Almost4x4

Hello Almosters,

Surf’s up drive has overtaken Booy’s last 10+ drive and now reigns supreme on my list.

What an extraordinary drive we were treated with on this beautiful Friday afternoon!

Started with a good omen, a nice bit of shade provided by the clouds above, which in the middle of July is a real treat.

We all gathered at the meeting point on time and we were then spilt into two convoys, one led by Booy, which I was a part of, and the second one led by Presa.

Briefing was short and to the point and then the fun began.

Our first taste of things to come was a climb which none of us was able to do except the leading marshal, so after a few unsuccessful tires by our second lead, Booy decided to move on reassuring us that there will be other challenging climbs ahead.

The pace was fast and side-cresting was the norm. We made our way to Al Faya and played around in the big dunes of that area.

We surfed on the crests of amazing dunes and we got to enjoy some amazing views.

We got to the point where we had a huge climb ahead of us and it wasn’t easy for me and my car. First try I floored it from the bottom and kept a straight line but near the top the car couldn’t make it and while I still had some momentum left, I turned around and went back down for a second try.
The second time I started in the same manner but with two small changes: I didn’t drive directly on the tracks of the previous car but a few inches to the side so I can get more grip on the fresh surface and as I got closer to the top and the same thing was about to happen, where I lose power, I started to turn left and right and literally crawl my way up in an S shaped line. Thankfully it worked and I made it.

After that, the next thing is remember is a pretty big bowl where we stopped near the bottom and then we all drove out beautifully riding on it’s walls and gradually going up.

That was the end of the big dunes area and we started making our way to the crossing point into an area with small dunes and surprisingly a lot of grass (which made the ride quite bouncy)

We then arrived in the Pink Rock area which had some beautiful mid sized dunes that looked gorgeous in the dwindling light of this summer Friday evening.

We drove fast and the nice outdoor temperature gave me a sweet taste of air (and sand) going thru my hair (and eyes)

As the sunset offered us a beautiful spectacle of light and color we made it to the end point of the drive near Al Badayer Shops.

Much was learned during this drive, how to maintain speed while riding the crests, how to control speed while going down big dunes, how to climb and crawl and how to keep a good following distance.

A big big thank you to the organizers, marshals, supporting drivers and all the members who were part of this drive.

Have a great week ahead and hopefully see you soon in the sand!

Hi Almosters!!

Yesterday we had a great time with Booy drive.

The drive had 4 sections:
1st: some long walls with long climbs near Fossil rock. Aside from one longer climb there were not much difficult on it.
2nd: going from Fossil rock to the roundabout we had many bushes and plants, what turn the drive on a technical area.
3rd: al faya to 2nd December and Badayer was a faster track. Some areas we reach triple digit speed and enjoy the old sand tracks.
4th: Al Badayer dunes were the sweet point where we climb 3 dunes and push the cars to their limits with one bowl after the other. The small convoy was floating well with a few seconds tries and a good flow.

See you next weekend!

Hello everyone,

Another hot summer afternoon briefing started by splitting the convoys between @presa and @Booy. Our convoy was led by @Booy and the briefing was very short: just drive but never compromise safety!

The first challenge was only few minutes after we started. This area has a deceiving look, it appears like small incline but has a notorious soft sand and you really need to have the right momentum and speed to go through. I remember from the earlier drive that whoever passed that soft sand, met at the large terrace at the fossil rock, waited some time & chitchat until the rest of the drivers join. But on this drive, Booy said lets not spend more time here as there will be more of the same to come. Then he assured we had much better and bigger challenges.

We had a lot of side cresting and nice big climbs, nice bowls, etc. But I had to do a few second tries - much more than I used to do and there were times that I felt the car was sliding a bit as well, to a degree that I was loosing self confidence. I felt the car did not have enough power and it took me some time to adjust and drive accordingly. I then found out the reason on next morning when I checked the air filter. I started the drive with somehow blocked air intake and then doing more side crests collected more sand in the filter. I used to check the filter frequently and it used be fairly clean. For that reason I did not check after my last service. Lesson learned and I will check after every drive.

Thanks to @Booy as he gave us a really fast and equally challenging drive that we enjoyed and learned a lot. Looking forward for more to come.

Hello everyone,

It was great to have a fast paced 10+ drive. I like this area, especially as we approached Al Faya with the long, windy climbs to reach the top.

Thanks to great support from our marshals and founder, we could split the convoy into two separate convoys. This meant, smaller convoys with the ability to move faster, and increase the level of fun.

Everyone did well, and that allowed us to increase the level of this drive to "almost fun level" :)

Looking forward to the next drive...

Booy

I was assigned to Presa's convoy doing a sweeper. It was a nice drive with some challenging parts and some second tries, but no need for any rescue. We just had one situation shortly after changing radio frequency. One car slipped from the crest to the opposite side doing the side cresting, but he was not heard in the radio as he didn't retune his radio and I nearly didn't notice what happened. Bu Salem noticed what happened but I suppose he was on the old frequency too at the moment. When I realized the car was left behind me I called Presa to stop the convoy, waited for the driver and brought him back to the group. For us in support It is always nice to feel useful, and it was the only time on that day so I am mentioning it here .

Thanks to @presa for leading us and for @alshamsi_m to watch us from all sides.

The week did not start very well: I got late for the registration to the drive and I got a seat in the waiting list. Despite this, @Booy let me join the drive.

We started on time and the marshal has been very clear in the briefing: you are all 10+, it will be a fast drive, to prepare you to become intermediate.

Our marshal looked around to decide the order of the convoy and he did not get any eye contact: I volunteered as a second lead.

I've always drove with mud tires, that were stock on my Rubicon. Just the day before the drive, I moved to Kumho AT 285/70R17. The experience is completely different and took me a while before starting feeling confident: wheels rolling and sliding on the sand.

After few minutes we faced a climb which did not seem so steep, but I wasn't able to make it. Sand was very soft and my pressure too high: 13psi. I deflated to 11psi. Still no way, so @Booy changed route. Then we continued, with a fast pace and a lot of side cresting: it has been really amazing.

Until 6pm: @Booy asked me if I wanted a change and leave the second lead role to somebody else. Seriously?!? That sounded as a challenge, so I had to fight back: "I am fine, just getting used to the new tires. Are YOU tired? you slowed down a bit..." He did not let it go and started the real drive: the fastest and most challenging ride I've ever had on the sand so far.

5 minutes later in the back of the convoy one member had a pop-out: it saved me :-)

Hello Everyone

Going to the meeting point and watching the clouds above Fossil Rock was the highlight of that day . There was a nice breeze which made our waiting much better while deflating and greeting the others .

I decided to stay in the car waiting for our organizer " @Booy " to give the briefing and stay hydrated

@presa was our leading car where he took us in the most technical areas you think of in that level but the guys did very well " Good Practice ".

We drove from Fossil Rock until Al Badyer which was more than 30 km in straight line which I'm sure was more on the ground arr. It was a nice drive with no major issues at all.

I forgot to mention what was my role in this drive arr. . Our leading marshal had a problem with his spare tyre from the previous drive but he couldn't have the time to replace it So I brought my FJ as his spare tyer car or spare leader if things go south . Well as I mentioned all went good to find that the other 3 marshals in the other convoys had bad luck with tyres whu What is the chance for such thing to happen ???!

Looking forward to see you all in Eid Drive or the upcoming one.

Stay Safe
Shamsi

alshamsi_m wrote: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:28 am Hello Everyone

Going to the meeting point and watching the clouds above Fossil Rock was the highlight of that day . There was a nice breeze which made our waiting much better while deflating and greeting the others .

I decided to stay in the car waiting for our organizer " @Booy " to give the briefing and stay hydrated

@presa was our leading car where he took us in the most technical areas you think of in that level but the guys did very well " Good Practice ".

We drove from Fossil Rock until Al Badyer which was more than 30 km in straight line which I'm sure was more on the ground arr. It was a nice drive with no major issues at all.

I forgot to mention what was my role in this drive arr. . Our leading marshal had a problem with his spare tyre from the previous drive but he couldn't have the time to replace it So I brought my FJ as his spare tyer car or spare leader if things go south . Well as I mentioned all went good to find that the other 3 marshals in the other convoys had bad luck with tyres whu What is the chance for such thing to happen ???!

Looking forward to see you all in Eid Drive or the upcoming one.

Stay Safe
Shamsi

Shamsi thank you for the help!