Almost4x4

Hello everyone

During the week the newbies were crying for two convoys since we are giving the newbies 10+ night drives in Ramadan .

I joined to give extra hand to @giorgio and findout that many dropped out in the last minute so we decided to go for one convoy.

The last time I came for morning drive in Ramadan and it was not an easy experience for a fasting person , nevertheless, this one was okay .

We had a great day from 7:30 until 11:00 am where we tried everything .

Time for me to take a nap because I have a night drive with The Yellow Moon.

Till next time, Stay Safe and see you in the Grand Iftar 2023.

Cheers
Shamsi

Fun Ramadan drive for 10- in AD Faqa side. Long convoy with a big variety of cars from no drives with Almost to more than 10 in some cases.

Shamsi leading with Giorgio, the organizing Marshall floating for support.

The green little thing showed its true colours very quickly, first dune a second try and on the second dune front plastic bumper gone for another car.

Overall a great fun drive with untouched sand where the convoy did relatively well other than the expected troubles.

Remember:

- On the flats catch up with the car in front of you

- Radio communication is always a must

- Straight crest, if having to choose between a 2nd try and taking off always better the 2nd try, don't be shy about 2nd tries, much better than damaging the car or hurting yourselves

Personally I had loads of fun as involved in a good number of "rope rescues" so very happy with the exercise

Thank you Shamsi and Giorgio for the drive, interm friends good to see you after a couple of weeks away.

See you on the sand soon

Good morning everyone,

Thanks to @giorgio for arranging this drive. And extra special thanks to our founder @alshamsi_m for supporting even during Ramadan.

It was a very large convoy with as mentioned a variety of different cars and experience levels.

With the little Jimny piloted by @alshamsi_m leading the convoy. @giorgio buzzing around floating and keeping a watchful eye.

Although it was a large convoy of newbies we had the benefit of many experienced intermediates scattered throughout the group to render assistance when required - with @CARLOSS in second lead did a masterful job we had @Jasper as sweeper making sure no-one got left behind. Also @mpodroid @PedroLeal @David and myself mixed in between the newbies.

My Viking rope got a lot of use recovering many cars from crested positions on top of dunes. Thanks to @giorgio for directing the operations and special thanks to @David for selflessly insisting on connecting and disconnecting the rope while I could remain in my car and concentrate on getting the "pull" right to dislodge the stuck cars.

It was a fun morning and I am sure the drivers all went away having learned so valuable experience.

RAMADAN MUBARAK

This drive was quite popular with several members from 0 drives and up.

The long convoy we led by @alshamsi_m with @Carlos on the second lead and @Jasper as sweeping.
The rest of the intermediate drivers were placed in the convoy and they had a busy day so thank you all for the support and attendance.

In this early stages of your off-roading trip you need to work on the following skills:

Radio communication: You will need to get use to report on the radio all your actions
proper momentum approaching the crest: To slow will get you to not be able to complete the climb, too fast and you will be in trouble
crossing the crest and applying brakes: This is a common mistake that happens in this early stages and it will only get better with practice. Do not slow down or apply breaks before you as a driver have reached the edge of the crest. Please note that this is linked to the momentum and speed approaching the crest
adjusting your speed according to the terrain conditions. On the flat you need to speed up and close the gaps.

Overall it was a nice day on the sand and I am looking forward to see you all on the upcoming drives

Until next time drive safe

Hello everyone!

Nice and not so easy -10 Newbie drive in a beautiful area with even more beautiful weather. Early wake up alarm was paid off ten times thanks to both Master of Dunes @giorgio (thanks for organizing) and Master of Master @alshamsi_m who led us to salvation…or not , with his Little Green Evil called Mr. Cool

Long convoy with a mix of different drivers’ skills and well-assisted by my fellow interm (@David, @brett, @Jasper, @mpodroid and @Pedro) with me taking the second lead role. Giorgio earned his salary on Sat providing guidance on a significant number of second tries and recoveries.

Since the time I saw the “little green thing” driving slowly in Al Ain road I said to myself: “Damn it, this is not going to be easy ” and I was not mistaken: Following this little crazy thing driven by Shamsi is like trying to catch a bullet! Even driving slowly on the sand, it is not easy as it makes sharp turns impossible to follow by a fatty FJ so I needed to make by own way trying not to spoil too much the original track for the rest of the convoy.

And not only that, when doing straight crests there were just 2 tracks left behind by the wheels, but the rest remained untouched, so I was doing the “trimming” job…actually, I was caught by one of them (silly dune but preceded by a small step just half a meter before the top) getting perfectly stuck with all my shocks full extended barely touching wheels with sand. Nice picture, I guess.

On the other side, it is always a very insightful experience following an experienced Marshal, sorry, I meant a Founder, as you can see how he reads the dunes like anyone else. Priceless learning exercise even within Newbie level.

Thanks all for joining and playing safe and see you soon.
Carlos

Hi all

Long time since the last drive due to crazy bike calendar.
Really happy to join this drive supported by a lot of intermediates and lead by @shamsi and @giorgio.

In the last dune the Tacoma pick-up suffered a problem which was fixed using duck tape, as one of the best tools

The convoy was really long so we had a couple of second tries and stucks mainly due to a lack of distance or momentum.

I really enjoyed and have fun. Looking forward to the next one.

More pics to post!