Almost4x4

[IMG]http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah3 ... hjsfhy.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah3 ... jt0adg.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah3 ... 8kznzu.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah3 ... uqbyfa.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah3 ... tjgwhc.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah3 ... 2wzywh.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah3 ... i6japn.jpg[/IMG]

Run Fast reloaded completed last week’s short drive, giving us a full 4 hours and the end part in the dark. Small technical dunes, high speeds and long sabkha stretches, with Bu Salem giving us a varied and challenging route. We were all very tired at the end, and really felt as though we had been for a proper drive! Fuel tanks were low too.

My own highlight of the drive was sighting the Arabian Oryx , what amazing creatures they are.
Many thanks to all the organisers.

This was loads of fun and for some reasons I missed all fun parts in pictures above by [MENTION=8472]Dave[/MENTION].. [MENTION=2551]ginger[/MENTION] I thought we drove for 2 hours only and did not count the 4 hours since it was full of fun and adrenaline (in some area) with fast drive in flat area (I could see the max speed in jeep was 130km) and I could see Mcloud floating and most of the time with no tires on ground - Best explained by [MENTION=8472]Dave[/MENTION] as rabbit footprint on the sand... Nice technical dunes with small bowl, I guess Mcloud was trying to test Tornado who is in one occasion could stand on the angle of both side of the bowl :killzonesmiley:. Very nice area with combination of soft sand, hard land, small bowl, mini bowl then ditch then another small bowl!!

It was not easy to be second car after Mcloud especially with the sudden, short, quick turns by [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] .. I guess the car was drifting in most of the turns and I could see him laughing - Like he is saying to us I am doing it in purpose -
All in all, it was nice drive with lots of learning.. Thank you [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] [MENTION=1633]Yoghybear[/MENTION] [MENTION=1657]Rashidjass[/MENTION]

It's been almost 2 months since my last Almost4x4 drive so I was excited to see this event posted on a weekend I was free. It's a rerun of last weeks drive which due to an incident cut the original drive short. The meet point was 10km south west of Bab al Shams resort, at the far end of the Al Qudra cycle track. Approximately 15 cars met at 3pm sharp and as everyone was pretty much on time we set off 5 minutes early at 3.25pm after @alshamsi_m safety brief.

We were targeting Al Faqa, 50km East across various terrain without incident this time around. @alshamsi_m was the leader in a newly painted and upgraded Suzuki Vitara with @Yoghybear doing sweep with the monster Ram and @Rashidjass support in the FJ. I started behind the nimble Suzuki which must be half the weight of each other convoy car. That thing changed direction in seconds so it was a real challenge keeping in line. Immediately as expected with a big convoy the gap between cars was non uniform. Towards the back there was large gaps which seemed to be driving @Yoghybear crazy. He was shouting "DiSTANCE" so much I thought the battery on my radio would run out! @Zorro was his passenger but fast becoming deaf in his left ear so at the first technical stop jumped into my car!!

The terrain started very flat and easy with large sections of high speed track. Over 100km/hr was reached on some sections. Eventually we arrived at the start of the sharp technical dunes. @Eric was first to suffer but shortly afterwards I would guess 60-70% of the cars suffered. Lots of recovery practiced and many second attempts. Again in the high speed sections gaps formed so we stopped and listened to @Yoghybears maths lesson on distance. Many it seemed were confusing 20m with 200m!

Another high speed run was halted with a pop out or puncture. Unfortunately the front four cars didn't realise and at high speed were out of radio range fast. It may be a good time to remind each driver to look in the rear mirror occasionally to see all are still following. @orlantsev can be forgiven this week as on the last drive he arrived too fast on the car in front. Hence he was 100% focused ahead! While @Alyasi has his flat fixed I set off to catch the others. After a brief coffee break in Ras Al Khaimah we returned back to regroup...!

Although the direct distance from start to finish was 50km, we did a lot of snaking about. With the amount of stuck and second attempts it was stating to get dark well ahead of our arrival point. As expected the level now increased and we slowed even more. @Yoghybear give @Eric a lesson in distance, using centimetres...... @Rashidjass tried unsuccessfully self recovery in the dark and all alone. Even @alshamsi_m parked up the light weight Suzuki giving @Alyasi a rare recovery opportunity!

At this stage a wise decision was come to and flat track to Al Faqa was utilised for the remaining 12 km.

To summarise, there was a wide level of experience within the group. Distance was either too great or small. I saw two very close calls with cars almost cresting on one another. The same cars were cresting again and again. Overall the pace was slow. The terrain was technical, the sand was soft, but we really should have reached Al Faqa before sunset. As in Newbie level, maybe intermediate should have a +10 group also. That way everyone is challenged and will move forward.

Thanks to our 3 leaders and thanks fellow intermediates for keeping it safe and incident free this time around.

Good evening all, after last week's incident I naturally was a bit nervous, but at the same time determined to complete the route which looked very interesting from the first attempt. I left home on time, but remembering the PM's instruction to have a full tank I first attempted the fuel station on Al Khail road which was full. I had 3/4 of a tank, so could possibly do without re-fueling, but still decided to be on a safe side. Therefore, I did not take the familiar and tested route passing by Bab al Shams and instead took the Emirates road where I knew there was an ADNOC station. After I filled up the car which was exactly at 3 pm the GPS told me that I was 30 min away from the meeting point...how come if it looked so near on the map. The mystery was solved when I realized there was no exit from the fly-over. Gladly this is not an issue when you own the 4X4 car, so my off-roading started earlier than the official commencement of the drive. Still arrived a bit late, so only had just few minutes to deflate after the briefing which irritated Yoghi as he needed to bring me to convoy which had left (glad that Dave acknowledged that it was 5 min earlier). Not a great start as the drive anxiety was multiplied by the rushed departure. However, things settled down especially after the technical break. In my defense when Yoghi observed huge distance to the car in front of me I should say that few moments before I got almost trapped in a section of soft sand, which slowed my pace so I was in fact trying to catch up when the gap was observed. Driving closer to sunset is great for the views, but does not make it easier to see and evaluate the track. Indeed the speed at one point reached 130 km/h and given that so much focus goes into what is in front of you, unfortunately less care is taken for those behind. Apologies for not reacting to Alyasi's tire problem. As soon as the sun set few of us had an option to test our lights. I regret those who only relied on stock lights as I could well imagine the challenge of driving especially in the area we were without seeing too much. After a serious of mishaps and recoveries it was an easy way back to the road. Despite later finish it was a very memorable drive.

It was a well picked meeting point under a gazebo in the "middle of no where" :)

The track had a good combination of flat areas and tracks where we "drive fast" .Sharp dunes when you do a side crest you land on hard ground (I am wondering what is the best technique for this kind of dunes: Breaking and trying to land slower and & or make your nose close to perpendicular to the ground or driving a little faster and trying to approach with closer angle to parallel at the landing point?). Then very soft sand where you sunk 10 cm even while you are walking on it. Finally an unexpected night drive section where we had the most fun :)

It was a big convoy and we passed through some technical areas so in some parts the pace slowed down but it was ok in general.

This is the second time I get caught in dark without additional lights but I was more confident and enjoyed the challenge probably because of having more experience comparison to my first time when I was a fresh newbie.

One of the best moments was while the convoy making a loop I saw @alshamsi_m for a second doing a crest with his Mcloud and disappeared quickly splashing sand where I heard his big laughter . I think he was having the most fun among all of us.

See you on sand

Best Regards