Sand Play - Another great ride

[dLemma]

Hello everyone, another great ride with almost4x4!

We met at 14.30 at an EPNOC on Al-Ain road, just before the exit to the Al Qudra Lake Sanctuary.
Since we all were ready on time, we moved before 15:00 toward Al Qudra Lake area and there we stopped to deflate.
As [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] told us, the drive was meant to play with sand, so no sharp dune for the day. Plan was to drive in the direction of the wind with the sun at our back, hence it was going to be a soft ride.

We were a total of 23 cars but only about a dozen of newbies, so a VVIP treatment.

Sand was white and soft, and the ride was actually very smooth, but it was at time difficult to follow the tracks if you were getting too far from the car in front of you for whatever reason.

I found it interesting to see such small dunes how technical they could be. As usual, on every single dune you had to define the right momentum to climb the dune without getting stuck and without flying. However here the dunes were quite low and it was giving the chance to practice a lot in a very short time, as you didn't have to climb for long before reaching the crest. Really a good exercise!

In fact, we had several stucks, mainly while cresting the dune (the famous newbie stuck that we've been explained in our club-members drive :) ). There have also been 2-3 pop-outs and several second attempts and self recoveries, so had chances to practice.
On one dune I took a small flight, promptly caught by [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] on radio "no flying [MENTION=10663]dlemma[/MENTION], no flying". I'm wondering how can he catch our mistakes 6 or more cars behind him and at the same time look ahead defining the track :)

Overall, the pace has been slower than planned, but nevertheless this was giving the chances to share dates, coffees, fruit during the pauses: as usual, we drove in convoy style, so nobody was left behind for whatever reason.

We reached the end of our trip just before sunset, and there the group broke in two parts: some who stayed over for chilling-out and chit chat conversation, some who went back home. [MENTION=27]alshamsi_m[/MENTION] escorted them back to the track, so that it was a straight drive back to tarmac and was back for chit chatting.

Thanks to our marshall, advanced and intermediate drivers for support and rescuing us, and thanks to all member for being together in the ride.
As said, another great ride with almost4x4 and eagerly looking for the next one :like:

[Daggerfall]

[quote=dlemma;46744]
On one dune I took a small flight, promptly caught by @alshamsi_m on radio "no flying @dlemma, no flying". I'm wondering how can he catch our mistakes 6 or more cars behind him and at the same time look ahead defining the track :)
[/quote]

You didn't see the Autobot logo on his hood? The car goes by himself while he is watching back :grin:

[orlantsev]

In my opinion the Al Qudra area is one of the nicest for the scenery. This time we were rewarded with the great sunset. Despite the morning rain across UAE the area was not affected and the sand was nice and soft. In terms of the drive technicality indeed it does not have big dunes, but the smaller dunes can also very deceiving, so complacency is not recommended. I was trusted to be the sweeper in this drive. It is an interesting experience. Given the large convoy I could not at times see all of it so I had to rely on perfect radio communication by other rescue members for the update on what was happening in the first half of the convoy. It is true the pace was a bit slow which meant that we were a bit under pressure to finish at the camp location before the sunset. Undeniably everybody did better towards the end of the drive as people got used to the terrain and corrected their technique.

[dLemma]

[quote=Daggerfall;46746]You didn't see the Autobot logo on his hood? The car goes by himself while he is watching back :grin:[/quote]

Ah, that's the trick! I'm then going to buy both the Autobot and Decepticon (front and back)! LOL

[alshamsi_m]

Hello Everyone


I had a morning drive with our 15+ newbies in CMIYC so I decided to go early to the meeting point and get a power nap :yaeh am not durnk:before the event. Well, our excited 5- newbies didn't make it happen by coming even earlier than the meeting time :yarr: So I had to stand outside and chit chat with our everyone. Nevertheless, this gave us 15 min ahead of schedule to start the drive.:like:

Members might consider the drive as slow but they forget that this drive is a technical one. Also, the 5- drives are a bit slow because people are learning the basics. I had a very good chance to make many straight crests which we explained in our CM drive. While we were doing the crest a confused member came to me and asked " Why don't you make them do the side crest? it will be less harder for the cars " I said " let them learn the right speed on straight so it won't be hard Also side cresting is a technique we teach in Intermediate level and now it is dangerous for them".

Another member asked " Are we going to wait for every single member who get stuck ?" and the answer was " Yes we are going to wait and when you get stuck we are going to wait for you too ".

The previous examples just to show that in Almost4x4 we have " Educational FUN " but at the same time giving the example of " United group " where everyone are taking care of each others.


The main high lite of this drive was the end point which had an amazing SUNSET VIEW with small dunes around us like SAND WAVES. Thanks to all the Intermediate/Advance team who join this drive for rescue " Without you guys I wouldn't be able to make another successful event for Almost4x4 ".

Till next time, drive safely and see you in the sand

Shamsi

[Soorena]

Guys! My first official drive as newbie was SO great, that I could not even bring my camera :) so, just few photos with mobile left.
Thanks to @alshamsi_m for the great day you made, and thanks to @Eric and @Mark B for taking care of us, along with a loud and clear THANK YOU to @Hockey , for educational pop-out fixing! It really was a lesson. @orlantsev was also doing great sweeping the long convoy patiently.
The post-drive chitchat was as enjoyable as always, and we were served with Karak and Cookies + good music by onboard DJ!

[bombays]

Excellent drive . We all met at Eppco lisaily, Since all of us were before time , We managed to leave early and start our drive. It was quite technical drive but as usual Bu salem managed to make it more exciting and interesting. We had several second tries and few pop outs. I am sure it was very good learning experience for -5 drivers. After the drive some of us waited till dark and enjoyed special KARAK which was brought by Bu Salem. Thanks for that it really made my day. After chit chat for few hours we all left. Certain drivers did experience night driving as exit was around 7 kms . Thank you all the senior members , Founders , Marshals and members to make this trip super exciting.

[TimuR]

Good Day Everyone,

Thank you for your lovely reports, even though they are not on sand they still opened up a few points of views for me and shed light on some lovely lessons.

From my angle I saw, experienced and enjoyed the points below:

- A faster deflation/initiation experience, it might sound silly but following the procedure by steps every trip makes it easier on the next time and more efficient. For example, timing the deflation helps lessen the attempts-> deflate,check,deflate,check...
-The drive was technical, with a diversified terrain. At some point it felt like moving through a chain of bowls, coming out from one soft dune to the other at different angles of approach. From this we could learn about the usage of the vehicle's momentum so that the weight and speed of the vehicles carry them through in some parts. The angle of curvature in the terrain vs. the angle of steering, due to the soft sand abundant presence was also a point to account for-> how to profit from the sideways sliding on slopes/turns combinations.
The soft sand experience was fresh and educating since we had to feel the grip of our wheels and get accustomed to the sound of revving of the engine to determine the average amount of power needed throughout the different aspects of the terrain.
Sideways sliding was present on multiple occasions and it had a different feel on the soft sand since the vehicles slide in faster and come to a stop faster as well: side slip then dig to a stop, unless the vehicles is on the move of course.
Pop-outs happened and it was my first time seeing this obstacles/occurrence, I came closer to the place of recovery and learned from my colleagues on the way to deal with pop-outs. Their tips and explanations were very helpful & structured.
On the occasions of cresting i had the chance to step out, study the terrain, study the approaches of other drivers and plan my own so that i go through smoothly. It really really paid off and i felt more confident about my surrounding and what to expect next, more and more after each observations/cresting occurrence. I felt my driving style change towards the last parts of the drive (last hour) and it felt like I am floating on the sand. I noticed the same happen to some of my colleagues and how they flowed better & better on the path. Lovely feeling.
Picking up the typography and the runs/tries of my colleagues was probably the most nurturing experience because there was always something new to notice; even by just looking at which wheels is spinning more? which is throwing sand back and not gripping and such...
-The chillout part that we had at he end was great, i felt closer to the family. Everyone brought something to the occasion: be it their presence or karak or biscuits :D and all of them were truly enjoyable-> every next drive will feel more like home, with familiar faces and even more meaningful names.
-The Night drive experience was thrilling: every single detail of that part was different from a normal day drive. From the louder engine sound due to the desert's night serenity to visibility and "road harshness felt under your foot though the chassis", it was a truly nurturing lesson on its own. Another thing that felt mainly different was the feeling of responsibility for the group and oneself. Both were somehow amplified, probably since the risk factor is higher at such a drive.

Thank you Newbies, you might think that you are there to learn but you might have failed to notice that others are learning from you.
No doubt, and with utmost respect, thank you intermediates, advanced and Marshalls, for the drive, the lessons and advice. In some occasions even a hand gesture was a whole lecture and gave way to a realization on how to deal with the current/next situation.

I will definitely get crested and fail bad if i try to mention everyone, i am sorry for that but definitely the group that was there at the end, they know themselves. Glad you enjoyed the music [MENTION=8647]Soorena[/MENTION] & the rest.
As for the rest like [MENTION=9155]Mark B[/MENTION],@alshamsi_m,@Hockey,@Eric,@orlantsev and I am definitely forgetting some people- forgive me for that -, Thank you so much.
I enjoyed the pop out lesson & other advices alot. And it was a coincidence that on both last trips [MENTION=3678]Hockey[/MENTION] was close to me & i really could feel the communication method shifting to the level of hand signs/gestures as he developed a feel to my driving style and approach. Which is really observing of him & the other higher level drivers. They were reading terrain and drivers at the same time & coordinating with Bu Salem to instruct us accordingly.

Can't wait to join you all and learn more on the next drive.
There's no going back after this dose of learning :p I need my next fix please.