Desert First Contact

[Sridhar]

Thanks ALOMOST 4x4 for yet another great weekend and to Marshals and Bu Salem in particular for letting me drive today. We gathered at 13:30 this afternoon and drove to the fossil rock.Having done a few drives with the Club in the past 5 weeks, I managed to scrap through the CM drive without major issues, other than being reprimanded by Chief once for descending a dune too fast. Today's route was mainly across the dunes with no cresting. I would let the other Club members share their excitement; but after repeating one particular statement that I heard Bu Salem make before every drive including today's, just for the benefit of any club member who might have missed it. "New off-roaders are just not as good as their cars, no matter what make or model. Only after the driver acquires enough skills to match the performance of his / her vehicle, can he / she deserve to make modifications to the vehicle." Thanks Chief for the wonderful advice. :applause:

Looking forward to read the experiences of other CMs, I remain, once again thanking Marshal Yoghybear, Sweeper Iskander, Rescue Zorro, the relentless chief Bu Salem and the fellow drivers.

Cheers,

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[momo]

I am very happy to meet you all guys and to share with you this day in the desert, thank you ALMOST4x4 team. We learned a lot about sand drive as a first contact. The track was interesting, thank you Yoghybear. Thanks Bu Salem for your advices about the FJ Cruiser and also the time you spent checking my equipment.
Cheers

[pradodxb]

A big thanks to Almost 4x4 for a wonderful afternoon in the sand. Fossil Rock is beautiful every time. This was my second time as a CM to go through the Fossil Rock route. The drops are fantastic and can give the adrenalin rush to any first timer in the club. The first trip, a few weeks ago, it made me and Sridhar (remember discussing with him at the breaks) wonder that this drive was a little harsh for someone who has never driven in the sand. We brought it up with chief Bu Salem, he simply said, this is how we do it...if you are not serious about this hobby nobody is holding you back. Its better to be filtered out early! For me his message was clear...you want to be here for only one reason...because you want to be here no strings attached.

In the intro talk, the most valuable statement from the marshal, leave your ego on the street...Yoghybear said it yesterday...we are not here to race...and leave your ego out of the sand...we want you to come back in your car from the desert in the same state you went in... (read between the lines as safety...safety...safety....)...once this is completed...suddenly getting stuck in the sand is fun...and not embarrassing anymore.

I had a pleasurable drive yesterday....I crested on "the" legendary dune and got stuck...sridhar go stuck in the exact spot the first CM trip...before me the Pajero was stuck in the same spot....and behind me 2 others got stuck in the same spot....quiet a few signatures on that dune...rescued by chief Bu Salem..who patiently answered questions...and ran me through the process of using the recovery rope...simply valuable points...

I'm very happy that I'm a part of Almost 4x4 and I hope to continue coming along trips and have good clean fun. I thank Bu Salem, Yoghybear, Iskander and Zorro for ensuring the wonderful time. Attached is a picture of Yoghybear in action...

Cheers...
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[Arun Pandyat]

I really missed the drive.. :sad::sad:

[shaikh]

Hey guys,

really enjoyed the trip DFC with yoghybear & Abu salem with whom I was a bit confident with my driving skills. Yet to learn a lot. Request to the management to conduct such trips to upgrade our skills & to understand the dunes. The TOOL BOX TALK was a very important subject in the trip to get thorough knowledge of the complete tools & safety. Thanks to Abu Salem & Yoghybear. Keep it guys, u r doing a gr8 job.


Regards

[Solmaz]

This was my fourth drive with Almosters and second drive with our new addition to the family:our cute green FJ which we named YODA :) Just a day before, Agalon did his first 5+ drive and i was the passenger. So at first contact, i had the chance to see how much we learned and improved since our CM drives. I mean not only the driving skills but also being part of a conwoy, acting as a team. Drive's pace was relatively slow, but we had nice climbs and a few very steep drops. I tried Yoda's limits which was a great experience for me. Tools briefing was also a nice addition to the CM drive. We could have saved lots of money spent on unnecessary tools if someone gave us that information when we first started offroading - which was unfotunately nearly a year before being Almosters:(

Thanks to Yogi and Bu Salem for the opportunity.
Thanks to all Almosters for making us feel as a part of the family.
It is a privilege to drive with you guys.
Also it was very nice to meet new family members :)