DAVE'S DIARY - MOROCCO ADVENTURE OCTOBER 2015



JANUARY 2015
After much procrastinating and telling close friends and family that I intended to have a ‘Big long adventure on a motorbike’, I thought I’d better start putting my money where my mouth was and at least start looking around to buy a bike to show others and, perhaps more importantly, myself, that I was serious!
After reading Chris Scott’s overland bikers ‘bible’ and checking out Horizons Unlimited I settled on a short list of three. BMW’s 650 X Challenge, Kawasaki’s KLE 500 and Suzuki’s DRZ 400. My only other stipulations were that it should be under £2,500, have under 10,000 miles on the clock, be bog standard and appear to have been reasonably well looked after.
Cue much scouring of E Bay, Gumtree and Bike Trader! I found plenty of candidates, but they all seemed to be in far flung places like Penzance, North Wales and Aberdeen!

EARLY FEBRUARY 2015

Spot potential candidate on E Bay. Suzuki DRZ400, Yellow (My favourite colour!) Under 5,000 miles on the clock, standard, looked in nice condition on the pics, had a ‘Buy it now’ price of £2,500 and it was only at Chesham, about an hour from Reading!

TUE 3rd FEB 2015

The DRZ’s listing was due to finish this evening and surprisingly as yet, despite something like 72 ‘Watchers’ no one had put in a bid! I therefore phoned the vendor, an amiable sounding chap by the name of Gareth. He knew some of the history of the bike together with previous MOT’s all of which tended to suggest the mileage on the bike was genuine. I decided to travel up and have a ‘gander’ at it!
I know one mustn’t stereotype but I was reassured upon my arrival to see that it was a nice house in a nice area of Chesham! Gareth was there with his mum and both seemed honest and straightforward, as was the bike! Or so it seemed! No, it wasn’t immaculate, but what do you expect, after all it was a trail bike and it was over 11 years old now! Although I’m no expert I could tell that the engine was running sweet as a nut, it was still all screwed together tightly, wheel bearings, chain and sprockets all seemed pukka! I made an offer of £2,200 and for another fifty quid and a £100 deposit the deal was done!
A provisional arrangement was made to collect it on Saturday and I left with a few butterflies of dread and excitement about what I was letting myself in for!

FEB TO AUG 2015

I obviously intended to regularly update this blog but as you can see other things seem to have taken priority! However a lot of those things did relate to the bike! For instance to get the kind of rack and pannier supports I wanted at a relatively reasonable price I had to order them from The States (they seem to have all the good stuff in relation to dirt bikes)! I was initially going to just rely on my Michelin Morocco map but bottled it and purchased a Garmin bike sat nav for just under £300. I managed to wire that in straight to the battery as I did with an all-weather cigarette adaptor socket, which I taped to the rear side of the cowl above the headlight.
I then went on a camping equipment buying spree in Decathlon. Bought a two man hiking tent, a self-inflating mattress, a sleeping bag, an aluminium saucepan, mug and some cheap plastic cutlery. I seem to recall this lot lightened my wallet by about £130. I could’ve bought a cheap Calor gas stove but being concerned I wouldn’t be able to get replacement canisters in North Africa I ordered a petrol primus burner from e bay for about £60.
Next objective, strap it all to the bike and go on a mini camping expedition to see how everything holds up!

So at the back end of May off I headed to the West Country for my mini adventure staying on designated sites at Corfe Castle, Exmouth and Porlock. Thankfully the rain just about held off; however the first couple of nights were unseasonably cold! Considering I haven’t slept under canvas for about 45 years it didn’t go too badly. First night I hardly slept a wink, second night slept for about 4 hours. By the third night I was so knackered I think I actually got a full 8 hours or maybe I was just getting used to the whole ‘camping’ environment!
The bike itself performed faultlessly apart from one embarrassing moment on the morning after my first camp. Whilst sat down enjoying their bacon sarnies my ‘next door neighbours’ had been gleefully watching me carefully load up the bike. When I turned my back just for a couple of seconds to attend to another chore I heard a deep ‘crump’ sound. Turning back, my bike had toppled from the side stand on to its side, breaking the plastic clutch hand guard. I quickly hauled the bike up again pretending nothing had happened. I had gone from Mr. Supercool to Mr. Supertool! The underlying reason for the mishap was the fact that the previous owner had lowered the suspension of the bike without fitting a shorter side stand meaning, when parked the bike was almost bolt upright instead of leaning at a nice safe angle!

The only damage was to the plastic clutch lever protector which had sheered completely, but at least it saved the lever itself! More worryingly whenever the bike has been running for a while and I park up I notice the slow dripping of oil from the underside of the bike. Unable to identify where it’s coming from I decide, for the moment, just to keep an eye on the level.
Upon returning home, I take stock of what I’ve learnt:
1) I need to get the bike raised back up to its proper height to avoid further embarrassing bike falling over moments!
2) Get the oil leak checked by someone who knows where to look!
3) Get a screen to make ride more serene!
4) Probably ditch my open face patriotic union jack open face helmet in favour of my old full face. Although it looks cool and funky I just find it too noisy and drafty!
5) Lastly and perhaps most importantly I have to do something to try and
make the ‘razorblade’ seat more comfy!
Point 1) was sorted by a lovely old boy by the name of Malcolm who has his own little back street workshop in Caversham. Thankfully I had the original suspension support links which returned the bike up to its proper height. He also checked point 2), the oil leak which he seemed to think was as a result of being over-filled when I did an oil and filter change soon after purchasing the bike. Reference point 3),I have bought (directly from China!) and fitted a windscreen which has made riding much less drafty! Point 4), will wear my old faithful Shark full face which matches the bike better to! Point 5) I have bought thin weather proof cushion full of what appears to be those little dried beans you get in kids small soft toys. I have tried it on a ride down to Devizies and back and my bum did seem to feel better! But I guess the real test will come when I spend most of the day in the saddle!

SEP 2015

OK so as my departure date approaches (Sun 4th Oct 15)my bum is getting quite squeaky as there are lots of jobs I could and should've done sometime ago but for one reason or another, well in fact no reason, I haven't done! For instance I've known one of the the fork legs is leaking oil from a seal for sometime but have chosen to ignore it until now! Malcolm to the rescue! He has now replaced both seals for me and put on a couple of rubber fork gaiters to preserve said seals! So here I am, last week in September still no travel insurance, still learning how to use my new little travel laptop, trying to learn how to do this blog and upload pics, haven't fully loaded the bike yet to make sure everything fits on and won't fall off half a mile down the road! Perhaps most worryingly I couldn't find my MOT so checked on line only to find out it expired at the back end of April! Cue panicked phone call to MTC Motorcycles in Reading to book an MOT for Saturday (the day before I go!).
Further panic, I was hoping to take Friday off but too much going on at work, still haven't sorted travel insurance and just realised my number plate is too small and won't pass the MOT. A quick phone call to MTC! They will make one up for me for the day of the MOT for about three times the price you can get them off of e bay, but time is now pressing so I've told them to crack on! I also had a crash course from my son earlier today on setting up and using Skype as my sisters are getting all worried about me and want to check I'm still in one piece after a remote day in the Moroccan desert!
Ok so it's Friday night now and feeling a kind of nervous fear/excitement as my departure early sunday draws near! I have sorted the travel insurance for under £30 with a company recommended, called Navigator Travel Insurance.
Oh I also forgot to mention that although on my foray earlier this summer I camped I have decided for this trip to just find accommodation as I go for two reasons. Firstly I didn't feel confident about fitting everything I needed on to the bike and secondly,apparently most of the hotels in Morocco are dirt cheap; so I'd be lugging around a load of stuff on the off chance that I might decide to camp for the odd night. Maybe next time eh?! :-)
So manic Saturday is upon me! Start doing a bit of packing but have to get the bike down to MTC for that pesky MOT. Anyway the bike flies through the test with it's new big clunky plastic No. plate firmly attached! The guy in the shop also notices there's an oil leak. He seems to think it may be coming from the gear lever shaft or nearby, however he seemed to think it wasn't 'Federal' and I just needed to keep an eye and top up when needed. When I mentioned I was off to Morocco his eyes lit up as he'd ridden out there about 10 years ago. He kept coming out with words and phrases like 'Brilliant, 'It'll blow your mind' and 'The people out there are so friendly and helpful'. So with a spring in my throttle I rode back home to be greeted by my sister with scissors and electric clippers in hand. Half an hour later I was sporting a grade 3 crewcut, well it just meant no worries about what style my hair might come out after being stuck under a crash helmet all day!! Then I continued packing and by 7pm I had the bike fully loaded and all my biking attire laid out in the spare room ready for the next morning. I guess the only logical thing to do was go down the pub for a couple of pints and home for a supper of fish chips, hopefully not 'The Last Supper'!

__________________

Nice post, I'm off there in April with some mates! As for the seat, I swear by gel pads, not the cheap ones, but the decent medical grade ones designed for people who sit in wheelchairs all day.

There's a company called something like medica gel? I think they also sell on ebay. They not only do gel pads for medical use, but as a sideline for motorcycles. I have one and made my own strap on pouch.

I rode my Elefant back from Italy last summer, just under 1,000 miles, in a day. No usual arse ache! I also rode my Ducati cafe racer back from the South of France last weekend in two 360 mile days, in relative comfort. Highly recommended ;-)

I'll try to find a link.

This is the company I used, decent medical quality stuff, well worth it. Riding on one feels weird at first as you move around a bit, but a friend with an airhawk pad says the same about his.

http://www.danmedicasouth.co.uk/prod..._wcB]DebbonAir

Hey Thanks Nick I've invested in this beanie bag thing now so I'll see how it goes for this trip. If it's not up to the job will definitely look into your suggestion.
Thanks again
Dave

__________________

4th OCT 2015 - DAY 1 - READING TO ANGERS ((RDG TO PORTSMOUTH 55 MILES APPROX AND CAEN TO ANGERS 162 MILES APPROX)

Predictably bad nights sleep despite a couple of pints up at the White Horse in Emmer Green earlier in the evening! I had set my alarm for 5am but was wide awake by 3.30am, so spent the next hour and a half tossing and turning, worrying about what I should or shouldn't have packed and the multitude of things that could go wrong!!
However , thankfully having done all my packing the previous afternoon I was able to just get dressed up in all my motorbike clobber, have a quick slurp of tea and by just after 5.30am I was on my way!
Broadly this was a day of five ups and downs:
1) DOWN The ride to Portsmouth was freezing
2) UP The ferry across to Caen was very relaxed with the sea also in an extremely calm state. I even had a chance meet with an old colleague from work. Had a good chat. It was just a shame a lot of it revolved around other ex-colleagues who were, sadly, no longer with us!
3) UP The first 150kms or so of my ride south was glorious warm, dry and good roads.
4) DOWN It started raining heavily and instead of following the good roads on my map, I let the dreaded sat nav take control and ended up doing the last 150kms to Angers on boring motorway like roads into the driving rain. The only saving grace was that it took me virtually to the front door of my overnight hotel, the Ibis Central!
5) UP It was only once I'd peeled off all my sopping bike gear, changed into some dry clothes, gone down to the hotel restaurant for some sustenance that I could feel the warmth returning to my extremities. Only then was I finally able to relax!

__________________

Sounds like my first day in France a few weeks ago, rain for the first 450 miles! Hope it improves for you :-)

Hi Dave,

I reckon starting out is always the hardest part so hopefully that's the worst of it and now you can start to relax and enjoy the journey.

Maybe be rebellious and ignore the SATNAV. Hope you have a good day today. Maybe try to post a map of your route when you get a chance. It would be good to visualize exactly where you are.

Looking forward to the next instalment :-)

Karen xxx

Hi Nick Feeling like the proverbial drowned rat is no fun at all really is it?
Weather much better now thanks

__________________

Hi K
Much better route today. Weather improving. Will try at some stage to post a map however I think this may be beyond my limited tecability

__________________

(Sorry didn't take any pics today so here's one for those who haven't seen me with my new streamlined haircut!!)

5th OCTOBER 2015 - DAY 2 - ANGERS TO MONT-DE-MARSAN (335 MILES APPROX)
After a blissful nights sleep and waking up full of the joys of Spr---autumn, I drew back the curtains and there it was ---- raining AGAIN, HEAVILY. I'm surprised Angers hasn't sunk without trace! Oh well there was nothing I could do about it other than clobber up again in all my wet weather gear and face the elements once more. Thankfully most of my gear had dried out from yesterdays deluge, apart from my gloves and they were still as soggy as two freshly squeezed tea-bags!
No hotel booked this time I was just heading south to see how far I could get. So off I paddled!! Somewhere close to Poitiers I stopped for fuel and had to use a completely automated pump with an automated voice barking instructions at you in French! I enlisted the help of a kind car driver next to me, but even he couldn't get it to work. After trying to get it to work for about twenty minutes aforecourt attendant appeared from nowhere announcing that that pump had run out of petrol and I had to try another one. Finally after about 30 minutes I was able to screw my petrol cap back on and get the hell out of there, still in the pouring rain! Bravely I rode on eventually stopping for a late lunch at a typically french restaurant, Mcdonalds!! And then we were off once more, in the pouring rain! But wait what was that I could see in the distance, was it brighter skies? Yes it was and gradually, bit by bit the rain eased and by the time I reached Bordeaux the roads were nice and dry.
I nearly ran out of fuel on the run south of Bordeaux because at my previous fill up I had forgotten to reset the petrol tap from reserve back to the on position. And of course with the tap in the reserve position the bike would have gaily kept going until completely empty. Sat Nav to the rescue! Within a couple of K's I was at another automated filling station which eventually accepted the third credit card I had tried to use. So full up once more I rode the last few miles to Mont De Marsan in beautiful warm sunshine and upon arrival i simply used my magic Sat Nav to find me a hotel somewhere near the town centre. For what it was 'The Pyrenees' was quite expensive (59Euros) for a pretty basic room, but at 7.30 in the evening after a long days ride, I didn't fancy scooting round town to other hotels to find out if I could get a better deal. So I took it!
Dumped my gear changed and walked out into an evening warmed by the balmy gentle air wafting up from the Iberian peninsula. This, my friends, is more like it! When you've been drenched to the skin two days on the trot, you appreciate the good weather so much more!!

__________________

Hi Dave, glad to see its going well and getting warmer. We'll be keeping a eye o your travels. All the best Sara Bx

6th OCTOBER 2015 - DAY 3 - MONT DE MARSAN (FRANCE) TO SORIA(SPAIN) 235 MILES APPROX

(Not quite my route, mine was more due south going over the Pyrenees, but gives you an idea!)
Guess what? Woke up to a blue sky and warm sunshine. Managed to pack up and load the bike a little quicker as I get used to where things are best packed and how I bungee everything to the bike! Having studied my map last night I knew which way I wanted to go and thankfully the satnav agreed with me and within a short time we were out of the town and heading due south on the open road. Then as the Pyrenees began to loom in the distance the road began gently curve back and forth and gradually gain in altitude. Warm sun, twisty quiet roads, as a biker it just doesn't get much better than this! As I approached the summit the road became more sinuous and steep just like the switchbacks you see on the Tour De France. By the time I reached the pass, effectively the border between France and Spain, the wind had picked up and the grey clouds had gathered ominously overhead. On the way down I could definitely feel a drop in the temperature and I caught a couple of light showers. So much for that lovely Iberian weather I was eulogizing about yesterday!

Once clear of the Pyrenees I have to say I wasn't overly impressed with the northern Spanish countryside, which was largely flat, divided between industrial, scrub and agricultural land. On the way to Soria I must have seen at least three or four large tractor dealers all proudly displaying their Massey Fergusons and John Deeres on the forecourt. And as if to emphasize the point as I arrived in Soria I was stopped by the police in order to allow a huge procession of tractors to rumble by, each one displaying a couple of large green flags on the front of their cabs. I get the feeling they were demonstrating about something or other.
Again late last night I had 'cheated' and booked a hotel in Soria on line. However upon my arrival the front of the hotel was completely empty and deserted inside with what appeared to be 'For Sale' signs in the window. Great I thought there's 40 euros down the drain! Thankfully there was another hotel just across the way which I managed to book into without any problems although the proprietor couldn't speak a word of english so I was unable to explain what had just happened.
So after unpacking most of my stuff and getting changed I went for a wander through the town when by chance I spotted the Tourist Information Office. I told the lady that her town was presiding over a closed down hotel that was still happy to scam unsuspecting travelers out of their hard-earned wedge! She gave me a confused look and made a phone call to the Alba hotel. The phone was obviously answered and after a brief conversation with whoever was on the other end she told me it was indeed open for business. I thanked her and walked back to the Alba and hey presto I found an obscure side entrance that I hadn't seen before. I tried to explain to the receptionist what had gone on but again, not a word of English. I therefore returned to the T.I. office and asked the helpful lady to phone my new hotel to explain what had happenned. After 5 minutes of intense chat she announced that my new hotel would allow me to transfer back to my original hotel! So I returned to my hotel, hastily gathered all my clobber and after 3 or 4 trips back and forth I was once more a client of The Alba Hotel! All's well that ends well:-)

__________________

Hi Sara,
Thanks for your kind thoughts, hope you're enjoying the blog.

__________________

7th OCTOBER 2015 - DAY 4 - SORIA TO GRANADA - 400 MILES

I'm sorry everyone I'm not writing anything today as I've just spent about an hour and half updating my blog, somehow pressed the wrong F-----g button or touched the screen in the wrong place and lost the lot! I was having a good day until that moment. Will try and upload a pic and that will have to do I'm afraid :-(

My Suzi in the foreground with the sun setting on the Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance.
Big day tomorrow, ferry to Morocco all being well!

OK so I'm in a slightly better mood now and, for reasons which will become clear in tomorrows blog, I have a little time on my hands!!
I seem to be getting a little quicker at packing and loading because by just after 9.30am I had saddled up and Soria was just a distant memory in my wing mirrors. I was glad to, as my episode with the closed down part of my hotel seemed to be reflected around a lot of the town with lots of commercial property shut and/or up for sale, very sad. This sadness had rubbed off onto the towns folk as no one seemed to smile or have a spring in their step. I guess this is mostly the result of Spain's crushing debt and unemployment situation. So I'm calling the town SSS - Sad Sorry Soria.
If you ever look for Soria on the map it's about 150 miles north east of Madrid and basically in the middle of nowhere! But as a result the motorway is so deserted it's unreal. I was riding along and just counting how long it would take before I would see a car coming from the opposite direction. Sometimes it would be over a minute! I would bet my house against being able to do that on any motorway in England at 10.30 in the morning!
There was certainly a chill in the air, but the sun was breaking through and by the time I sailed past Madrid it was lovely and warm! Earlier I'd set the satnav for Algeciras and allowed it to route me on all the main non-toll roads as I wanted to make as many miles as my numb bum could stand in one day!(Anyone from TVAM look away now! And kids don't try the following at home!)) So to alleviate the boredom and to get out of the buffetting effects of the wind whistling across the vast open Spanish plains I began tucking behind the big artic. lorries and as a faster one overtook so I would hitch on to the back of that one and if a coach came thundering past I was laughing!I was like a giant flee hopping from a corgi to a spaniel to a greyhound! ( Greyhound bus - see what I did there!) Never mind! On I went dropping plumb south like stone, passing Toledo, Madridejos, Menzanares, Linares until I could the Sierra Nevada mountains on the horizon! And as I passed Granada to my east so my odometer indicated I'd covered the magic 400 mile mark. And just at that moment so the Marinetto Motel right next to the motorway beckoned me in. I'm glad it did to, although initial impressions were not good as I was greeted behind reception by a lady gaily puffing away on a cigarette! I don't know whether it's illegal in Spain, but you just can't imagine it in our country now can you? However she was extremely friendly and helpful allowing me to park my bike right out the front under the gaze of cctv cameras, my room was en-suite, clean and large and all for 25euros, bargain I'd say!
Now for some worrying news. Since riding down my chain seems to be stretching worse than a piece of nicker elastic, will adjust tomorrow first thing. For some reason the breather pipe from my carburetor has started convulsively spewing small amounts of fuel out after I've stopped the engine? Turning the fuel tap to off straight away seems to prevent this but somethings obviously not right there. And also my oil leak seems to be getting worse. Again I will check my oil level first thing in the morning whilst the oil is cool and in accordance with the manual i.e. run for 3 mins switch off ,wait 3 mins then check oil which is actually stored in the top bit of the frame behind the fork yokes.

__________________

Hi Dave, sorry for lack of communication. I've not been at work so struggled to get on the site from home but seem to have cracked it on my mobile