Loving the desert - CM - 050222

[alpied]

The CM drive finally happened, I believe I joined the club end of November and missed the beginning of November CM drive so that was quite a wait

I arrived to the meeting point 5 minutes late and was happy to see I was definitely not the last one to arrive (was already stressing about getting grounded on my first drive )

This was not my first desert drive or drive with a club but right away I saw almost4x4 was not like any club, the preparation is definitely there and you feel the crew takes a lot of time to prepare these trips and make sure everyone is safe.

The drive was smooth, and the area beautiful (first time there), even if it was a slower pace than I'm usually used to, I enjoyed it.
At the end of the drive I showed my equipment and got my first star YAY! I don't know if other memebers feel the same way but for some reason I'm very proud to be part of the club and rushed to stick the sticker on my car.

Looking forward to the next drives and maybe try a Marshal Challenge?!

[nidal78]

Hi almosters
Another beautiful and successful CM drive
Big thank to @alshamsi_m for organizing this lovely day
It was really nice to meet new faces joining the ALMOST4X4 family so welcome to the best off-roading club in UAE guys
@alshamsi_m gave an excellent introduction for the new members about the basics of driving in desert, then he divided the drivers in to 4 convoys, I was in Abu Salim’s convoy as media crew along with @Scorpio as floating marshal @Laarni as second lead @Gabor and @Rooies as rescue team
Abu salim drive a very nice route with a lot of drops and some climbs and the new members did really great with few second tries and only one stuck, so will done everyone
I will leave you with the video of our drive
till next time stay safe and see you soon on sand

[Arjun_M]

So I finally made it to the CM drive with this crew. Ive always been told a lot of good stuff about Almost4x4 and nothing was short of spectacular. I think this is definitely the most organised club out there and one in which you know that you would be taught the correct methods. You can tell how everyone takes responsibility and really teaches freshers the ways. Just the fact that once we become better, we are given the opportunity to assist with recoveries on future CM drives shows that the club is all about teaching skills and making the drivers better and better. I have driven in a lot of convoys before and sure i know how to drive. But do i know how to navigate the dunes? No. Do i know proper recovery techniques? I dont think so. I only know how to follow, because thats what usually happens in other convoys. Here, its different. Ive seen a lot of youtube videos of forum members and it looks super fun and different. Cant wait for eggs in a basket and what not. Looking forward.

I decided to not skip the CM drive because i wanted to introduce my wife to offroading from the basics so she enjoys it from the ground up and sure enough, she loved the experience and finally is willing to come with me. So really thank you guys for that the most. I cant wait to continue the journey with Almost 4x4 and really take my skills to another level.

Thanks a lot to all the marshals for organising the event and a special thanks to optimus for the lead in our convoy and Barish for being the floater and being at the right place at the right time and also checking my tools at the end.

[presa]

So I finally made it to the CM drive with this crew. Ive always been told a lot of good stuff about Almost4x4 and nothing was short of spectacular. I think this is definitely the most organised club out there and one in which you know that you would be taught the correct methods. You can tell how everyone takes responsibility and really teaches freshers the ways. Just the fact that once we become better, we are given the opportunity to assist with recoveries on future CM drives shows that the club is all about teaching skills and making the drivers better and better. I have driven in a lot of convoys before and sure i know how to drive. But do i know how to navigate the dunes? No. Do i know proper recovery techniques? I dont think so. I only know how to follow, because thats what usually happens in other convoys. Here, its different. Ive seen a lot of youtube videos of forum members and it looks super fun and different. Cant wait for eggs in a basket and what not. Looking forward.

I decided to not skip the CM drive because i wanted to introduce my wife to offroading from the basics so she enjoys it from the ground up and sure enough, she loved the experience and finally is willing to come with me. So really thank you guys for that the most. I cant wait to continue the journey with Almost 4x4 and really take my skills to another level.

Thanks a lot to all the marshals for organising the event and a special thanks to optimus for the lead in our convoy and Barish for being the floater and being at the right place at the right time and also checking my tools at the end.

Nice report!

We have many members, myself included, that comes as a family for many drives!

Looking fwd to see you on the following drives!

[optimus]

Hi All

First of all a huge thanks to @alshamsi_m for allowing me to lead my first drive and that too a CM convoy in the area where I too had my club member drive some years before. The feeling was nostalgic!

Let me tell you that it’s not easy to lead a beginners convoy. There are many things going around in the leader’s mind. During the entire drive my only worry was the safety of the members and their cars. Even though the drivers were comfortable. I didn’t even once wanted to level up. There are always some members who have been Desert driving and there are also some who are first timers. I didn’t wanted to do anything above cm level which could have spoiled the laters fun. This was their first drive . An introductory drive where we introduce ourselves to our new members. Let them first learn the club values. Get used to understand their cars. They would also need some time to train their reflexes.
Then there are going to be many more drives where we would give them the opportunity to test their courage & adrenaline.

Once more thanks to Bu Salem!
Thanks to @Barish & @Youssef.Abdelhady for being around the convoy.

Thanks to @Mohanad for handling the F150 situation.

Thanks to @KIMOz for being my first 2nd lead :))) &@osman for supporting in the centre.

At last congrats to everyone who already got their first star. Welcome to your 2nd family! The band of brothers!

Until next time!

[Mohanad]

it has been very long time since i drove in the desert. i bought my Prado on Friday and i joined the CM on Saturday

it was a cold morning but i was walking barefoot because i missed the sand so much and i wanted to connect back with it..

i was very happy to see my club family members again. CM drive is always special, we as a members of the club love this drive because we like to see our family grows bigger and most importantly because we are giving the community back buy teaching people how to drive in the desert.

the drive lead by @optimus was very smooth and educative. the members had the chance to climb dunes and drop down from dunes. @Barish did an amazing job as usual, when ever i look around i find him, as if he had multiple clones driving with us

@Youssef.Abdelhady was floating around and supporting when needed and @osman was keeping the convoy tact in the middle. it was typical Almost4x4 convoy.

hope to see the new members in the coming drives.

[SophieZ]

Thank you for a great first drive!
I value the professionalism and focus on security and teaching the right habits for becoming an off road driver. It was my first time as a driver (I am usually a passenger with @galindakis ) and I am excited to come back.
I was driving in group 2 and we encountered a few sharp drops and high dunes during the drive and the Marshall’s assistance, guidance and encouragement were key to build trust in driving and controlling your car in the sands.

Also, Shamsi and the other Marshalls’ energy and good humor are more powerful than your engine, and they quickly refill your batteries!

It’s a pleasure to drive with you, looking forward to more.