Almost4x4

This morning I woke up early (4:30 am) as I was excited for today’s drive. Got ready and headed to the meeting point via E66. On my way I met [MENTION=5597]Defragmantor[/MENTION]. We warmed up together till we reached the meeting point which was (Al Faqaa’) Petrol Station:027:. We fuelled up the cars, deflated the tires and fixed the flagpole before chatting with the marshals and friends. During the pre drive meeting, the marshals informed us about the importance of the drive as it’s dedicated for the well-experienced Newbies. The members of the two convoys were announced. One was lead by [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] and sweeped by [MENTION=1946]Mazaaj[/MENTION] (I was part of it) while the other was lead by [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] . We started the drive which was really interesting and honestly I felt that I applied most of the skills I learned since I joined Almost 4x4 in that drive. While driving, we were instructed by [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] that each one of us has a share to be second lead. During the drive, [MENTION=8762]FJX4[/MENTION] had to leave as he had a technical issue in his car. The good thing is that he realized this issue when we were nearly 200 m away from the tarmac. After some time [MENTION=4569]NoumanK[/MENTION] also had an issue in his car , but we were nearly 16 km away from the civilization, so [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] and [MENTION=1946]Mazaaj[/MENTION] decided to let the convoy drive towards the road so [MENTION=4569]NoumanK[/MENTION] could leave then we resumed the drive. This decision was really appreciated as it shows the familial bond between almosters. After that I was second lead. I enjoyed it a lot as I was following and applying what [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] was doing. Later we had some rest and a short chitchat. Meanwhile, we waited for the second convoy to join us. Finally, we drove back to the petrol station as one convoy.

To Sum up, I would like to give big thanks to [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION], [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION], [MENTION=1946]Mazaaj[/MENTION] and [MENTION=1593]Melfi[/MENTION] for organizing such an amazing drive.

See you soon in sand,

CHEERS

:have a nice day:

What come back !!:pacman:


in brifeing @alshamsi_m said you are getting close to next level thats why you would
be prepared well for intermedaire cuz that time no mercy no joke ....:026:

i was in first convoy leaded by yoghybear sweeped by mazzaj....it was really challenging drive not like before at all..

personelly the drive was one of the hardest dirves i experienced in the club the adrenaline hited the sky

some areas the pressure was really high especially when we were doing many crazy side cresting ..

the car was jumping right and left....

after an hour tow cars pulled back for some technical issues ... hope everythings okay with them
it was like Death race movie:gangs: drivers was decreasing ....
this is when you leaded by Yoghy lol
while we were waiting bu salem convoy to rejoin yoghy said this only 25 % of intermediate level:wtfsmilie: and that time

you should be ready for paying ( damages on da way ) lol...oh my god alot is waithing us ....

we ended up on time in the Faqaa station ...we catched the friday prayer and went back home with alot fun and smiles on face

Thanks Marcharls, Organizors really we are luckky to be in this wonderful club:in love:


Thanks @Yoghybear and @Mazaaj its was relly wow drive


See you in shaalsh sooooon

ready for a report from the second convoy?

First of all, the morning started quite bad being stuck for 45 minutes in JLT due to cycling marathon. when the road cleared it was already 7.30 and I had 30min to reach Faqaa. Flat out, good eye on the speed cameras and I reached 8.04. Luckily the marshall were still there! Deflated quickly (maybe 10psi? not sure about it), flagpole and ready to go!

Started nicely, [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] as a lead, [MENTION=1593]Melfi[/MENTION] as a sweep and [MENTION=1716]salhinai[/MENTION] as a rescue

Out of the 3 trips I did with Almost, this was by far the one with the better convoy! Good use of the radio, everybody respected his position in the convoy and just minimum issues of being to cloose or too far.

Regarding the drive I can say we had 3 different section of the trip: the first one was quite easy, with simple dunes and soft sand. The second part was again with soft sand but with higher speed and the last part a bit more technical.
Regarding my drive I'm happy because I'm slowly getting confidence and start to know the car. I got stuck few times but I always self recovered easily (thanks to low gears and diff lock) and I understood easily the reason of my mistakes. twice it happened because I was too close to the car in front of me and in order not to hit him i lost the momentum, once I was in the wrong gear (2nd instead of 1st) and the last one I needed to better understand the correct approach to the dune.

Overall the convoy behaved very well, with some pop outs and a small jump.

regarding the car, I am almost 100% in love with the FJ. very good torque, good angles, stabe and fun on dirt road. it has only one MAJOR issue. VISIBILITY! No idea what's happening in front of you, you just have to trust the one in front of you!

Thanks all for the nice trip and see you soon in the desert!

I don't usually do trip reports but not writing one for a trip like this would be disrespect towards [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION].
Started of around 6 am and started flying around 140-180km/h (can't say if i crossed higher than that or no) met up with [MENTION=8771]KIMOz[/MENTION] on the way and then reach the point about 35 minutes prior. Prepped the car air down,flag up and walkie charged

Seprated in two convoys ,we were informed the first convoy was with drivers who have been 20+ on the drive count so its not going to be easy.
Drive started and right after the first dune i knew this drive is gonna be very interesting . Such soft dunes the throttle at a point felt useless if it wasn't pressed all the way down !
Engines Screaming ,adrenaline rising and good music is what makes me coming back for more every week :D
I must say [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] has his way with the dunes (there were points were his truck jus smashed through the dunes) which looked pretty badass!
What i noticed that everyone in convoy most of the time were maintaining enough gap and were playing by the rules which made the drive an enjoyable experience.We did have a pop out ,2 break downs and few second tries but its part of the game .
Lastly hats off to [MENTION=1946]Mazaaj[/MENTION] for keeping his cool at the end of the convoy and ensuring all of us are back on tarmac safe and sound !
All in all another amazing drive Organized by Almost4X4
Keep the sand flying ! :pacman:
Regards
Defragmantor

[quote=Defragmantor;41807]I don't usually do trip reports but not writing one for a trip like this would be disrespect towards @Yoghybear.
Started of around 6 am and started flying around 140-180km/h (can't say if i crossed higher than that or no)
[/quote]

Having had an off road tire blow out on the E66 at well below the speeds you are talking about I have to say it was a very "exciting" experience. Even with a relatively fast reaction time I still required 3 lanes of the highway to recover control. Off road tires come with speed ratings between 120km/hr up to around 170km/hr. To compound this we regularly deflate-inflate and the summer time temperatures are extreme on the road surface. Friendly advice would be to set your alarm 10 minutes earlier than normal and have a relaxing drive to the meet point. Save the adrenaline buzz for the dunes!

[quote=Dave;41808]Having had an off road tire blow out on the E66 at well below the speeds you are talking about I have to say it was a very "exciting" experience. Even with a relatively fast reaction time I still required 3 lanes of the highway to recover control. Off road tires come with speed ratings between 120km/hr up to around 170km/hr. To compound this we regularly deflate-inflate and the summer time temperatures are extreme on the road surface. Friendly advice would be to set your alarm 10 minutes earlier than normal and have a relaxing drive to the meet point. Save the adrenaline buzz for the dunes![/quote]
yea it wasn't being on time as I was well ahead of time , jus didn't think about the consequences of this
will be watching the speed next time

Another great weekend drive this Friday :)

As mentioned in the other posts... the briefing... convoy splits.... and the 'WARNING' :you're kidding, rig

I was in convoy 1.... Lead: @Yoghybear / Sweep: @Mazaaj

Well what more can you say when you have @Yoghybear leading your convoy :zomg:... We were already warned.. 'This is not going to be easy'

As the drive started, we departed from the Al Faqa Adnoc and headed into the dunes between a few farms and there we were.... SOFT SAND... as we proceeded deeper and deeper the sand kept changing from time to time... as we drove over slightly hard sand... we were suddenly caught with soft sand.... it was a really good mix and a great track selected by Yoghy... A lot of side sloping and side cresting...

Soon after we had our first and only Pop out which was quickly fixed as we proceeded with the drive... We hear the announcement from Yoghy "This is part 1, we will be crossing the road and going over to the other side for part 2.... Part 1 was only a warm up for the drivers... get ready for part 2":wtfsmilie:

As we ended part 1 @FJX4 had to retire from the drive due to technical issues with his car (Hope the issue is fixed).

Now we enter part 2... eager to find out what was in store for us.... and then we hear the other announcement from Yoghy... we will be changing the second lead every 10 mins... This is where I got happy.... I finally get to see the leading car from close instead of being right at the end of the convoy :blank:.

Here Yoghy really selected a track which tested all our skills in all aspects we have learnt previously... a few retries but everyone managed to catch up and the convoy discipline was always maintained.

During round 2 we had @NoumanK who had to retire due to technical issues (Hope all is sorted bro)

After the drive, we were waiting for @alshamsi_m's convoy so we could head out together. As we were waiting, a little chit chat with Yoghy and he gives us the news "What you all have done now is only 25% of an intermediate drive":scared:

As we had the second convoy in sight... we decided to go toward them... and we heard Bu Salem advising Yoghy that they will join us soon as @Mo Sh flew his (A380) over the dune and got a Pop Out which is almost fixed... I missed this one @Mo Sh Lol....

Both convoys regrouped and drove out to Al Faqa Adnoc where every member shared their experiences and happiness in completing the drive successfully...

Thank you to Yoghy, Bu Salem, Mazaaj, @Melfi for arranging this drive and all participants for making this another successful drive and an exciting weekend.

I will be posting a few pics clicked during this drive... Not many as the usual.. As Yoghy did not give me a chance to hold my camera most of the time to click pics :XD:

Tc till next time...

Stay safe and see you all soon.