was fixed and I think I made the right choice asking @optimus for his help hope my fake smile works again I figured it was best I avoided the additional drama and humiliation trying to get the car out myself, so @optimus dropped my car back in the "safe" area Ohh and actually @Rashidjass had to pull the car out, what I thought was an OK spot was not so OK after all and the Pajero needed a little more help to get out!

Shortly after my car was saved the game ended as the given time had come to an end. While I thought we will now move to the finish point there were I think two or three recoveries that had to be done immediately around our checkpoint so @Youssef.Abdelhady was hard at work, pulling people out one after the other :D After everyone was out safe & sound we moved to the finish point. We had the awards ceremony for the top 3 Challengers who received some nice gifts and this marked the end of the day for most people (as many chose to head out after this). Our next destination was the highly anticipated BBQ spot! I think I was more excited about this part than the game itself as I was really looking forward to the famous lamb chops!

I am sure all Challengers discovered a lot about themselves and their cars that day. There were some already experienced drives for whom the day was perhaps no different than a leisurely stroll at the beach but for the rest, it was an invaluable learning opportunity. As it was repeated many times, being a Challenger in this event is what matters, whether you managed to complete it in time or not. I would like to congratulate all Challengers, it was a job well done!

We had a great time with a fantastic crowd after the game. Good food and amazing company, what else could I ask for!? Special thanks to @presa and @giorgio, they are great chefs and I look forward to learning more from them and grilling together in many more BBQs to come (it's not all about driving skills after all ).

Thanks once again to @Abu Jimmy for organizing the event and all Marshals and Crew for making this game such a success. Thanks once again to @Youssef.Abdelhady for his patience and support, @Rashidjass and @optimus for their help getting me out, @giorgio and @presa for the unforgettable lamb chops & steak!