Almost4x4

Today was a great drive from @Solmaz. One of my favourite areas for sharpening my driving technique. Al Faqa has a great mix of technical areas and straight cresting dunes.

Perfect as today was Back to school for me.

I Recently replaced my grand Cherokee with a lovely 2017 FJ. I felt like to fit in with Almost 4x4 you have to drive an FJ

So it was time to re-learn how to control my car and take on the technical obstacles. I was lucky enough to be second lead to @Solmaz which also meant I also had to have my wits about me. Turns out that wasn’t so straight forward.

Early on I mistakenly thought she was going to side slope, but instead straight crested over a high dune. Clearly wasn’t ready and ended up losing momentum and was the first to get stuck on my belly. Luckily @Jasper was there to pull me back to have a second try. This time I made it without too much trouble. And was able to watch the rest of the group having varying degrees of success .

The rest of the drive was more great fun. I did have a couple of second tries. I was also able to learn how to use ATRAC and the rest diff locker to get me out of trouble. As well as to find out how useful 4L can be in the technical areas.

Basically though the whole day was great and the help from @Solmaz , @Jasper , @Tomvanhouten & @presa were amazing.

Thanks everyone for another great day!

Hello everyone,

Not sure, if I am writing the trip report under the right topic "Weekend Warrior II" or maybe it should be "Wheels on fire". Anyway, we drove on Saturday morning 23-04-2022 from Faqaa to Faqaa with a great company and excellent challenges laid out by @Solmaz.
With only three support, we had a wonderful time assisting where asked.

Plenty of straight crest and the ever smoothness of the lead car, made this a very enjoyable drive.

Thanks everyone,

Tom

First drive with Almost4x4 and gladto have been part of it.
@Solmaz exploited the dunes at its finest with amazing lines and her team mates were there to look after us.

The perfect drive to begin the weekend !

Thank you to all :)

Hi Almosters!

We had a great morning drive in Al Faqa, organized by @Solmaz with @Jasper , @Laarni and @Tomvanhouten as support.

Many front crests, some 2nd tries, some stuck, all under control and safely, as expected with Almost4x4.

We finished closer to Dubai-Al Ain Rd and had a lot of fun!

Looking forward to see you guys on next drives!

Time for the Monday report.

Early start after a few hours of sleep made the trip to the meeting point and the wait before the start of the drive seem so long!

I had lost my flag driving to the grand Iftar a couple of weeks ago so I had to duct tape a new flag onto the pole. I didn't have any tape in the car but everyone being so nice I was set in no time . (Note to self: next time actually put tape in the car instead of just thinking about it).

I had never driven into the area and it was slightly different from what I had tried before; more straight dune crossing (as nicely explained in the briefing). It was in one of those that I finally got to use the recovery rope! A quick pull from @Tomvanhouten, second try and off we go.

Almost got stuck again towards the end but kinda managed to drag myself out of a little bowl. Another nice drive trails to an end. Back home a well deserved nap awaits.

Thank you to everyone for the lead, support and the overall good vibes.

Hi Almosters,
It was one of those stolen weekends before the summer hits with it's full force.

I was a little early to the meeting point and there were already many members waiting. It was great seeing all the new faces and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with our fresh newbies.

As discussed during the briefing, the intention of this drive was to practice and perfect our approach to straight crests and I believe our convoy did a great job polishing those skills. Understanding the required speed and keeping that momentum until you pass the tip of the crest is something you can learn only by practice. Good news is; after awhile your body starts to adjust it automatically, bad news is; if you stop doing straight crests for a while (aka intermediate level and up) you forget it again.

Thank you @presa, @Jasper, @Tomvanhouten, @Laarni for great support and keeping everyone safe.

Thank you all for joining and hope to see you soon.

Hi everyone!

If you are going to do something you love, it is a pleasure to wake up with the first lights of the day and hit the road despite you didn't sleep much and feel tired because of the night drive you just finished 5 hour ago

This time we were going to drive at Faqa where you can find all kind of beautiful dunes with @Solmaz who I was very excited to experience her lead as I assume the only woman marshal currently in the club.

Despite some second tries, stucks, recoveries and a "small flight" it was a nice and safe drive with good flow. I was a little bit nervous because I didn't have much experience in technical areas but I didn't know that I would love it this much after @Solmaz lead us through some technical dunes at one part of the drive where we had to maneuver the car in very tight spaces with soft sand dunes, ditches, short climbs and drops. It was fun to have this new experience

I would like to thank first to our organizer @Solmaz and all Almost4x4 team who supported us during this amazing experience.

See you next time