Focused drives for newbie

[Lakshmi Narasimhan]

All the Marshalls and leads are providing tips feedbacks to improve. To put use of all the feedback we need more drives to practice, We all are trying the best to take more drives possible along with work load. With relaxed rules for second drive it would definitely give every opportunity to put in extra efforts.  Once we are out of sands theres no way to practice these skills. 
 

I am loudly thinking having one or two drives specifically focusing only on side slopes, technical dunes and criss cross and to practice these repeatedly in turns would help a lot in learning by watching and driving at Newbie level itself. Probably I might be looking to learn faster others might like to take it gradually, this is my view point only. Hope some drives can be arranged if its feasible and if it is welcomed by many.

[Gaurav]

15 minutes ago, Lakshmi Narasimhan said:

specifically focusing only on side slopes, technical dunes and criss cross

This is the exact territory of Fewbie drives.

Doing these at Newbie level will be very risky and scare lot of drivers. What you already got a taste of these specific skills (in moderation) at newbie level is just enough for you to qualify to FB. As all trip lead pay extra attention to people who are unsafe in these maneuvers and advise them to practice more.

[Lakshmi Narasimhan]

1 minute ago, Gaurav said:

This is the exact territory of Fewbie drives.

Doing these at Newbie level will be very risky and scare lot of drivers. What you already got a taste of these specific skills (in moderation) at newbie level is just enough for you to qualify to FB. As all trip lead pay extra attention to people who are unsafe in these maneuvers and advise them to practice more.

In almost all the drives I have been I could see only every one eager to learn more and want more, never saw any one scared. What I thought was newbie level slopes, criss cross if we practice repeatedly will help us, if this what we will do in fewbie level I am looking forward to that.

[Gaurav]

2 minutes ago, Lakshmi Narasimhan said:

In almost all the drives I have been I could see only every one eager to learn more and want more, never saw any one scared. 

Because all trip leads know the exact fine line to limit before it become scary or risky for newbies.

[Niki]

@Lakshmi Narasimhan i want to reinforce @Gaurav point having been on a recent Fewbie Ridge Riding trip (3+ hours of ridge riding which means 3+hours of criss crossing  with @Ale Vallecchi)

As a fewbie+ on that ride i massively leveraged what i learnt as a newbie & fewbie with regards throttle control and especially momentum (not speed).  without that prior experience the risks on ridge riding would have been far greater as momentum (not speed) ensured we were able to enter a ridge vs jump onto it and also the ability to exit safely as we didnt ride ridges at excessive speeds!  The time spent as a newbie and fewbie on the foundations is essential as it ensured when we did the dedicated ridge riding or technical drives - our natural throttle/momentum management was instinctive. 

everyone  learns at their own pace - you appetite is awesome and all i want to pass on as more of a cautious driver is that enjoy learning the basics as mastering momentum and throttle and steering in the sand makes everything more fun (and less risky) when you move onto the fewbie/fewbie+

 

[Lakshmi Narasimhan]

10 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Because all trip leads know the exact fine line to limit before it become scary or risky for newbies.

 

2 minutes ago, Niki Patel said:

@Lakshmi Narasimhan i want to reinforce @Gaurav point having been on a recent Fewbie Ridge Riding trip (3+ hours of ridge riding which means 3+hours of criss crossing  with @Ale Vallecchi)

As a fewbie+ on that ride i massively leveraged what i learnt as a newbie & fewbie with regards throttle control and especially momentum (not speed).  without that prior experience the risks on ridge riding would have been far greater as momentum (not speed) ensured we were able to enter a ridge vs jump onto it and also the ability to exit safely as we didnt ride ridges at excessive speeds!  The time spent as a newbie and fewbie on the foundations is essential as it ensured when we did the dedicated ridge riding or technical drives - our natural throttle/momentum management was instinctive. 

everyone  learns at their own pace - you appetite is awesome and all i want to pass on as more of a cautious driver is that enjoy learning the basics as mastering momentum and throttle and steering in the sand makes everything more fun (and less risky) when you move onto the fewbie/fewbie+

 

No doubt about our leads and their expertise and the amount of safety measures they undertake before, during and after drives. We trust them and enjoy the drives with every one of them, thats the reason we could see many looking forward for many more drives. Totally agree on that.

[Thomas Varghese]

34 minutes ago, Niki Patel said:

@Lakshmi Narasimhan i want to reinforce @Gaurav point having been on a recent Fewbie Ridge Riding trip (3+ hours of ridge riding which means 3+hours of criss crossing  with @Ale Vallecchi)

As a fewbie+ on that ride i massively leveraged what i learnt as a newbie & fewbie with regards throttle control and especially momentum (not speed).  without that prior experience the risks on ridge riding would have been far greater as momentum (not speed) ensured we were able to enter a ridge vs jump onto it and also the ability to exit safely as we didnt ride ridges at excessive speeds!  The time spent as a newbie and fewbie on the foundations is essential as it ensured when we did the dedicated ridge riding or technical drives - our natural throttle/momentum management was instinctive. 

everyone  learns at their own pace - you appetite is awesome and all i want to pass on as more of a cautious driver is that enjoy learning the basics as mastering momentum and throttle and steering in the sand makes everything more fun (and less risky) when you move onto the fewbie/fewbie+

 

Totally agree with you @Niki Patel. I was on that drive and I learned one valuable lesson from Prof @Ale Vallecchi. If you are on a ridge and the car before you slows down then just exit from the ridge to a safe position instead of getting perched on the ridge which makes 2 cars stuck. 

[Thomas Varghese]

@Lakshmi Narasimhan I can understand your enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. I'm like you. But what is the fun if you learn everything very fast? Very soon you will run out of things to learn as you progress through the drives at a fast pace. You should drive under all the marshals and you will learn more. Each Marshal and his style is different. There is no perfect learning. Its that you perfect your skill with experience. For that you need patience. I'm an Intermediate. Do you think I know everything? Absolutely not. Keep driving and you will slowly gain the confidence & experience. I need to drive with for eg @Gaurav which I did only one till now. With @Rahimdad, with all the marshals. DON'T TRY TO VENTURE OUT IN THE DESERT ALONE. 

[Lakshmi Narasimhan]

22 minutes ago, Thomas Varghese said:

@Lakshmi Narasimhan I can understand your enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. I'm like you. But what is the fun if you learn everything very fast? Very soon you will run out of things to learn as you progress through the drives at a fast pace. You should drive under all the marshals and you will learn more. Each Marshal and his style is different. There is no perfect learning. Its that you perfect your skill with experience. For that you need patience. I'm an Intermediate. Do you think I know everything? Absolutely not. Keep driving and you will slowly gain the confidence & experience. I need to drive with for eg @Gaurav which I did only one till now. With @Rahimdad, with all the marshals. DON'T TRY TO VENTURE OUT IN THE DESERT ALONE. 

@Thomas Varghese As you rightly mentioned, I also try to take drives with every Marshall possible and also on every terrain. Also same terrain with other marshall has different pathways which is unique. Every drive is experience, learning and fun. I don’t see that practicing more will diminish that xfactor. If so all the leads should have retired by now considering their number of drives. But we can still hear them saying I am still learning and every drive is unique and the enthusiasm shown by them at their respective age levels. Take your self how enthusiastic you are in going for drives. 
Even though I would love to go alone in desert, I wont do that even if I drive for ages. Thats the reason I was looking to have more practice with leads to guide. My point was not to learn advance driving at newbie level. I thought if we have repeated more practice would help. As Gaurav mentioned thats exactly we will do at fewbie level my point is cleared and I totally agree with all of you.

[Wrangeld]

Here's my perspective, as a marshal and someone that started desert driving quite recently. 

You may not believe it, but I am a salsa dancer. I was a terrible dancer when I started, but I practiced, and even once I got better and better, I continued to go to help in beginner lessons because I knew that practicing the basics is never a bad thing, and going back to the basics there is ALWAYS something to learn. 

What's my point? 

1. We are always learning. If your mind is open to it, you learn something every time you drive. 
2. On an 'easy' drive, I have the option to focus on an area of my skills that I want to improve and give it the time and energy that I cannot when the drive is fast paced or complex. 
3. Go back to the basics again and again and again. That way, the more challenging things will come easier (and safer).
4. Beginners really appreciate you sharing your experience. 

We do not normally do drives focusing on one skill because it's not a class. We are not leading a tutorial. We are leading fun drives for the convoy. If you want more practice, sign up for drives at a lower level and do the same challenges again and again and again. 

What most of our members do not really see is that the most senior members of the club spend more time driving with the most junior members than driving extreme drives (which we all could). We know that we learn a lot more from this experience than hanging off the side of a cliff or riding a 3km ridge.