Almost4x4

Shake it Off
Blistering afternoon certainly didn't deter the Newbies from attending this drive. Everyone was pumped and in Great spirits.
We missed you @presa but as they say: "The show must go on".

The drive was separated into 2 convoys: 10 - and 10+. I supported the 10- which was led by @Agalon . My fellow Inter support team were AbuBaker, @KIMOz and @Tomvanhouten . We got to float around the convoy to ensure that all were safe and on track.

The plan was to start at Al Faqaa and end at the Solar Park. The drive started at a good pace with drivers practicing side sloping and straight cresting. It wasn't long before we had our first stuck which I gavw a quick yank to and we were back on track. There were 2 pop out recoveries, some re-tries as well as a fallen flag (spotted by eagle eyed Ricardo and his passenger) and promptly returned to its owner by Tom.

The Newbies also enjoyed a high speed chase across the gatch area as they crossed to Qudra reaching up to and over 100kmph

Newbies: Here are a few tips going forward:
1. Always Maintain sufficient safety distance when approaching a challenge, like a tricky side slope or climb so that there is room for the vehicle in front to be able to make a retry if needed when approaching a challenge, or space for you to be able to turn down safely if the driver in front of you cannot complete the challenge. Never stop on a side slope as you put yourself at risk for a rollover. You then step on the gas to close the gap on the straight stretches between dunes/challenges.
2. If you are stuck or require a re-try, announce your stuck or re-try and wait for the rescue team to evaluate the situation and determine the best course of action. Never begin to self recover or reverse your car without the rescue/support team's guidance (even if you feel safe doing so) because it is difficult to see how far the other cars are away from you; if they need to move out of your way - if it is safe for them to do so; if there is a ditch behind you... etc. The smallest bump can create a disaster so wait for support.
3. When reversing: always do so SLOWLY because the sand reacts differently with your tyres and it may swing your vehicle sideways which is dangerous.
4. Always reverse STRAIGHT backwards until you reach the bottom. It is not always easy to see where you are going when reversing even with the aid of your back camera so again - wait for the support team as they can guide you on how to turn your wheels so you are rescued safely.
5. If stopped on a side slope (which is very unsafe to do ) when the support team requests you to turn down - ensure that your vehicle turns STRAIGHT down with steady constant acceleration controlling your car.

At the end of the drive, drivers had a chance to either leave or follow @Agalon to the "Chilling and Chat"

Overall, I think all Newbies drove well and seemed to have a blast. I especially had a blast floating around the convoy but I was a bit envious of the Newbies as @Agalon had picked some really great challenges for them.

Until we meet again on the sand
Dauntless

Hello fellow Almosters!
As the name of the drive suggested we were supposed to shake off some of the summer lull, and shake off we did, thanks to our amazing 10+ convoy leader @Barish (with support @rapailo , @Sorin , @Jasper , @Gabor and @alshamsi_m )

A lot has already been written about the day, so I will move to my own experience/learnings (and there were plenty!).

It's all about the driver (well, mostly ) I was coming into the day a bit wary of how the drive will go as in the drive a week I experienced some issues (power, feel, etc.) – needlessly, as straight from the first dune all fell into the right place. Power was back, traction was OK and the car behaved as it should – indicating the ‘week ago’ must indeed have been a driver issue Funny to see how much difference there can be!

Keep the right distance - Given @Barish took a fast and challenging track (with a lot of arches and traverses) we were advised to keep 20m distance – I realised first-hand how important that advice was a few times during the drive. At the increased speed there simply is not much time to react if the car in front of you is having any issues. In that 20m (so 3-4 seconds) one needs to decide what to do and where to (safely) drop off from the side/crest. Only due to keeping the right distance did I manage to avoid @AdamW when he got stuck in a ditch after crossing over to the other side of the dune; a couple of times I dropped off from the dune a bit earlier to have more space selecting the right track down.

Maintain the right speed - This has been the first drive when I realised how important it is to maintain the right top speed – earlier “floor it” was the way to go (as in most times I was lacking momentum); now with improved traction (proper offroad tyres) I realised I was driving too fast at some places (traverses / coming out of arches / side cresting). I learned it ‘the hard way’ during one of the traverses where due to bad trajectory I found myself too low on the dune, at too high a speed heading into a shallow ditch at the wrong angle (parallel) – basically a rollover potential. Fortunately this time ‘nothing happened’, but I should have reacted much faster (and also driven slower) – at all cost trying to make the car perpendicular to the crest: it is better to loose the bumper than to roll the car. Lesson learned. BTW, also side-cresting needs to be done at the right combination of angle-speed: a few times I probably did it too fast jolting the car from one side to the other.

It is important not too oversteer - e.g. on the traverses, otherwise you can overshoot the dune or put the car too much sideways. Following @Barish advice to keep the wheel at max “15 to” / ”15 past” the hour gave me much better control of the car and better “feel” to how the car is doing.

Fast radio communication is crucial – if you are having problems inform the convoy immediately. This will give the drivers following you necessary time to react / slow down / chose a different trajectory.

If you need to drop, try not to drop into a bowl ;) I guess this is self-explanatory. This time the way out was easy, it may not always be the case!

Despite all the ‘learnings’ I consider this drive one of the best so far – driving in a way that I aspired while joining the Almost family. I loved the speed and flow, enjoyed the arches (but still not 100% comfortable on the traverses ).

There is always plenty to learn – I am looking forward to the process! Thank you Team!


*) Overall we covered 82km and drove for 3h.

Hello all, it is my first trip contribution to the trip report in 4 years :)
Thanks to @alshamsi_m for bringing me as a passenger with a complimentary pick up and a supply of drinks and snacks. It was great to see old friends @KIMOz, @Agalon and @Barish . Many faces have changed obviously in these years. After few minutes into the drive I swapped the seat to join @Gabor who was a sweeper in his Jeep. Since I did not have to focus on the drive I took my time to observe the track and read the dunes. The track was a mix of small, than bigger dunes, and finally technical area. @gabor drives very well with consideration to car abilities.
Despite the hot weather the after the drive coffee was well receieved. Thanks to @James for giving me a ride after the drive. Hope to see all soon in a driver capacity

Thanks to the Founder @alshamsi_m for making this all possible and a big thank you to @presa for making the arrangements but as I understand was not allowed to travel to Dubai due to his recent arrival from his home country….. Welcome Back!

You had support from @Barish who stepped up to the mark and did a fantastic job of leading us through the dunes, this could be considered as the drive that kept on giving, just as we got on the flat and you had a sense that it was over, thanks to @Barish, we were off again. I once again had the pleasure of being second lead, a position I love.

The drive had some high sweeping dunes, some small technical but overall a phenomenal event so thanks to @Barish a real lead with a very good pace, a few second tries in the convoy no pop outs with our instant deflation champ in the convoy and thank you, @alshamsi_m, @Jasper, @rapailo, @Sorin and @Gabor for the support.

This was another successful event at the right pace for the convoy so a lot of fun for all. Watching some of the video’s sows we have some creators in the family.

A point to note - Radio communication:
Name
Vehicle
Issue

We ended the event with the ritual chit chat session at the end all full of opinions and shared experiences as a wind down. And thanks to the usual suspect that make this all possible and a fun event….

Stay safe and we look forward to the next meeting in the sand!

Hello Everyone,

This drive was very exciting for me after missing the last 3 weekends during my vacation. As I mentioned in the meeting point to everyone, I wasn't aware that sand was an addiction to me till I went off for the vacation. Every single weekend I was jealous to the drives passing by and looking forward to being back on sand. And finally, the day came on last Friday, I was back on the sand. What a magical re-union!

I had a bad stomach in the morning and was feeling a bit weak, plus nervous. I bet it was because of my over excitement. The plan was, going to the meeting point and test myself on the way. I think joy defeated the nervousness and I was feeling much better on the way. After I met with the familiar faces (a.k.a. usual suspects) everything was much better.

Unfortunately, organizer @presa was not able to join us however the other faces of Almost 4x4 amazing team was there to conduct this drive in a safe manner. Firstly, many thanks to @presa to organize and thanks to the Marshals and Explorers which look after us @Barish , @Agalon , @alshamsi_m , @Mabubaker , @rapailo .

After few weeks of not driving, feeling was completely off. YETI was not behaving, or I was not able to control him decently. We didn’t have any major issues however I was clearly able to feel the difference in behavior, especially on the sharp turns which @Barish threw on us with his go kart TJ!

It was a fantastic drive with loads of arches, long traverses and few side crests. Our experienced Marshal assessed the convoy’s experience very accurately and provided the poor newbies an amazing fast paced drive.

I was following the Wasp II, and I could see @brett was not on his day in the beginning. However after 10 mins, he warmed up, get the control over the Wasp II and performed an amazing drive. These kind of incidents always shows you how the driver's mood can improve the performance!

I guess most of us realized in this drive once again how important the distance is to be kept. Especially in a fast-paced drive like this. As @piotr rightly mentioned you have few seconds to act and you need to find the best possible way to exit the situation in a safe way.

Before finishing, I would like to thank the intermediates which supported our convoy @Sorin (was amazing to drive for the first time with you in the same convoy), @Jasper and @Gabor . Watching experienced and skilled drivers on the same track with you improves us incredibly. One of the best ways to learn is to watch and follow how you guys tackle to obstacles. Thanks a ton for that!

I am glad to be back and meet with Almost 4x4 family. Hope to see you as soon as possible on the sand again!

Hello everyone!

I was in the convoy led by @Barish and he gave our 10+ drivers an amazing drive and workout. I didn’t had a chance to pull anyone as the drivers did well! The lines @Barish took gave a good practice for the next step in side cresting. During the drive I had a pleasure of having our founder @alshamsi_m as passenger since he had an issue with his car. Chitchatting in the car added to the fun of the drive After the drive we had a nice catching up with the other convoy as well.

Thanks to all who joined and see you all again soon!

PS: We missed you @presa!

Jasper

Hi everyone,

Was another summer afternoon, with a little of a wind at the beginning with a promising weather for the post-drive sitting.

It was tempting to see those dunes ahead on the track and was a good time and terrain to challenge our 10+ for the next level. We experienced long arches, high arches, little bit of non-sharp site crests and the convoy did very well, especially in the technical area in Qudra while approaching the sitting area. Pace was intentionally high and it was normal to have those second tries, however, while doing that we should always be kind to gravity.

Weather was really good, oryx convoys and gazelles around added another amazing moments to our drive.

Thanks to support team and all the drivers for making this another great day.

"Change it if you will improve. Otherwise stay where you are and give space others to try to change."

See you next time.

Barish