Ab Initio 3rd Generation
It was a real pleasure to see new faces on our Ab Initio 3 and also to see our members in supporting roles. This all concept is very young but serious as you had chance to witness.
First thing what we learned is to read trips description and take it serious, otherwise you’re not prepared. No favorite coffee/tea, no chairs as mentioned 😀 , but luckily we have ChefMarc to save the day. Thank you man!
Our Ab Initio talk is a little bit long, but it gives answers to many things and we find it very important for fellas who is entering our group. This is unfortunately the only way to show the logic behind what we are doing.
We did assessment of our new members and results are visible in their personal profiles.
Based on that we split our members into two convoys. First convoy is starting from very beginning with basic questions/answer/driving lesson, and second from advanced Junior to basic off-roader.
First Convoy Report
This was basic junior level with lesson one. We had stuck with recovery on first dune. That was excellent opportunity to explain basic beginners stuck situation.
Second lead – Moamin: hope you enjoyed in second lead role. You did a good job and your driving skills will bring you to team A trip supporters.
Siddharth – driving like ninja (visually), nice styling 😛 congrats on your new car and I’m sure you’re going to enjoy all the way. You did everything right just make sure that you are keeping the right distance from car in front of you. Remember, if you guess you’re probably wrong. Let them finish, learn on their mistakes and then you do it once is safe to do so.
Maliq – I was a little bit sceptic about Cherokee in our convoy but you did it well. For next time I would suggest to check your car manually to familiarize yourself with devices off-road related. Once you get stuck is kind of late. For first time drive was ok from your side. More trips, more experience and enjoyment will come as reward. Btw., you just disappeared after drive without saying bye or something. Hope we didn’t do something wrong to you.
Jeroen – or Desert Camel if I get this right. Very nice car and please consider to install “skid plate” and “kill switch”, you gonna need it once we start driving for real. You did everything right driving wise and welcome to our group.
Aksana – Very nice sense for car and you did all challenges right even your tires are in very bad shape. Good driving. Only thing what I would ask is to invest into tires because those ones are due to be replaced long time ago. It’s not only about the desert where you are loosing your grip, it’s also about road safety when you are coming for the trips. Keep doing what you are doing and you will make fine driver.
Makshumul – welcome to the sand. We gonna start slowly and you are gonna be fine. Every drive will bring you more joy.
ChefMarc – Thank you for fantastic presentation of safety gear, breakfast, coffee and all what you bring for us. Thank you for recovery support. Just stay as you are. Our influence list is speaking words instead of me. Driving to not be mentioned! You’re rock star!!!
Second Convoy Report (By Eisuke)
It was supposed to be a ‘newbie’ trip, but we managed to put together an experienced convoy led by one of the best leaders in the UAE. Per my opinion.
It was an absolute pleasure to ride with Suhaib after so long. It was the first time for me to follow at junior level but man, there’s something magical about your style, there’s excitement all the time. The pace, crests, the switch. All drivers got to experience basic OR level techniques on small dunes – the best place to hone our skills and build confidence!
Gonzalo: second lead. No review for you buddy. The track was spotless and we had no issues at all so it can only be a good thing?!
David, Drew, Amir & Saboor: you guys are totally awesome drivers. Welcome to the club and hope to drive with you guys more often. I hope you enjoyed the drive today. I couldn’t see you driving most of the time but from what I saw you guys are really good. Good thing we had Drew and Saboor’s winches too. 👍🏻
Meysam: overall your drive was good, and it’s nice of you to have joined our club! You are clearly an experienced driver and have the knowledge of cresting and switching, but I am guessing you need more sand time to learn about your car more – how much power/speed you need to get over a certain size dune. Could have been because you had a passenger and weren’t used to the weight. Factors are always changing and it’s difficult for drivers of any level to get it right. Looking forward seeing you again 😁
Salah: you really kept up with the convoy well! So much so that I thought you were already an offroader. One thing I noticed was that I saw you tail fishing on the side crest sometimes. It is no problem when we are on small dunes but it’ll help you a lot in the next level if you can learn to control it. Did you do ‘tap-tap’ on the gas pedal? If not, you should try it out in your next drive. You will feel your (son’s) car is a totally different beast!
Overall we had an excellent convoy and I totally enjoyed it myself. See you all again on the sand!
20 comments on Ab Initio 3rd Generation
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Please share your experience from this trip and don’t forget to rate it… Thank you all for patience with me 😀
Awesome guys.!
Thank marko for your generous feedback. Thank you Marc for the air boost and the insect sting ointment, they both were lifesavers. Also thanks to moamin for giving me some tips.
why you gave us 4 stars for trip? What was missing?
Maybe his new jeep got sandy?
😁
Well in all honesty i expected more drive less talk, but again every group has its pros & cons and after the drive with D/O, the previous day, my expectations were established to the same benchmark.
OK, thanks for being honest but I need you also to be fair and realistic! Next time please pay attention on trip description because we have learning trips, training and driving trips. You were with us for a first time and this is when we do lots of talking and selecting, it was explained why is that way. It seems you didn’t listen. We can not just let you drive without explaining. For example, even we did lot’s of talking and explaining you did several mistakes which was opposite what we said. We did several safety corrections accordingly and it was fine but you need to start listen and acting per instructions. Otherwise we are just waisting each other time. @s1d you’re nice guy but you have to understand that we are friends in the desert and we are not chasing numbers to be bigger group and similar. There is many clubs out there with that kind of appetite. We are not petting anyone but we are keen to share our knowledge and our time for free. Only thing what we are expecting in return is respect. This is all build for friendship and safety. Everything was explained and I will be very happy if you can fit into our company. If not, I’m afraid we will not be able to met your standards. @jnormile you’re his mentor, please talk to him 🙂
Thanks for telling me your feelings eye to eye. Glad we both are on the same page. Dont worry next time i will come along with less expectations so that i learn from your group who has been the only one concerned about my experience offroad. Your right, the other groups dont care if im there on time or dont come, they only want quantity not quality. Some of the other group guys are so rude and arrogant, but you guys are blunt but fair. I like that and understand that respect needs to be earned not bribed. I have to adapt not reinvent the wheel. Hope that i become a worthy offroader and earn my mark the righteous way.
Guys the trip yesterday was awesome I thank each and every member of the group for their valued effort and input
It was a pleasure to have the first trip with Desert Fellas. Marko and Mark, hats off to you guys, the way you planned and executed the whole thing. Thanks to everyone supporting the event.
Thank you for the feedback …. I had change the car 8 months back and drive it’s without skid plate that is the thing worrying me plus little panic from passenger side ..
hope to see u guys soon and will learn more skills
Great trip, looking forward to learning more skills with the club. Well organised and presented Marko and company 👍
Thanks to everyone was a nice ride, really happy to drive with Suhaib again after a long time, nice convoy with not issues at all. Welcome new joiners and my good buddy Drew!
It was a pleasure meeting everyone on Saturday!
It was a very professional and systematic introductory to the club and of course coupled with the fun attitude everyone has made it a great day.
Will be looking forward for future drives with DesertFellas.
See you on the sand.
Even if i was not able to join (and no it was not because it was early morning ;-)) it is wonderful to read that you guys had a good morning! Much better to see so many new joiners…and proud to have had desert-camel representing our desert-family:-) … hope to see him more often on the sand now! Chef Marc, so happy that you joint desertfellas…you bring so much value to the club! Thanks to Eisuke, Suhaib and to everyone else for supporting and joining. I will be back more often in action soon…inshallah.
Yella bunny we are waiting for you.
Thanks Marko for the nice training drive.. every trip Inlearn something new about driving in the desert and trip management .. It was pleasure meeting the new fellas and looking forward to drive with you all soon.. Thanks to Chef Marc for the nice arrangement, breakfast and introduction to the must have tools ..
Best group Desert Fellas ..
Thank you Marco and team. It was indeed a great drive. Thank you for your review and looking forward to the next one.
yeah….another desert family driver joined the group, welcome desert camel and hope to drive soon together again…