Hi Dave,
sorry I haven't been in contact.
Tony & I have enjoyed reading your blog. It sounds like you're having a real adventure.
BTW everything's fine at your house, & Dad sends his love,
Love Helen

Makes you count your blessings! Imagine how awful it would be in the heat of the summer; it was 57 degrees when I was in Marrakesh a couple of years ago!! Karen x

Enjoying your ride report Smudger, especially as we are both on the same make and model of ride.
I'm heading in the same general direction but have a long way to go, presently in Georgia getting cold and wet while I wait for my wife to fly over for a visit.
Off to Turkey at the end of the month and then heading to wherever I can find warmth and heat. I'll use you report for reference later on so feel free to put in GPS coordinates for any places you think particularly interesting or important.
Looking forward to the rest of the report.

DAY 11 - WEDNESDAY 14TH OCT 2015 - FEZ TO ER RACHIDIA (215 MILES APPROX)

The staff being so laid back at my hotel, breakfast didn't materialize until about 8.30am even though I'd been sat there since 8am! But I was feeling so relaxed I didn't mind, it just meant I didn't get away until 10.30am. Even with my trusty sat nav and Olafs map I still managed to go wrong 2 or 3 times before finally getting on the N8 and heading due south. The vast plains stretching in front of me as far as the eye could see. Now I know what they mean when they say, 'Big sky!!' But as Azrou approached that began to change as the Middle Atlas mountains came into view and before long we were climbing, 2,000 feet, 3000, 4,000 past Ben Nevis, ,5000 feet and more! Once at this altitude so we remained obviously riding across a vast plateau with yet still higher mountains either side of me. With the change in air pressure and because I had my earplugs in my ears began to ache unable to equalize the pressure either side of my ear drum. Also the temperature plummeted so about midday I took a well earned coffee break at a petrol service station where I was able to add another layer of clothing and allow my ears to adjust properly to the drop in air pressure. Also a quick check of the bike revealed Fahd was correct and my bike was indeed '100% fixed Mr. David!'
I set off again now surrounded by a cedar wood forest and after a short while I saw a triangular warning sign, not with a deer silhouette, no, a monkey silhouette! And sure enough about a kilometre later there was a layby with a few tourists. men offering horse rides and sure enough about a dozen or so macaque monkeys hanging around (I know that's what monkeys normally do, but I meant metaphorically as in fact they were mostly sitting and walking about!) hoping for any tidbits the tourists would throw their way. A few pics and i was off again gradually dropping down to another huge plain which seemed to go on forever, but once more looming on the horizon, more mountains, this time the High Atlas Mountains, as if the last lot weren't high enough!! Not that I was complaining as all the mountain scenery was gob smackingly breath taking!

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS DRIFTER!
It was like deja vu as up we went again, this time even higher to over six and half thousand feet and at around that altitude we remained for another hour or so as me and Suzi made our way to the Ziz river valley gorge, our escape route back down to a sensible altitude, passing a massive reservoir where the Ziz had been dammed at the southern end. Finally I dropped down into Ar Rachidia, my chosen destination as it seemed a good place to base myself to strike and try one or two of these dirt trails that Chris Scott eulogizes about.
Before I came out here I'd made up my mind I was going to try and get one basic hotel for under a tenner. Well here it was! The Milano! Situated on the noisy main thoroughfare through the town I had to climb a set of steps past a broken window! The staff, respectable looking and polite, and they almost looked embarrassed as they showed me the room up some dingy stairs to the third floor. OK so the toilet seat was broken, the flush didn't work, but bucket was provided to be fair! I had to ask for toilet roll and a towel' but no soap I'm afraid, and it looked as if the windows hadn't been cleaned for about 5 years. 'Combien?' I asked. 'One hundred twenty dirhams' (£8 ). 'Do you have internet?' They did. 'I'll take it then'. They looked really quite shocked as I handed over my passport for the necessaries! Once I'd hauled all my gear up three sets of stairs (no lift obviously!) and got changed I surveyed my desirable residence more closely. I went to check under the blanket for the state of the sheets; there weren't any! Just another blanket to go on top of the blanket I was expected to sleep on!! Also the longer I remained in the room the more I was sure I could smell that well known perfume, Eau De Urine!
I ventured out to get a bite to eat and was once more pounced upon by a 'Friend', who insisted on sharing his mint tea and crepe with me before suggesting all sorts of tours he could arrange for me down in Merzouga, but by now I'd had enough of all these fixers even though the last two had been worth their weight in gold. So this time I politely refused and instead of it costing the tourist money I'm afraid on this occasion it cost the local money.
I wonder how I'll sleep tonight?!!

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Thanks Hel,
It's certainly an experience!!!
I can't believe even complete strangers are also reading and enjoying the blog.
Love to all
xx

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Hi Rob
Thanks for your kind words.
I'm afraid I'm not very good with sat nav but if can find co ordinates of somewhere particularly good will make a note.
I'm growing to love my bike despite the tribulations! However when I get back I simply must do something to improve the seat comfort. Do you have any suggestions?
Dave

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Hi Dave,

Really enjoying the blog and looking forward to each day's installment. I had a crazy idea of flying out to Marrakesh to see you for a day or two, but sadly I don't think it will work out, especially as i've no idea when you'll be arriving there etc. I would just be sunning myself in an all inclusive 5 Star and you could come and join me for a well deserved rest for your bum!!

Hope you survive the hotel; sounds disgusting :-( x x x

Hi K
Probably not going to Marrakesh now anyway! Have made other plans.
Glad you're liking the instalments
xx

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DAY 12 THUR 15TH OCT 2015 - ERRACHIDIA TO IMILCHIL - (137 miles approx)



I have to admit that I didn't sleep very well. Whether it was the thought of when or if the blankets I was sleeping between were last washed or was it because I had one of those nights where I had to get up about 4 times for the loo? I could understand it if I'd had 4 or 5 pints but I only had a small bottle of water with my meal last night? Also I had to employ the ear plugs again, this time because of the lorries thundering away from the traffic lights outside the hovel, I mean hotel, every couple of minutes until the early hours! Anyway I didn't need the alarm to get me up especially with the bright morning sun streaming past my half a ragged curtain! So wanting to be out there asap I got ready in double quick time and was good to go just after 9.30am, that's a record for me so far on this trip!
I made bit of a faux pas yesterday as the starting point for my back road adventure today was over 40 miles back down the road I had travelled yesterday! Doh!! And of course I did my usual shenanigans of going the wrong way for 10 minutes before realising I was heading in totally the wrong direction (saved by the sat nav again!). So after doing a quick 180 and getting back into Errachidia I was soon on the road back to Er Rich, the town where the back roads started. As I rode along I began to doubt my off road capabilities and had visions of crashing and/or getting lost in the mountains. So upon arrival at Er Rich I decided to take stock and try and formulate a plan. So I parked up outside a cafe right by the main bus station and became the centre of attention as kids and several grown ups flocked around the bike to take a closer look .Meanwhile I tucked into an omelette and coffee, pouring over Chris Scott's book and my Michelin map. As I came into town I'd seen a sign post for Imilchil , which I remembered reading in my book that it was a village on the route and there was accommodation there, so I thought if there's a sign for it, there's accommodation there, cars and lorries can get to it ok so therefore I should easily manage on the trail bike.
Brunch consumed, decision made I was off, heading due west right into the very heart of the High Atlas mountains! And it was brilliant! There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the road, certainly for the first 20kms or so was flat and well tarmacked. With hardly any other road users I really felt on top of the world and for no apparent reason a great big fat grin broke out across my face and at the top of my voice I shouted, 'Yeee Haaa! This is what it's all about!' But the elation gradually subsided and I had to increase my concentration levels as the road began it's relentlessly sinuous rise from the plateau following the course of the River Ziz upstream. In parts the road was good, but there were also many bits where a lot of the surface had crumbled away or become heavily potholed. On many of the bends there was loose rubble and dust so extra caution was required, especially when the odd lorry, car or mule would appear from the opposite direction on the wrong side of the road. I did lose grip a couple of times, but nothing that made my heart leap too much! And beyond a particular junction the traffic increased and I kept getting stuck behind various ancient cars and lorries belching out black diesel fumes and/or throwing up all that dust from the bends causing me to drop right back just so that I could see properly and get a clear run and make an overtake. Every 25kms or so a little hamlet would appear where the vast majority of the buildings were constructed of mud apart from, of course, the mosques most of which appeared very recently built and constructed of concrete and brick. At one stage I stopped the bike, took my empty plastic water bottle, which funnily enough had 'Atlas Mineral Water' on the label, walked down to the wide mountain stream and filled up. It tasted lovely and of course it was totally genuine and authentic!

THIS IS WHAT I NEED UNDER MY SADDLE SORE BUM AT THE MOMENT!
I finally rolled into Imilchil about 3.15pm, 7,350 feet above sea level according to my sat nav! I drove through the village scanning the hotels as I did so, also coming across a petrol station, which was handy as I really thought I was going to have to use the 5 litres I,ve had strapped to the back of my bike for the last week and a half! I settled on the Chez Bassou. Spotlessly clean, modern, evening meal and breakfast, all for 250 dirhams (£18). Having arrived relatively early I took the opportunity to wash my smalls and use the washing line up on the roof of the hotel. After a couple of hours sunbathing on their terrace I thought I'd better do a run. No more than 8 minutes up the road and I was knackered, so I about turned and wheezed my way back to the hotel. Feeling quite depressed about my performance , or lack of it, I then suddenly realised at seven and half thousand feet it was hardly surprising my lungs felt like a couple of semi-deflated party balloons!
Had a lovely hot shower which was just as well, because as the sun went down so did the temperature of the hotel and there is no heating in the rooms and it appears that the antiquated looking boiler situated in the middle of the modern lounge is only for the open areas of the hotel and apparently will not be lit until winter arrives here properly! Good job we have extra blankets!! Had a lovely 3 course meal this evening including a beef tajine and veg, delicious!

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I've ridden my bike from Japan, across Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and now in Georgia and I have a skinny rear end without much padding so I needed something. I bought a cheap solution from the USofA called a "Sweetcheeks" bike seat. It holds 2x2.5 litre bottles that I recycle from their original purpose of holding fizzy drinks and then throw a sheepskin cover over the whole lot. It works a treat and it's cheap. If you do a youtube search with this "sweet cheeks seat mod for DRZ400" you will see a DIY version of it. I've used mine for carrying spare water and for extra fuel a couple of times, at other times when water and fuel availability isn't an issue I leave the bottles empty.

DAY 13 - FRIDAY 16TH OCT 2015 - IMILCHIL TO IMICHIL - 65 MILES APPROX

I forgot to mention that late afternoon I got chatting to a Canadian couple at the hotel and the fella asked if I was here for the big festival! 'What festival?' I replied. He then enthusiastically told me that it was the first day of a 3 day festival where all the local people come together so that eligible bachelors and young ladies can see who's on the market, so to speak and apparently decisions are made and over the next couple of days around 30 marriages take place! But more than that it was a market and simply a spectacle to behold. So although I had originally intended to move on I decided to stay another day and go see for myself what the fuss was all about.
After riding 20kms south the road became extremely congested and flag poles appeared each side of the road proudly bearing the red Moroccan flag. After inching my way through the mayhem of people,cars, trucks,animals and other motorbikes I found a place to park and went for a nosey! Within 10 minutes I was accosted by a 'friend'. This one was called Khalid, a pleasant, not too pushy 23 year old from the local village a couple of kms down the road. I was ushered into a a kind of low slung home made gazebo type affair with blankets for a roof and a patchwork of berber patterned rugs on the floor and the old boy looking after the tent disappeared somewhere to get the mint tea sorted. Khalid told me he spent most of the year drifting around Morocco looking for any work, but always returned at this time of the year as it was the highlight of the year for all the locals. As it was such a scattered community, the matchmaking festival was actually bit of a necessity as was the market, because it was basically the last opportunity for the locals to get what they needed before the sometimes harsh winters set in and if it snows whole communities get cut off for weeks on end! Also he explained if it was a particularly wet winter then whole houses get washed away as they are basically made of mud with no foundations as such.

Following elevensies Moroccan style I was shown round the market although no marriage ceremonies were in evidence at that time. Needless to say everything was available to buy, from a second hand hinge to stout looking mules and everything in between. The Canadian chap said,' Hey there's so much goin' on you could spend all day there!' But after a couple of hours I'd had enough, so after Khalid had taken a few pics of me in the market and I gave him a tip for being my guide I decided to go off exploring on my own on the bike.
Heading further south I started to rise up even further until the contours on my sat nav were showing well over 8,500 feet and despite the sun, there was now quite a chill in the air. Just as I'd made a decision to turn back, an incredible view opened up in front of down into what I can only guess the Grand Canyon must look something like with a river snaking through the valley at the bottom and a mountain on the other side that must have been well over 10,000 feet! I stopped the bike, walked down the slope until I came to the edge of a steep precipice that plunged down into the canyon and there I sat for about 10 minutes taking in the awesome view!

MOROCCO'S ANSWER TO THE GRAND CANYON!
Back on the bike I started to head back towards my hotel but not before taking a detour along one of the pistes (proper dirt roads) that Chris Scott talks about in his guide. I only ventured along it for a couple of kms or so before turning round, but had I chosen to go on I wouldn't have seen tarmac for another 30 miles or so!
I had to fight my way back through the crowds at the festival before emerging unscathed the other side and travel back to my chilly hotel. Which reminds me, it was an amusing and strange spectacle last night as everyone settled down for the evening meal dressed in fleeces, coats, heavy jumpers and one young lady even had her hood up whilst eating! Also I'd got chilled to the bone earlier before the meal sitting still for too long doing this blog and had to go to bed initially wearing my thermal vest, long johns and socks!

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Hi Rob your epic journey makes mine seem like a walk round the block!
Thanks for the recommendation. I saw them on e bay but the idea seemed so basic that it couldn't possibly work! Doesn't the sheepskin become sodden when it rains? And where do you get them? Don't say from a sheep!!

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Yeah, sometimes it's the simple things that work. It's worked for me but may not necessarily work for others but at the price I reckon it's worth a try.
Sheepskin.
Where I'm sitting stays dry and I take it off and give it a good shake to get rid of water. The wool still has plenty of lanolin in it and it naturally sheds water easily enough. I bought mine in Australia but I've seen others using what they could pick up locally in Mongolia and Central Asia so I reckon you should be able to find one in Morocco, although you might need to shampoo it first. Also good when camping to just throw on the ground for something sort of clean to sit on.

DAY 14 - SAT 17TH OCT 2015 - IMILCHIL TO OUARZAZATE - (180 MILES APPROX)
Well I really wasn't expecting to be heading further south! my original 'on the hoof' plan was to start heading north-eastwards again with an overnight stay inland before heading for the Atlantic coastal resort of El Jadida and spending 2 or 3 nights there to just to do the usual touristy things i.e. relax, sunbathe and swim But whilst doing my blog yesterday I checked out the weather for El Jadida and for the time that I would be there it was rubbish! In addition after sampling the piste yesterday and telling all my friends back home that I was going to be riding the dirt roads of Morocco I felt both a need and an obligation to do it properly! In addition I checked the forecast further south and it was much better.
So even after consuming another hotel breakfast I still managed to break my record and get on the road for 9.15am! A top up with fuel at the local Afrique petrol station and like the other day I retraced my steps of yesterday once more battling through the crowds at the marriage/market festival and another 8 miles further down the road a right turn and I was back on the loose stuff. As I followed the track I just kept a steady pace, probably averaging no more than 10 mph. In fact it was probably less than that as I kept seeing such great scenery I had to keep stopping to take pics!
Occasionally a pick up or a van with good ground clearance would come the other way but basically I was on my own. I felt like a proper explorer boldly going where no man, well maybe a few, had gone before! And the higher I went, 8,000 feet, 8,500 feet, 9,000 feet the more of a super hero I became until I reached the pass at about 9,200 feet and there parked up were 5 or 6 locals with there bog standard road going chinese import Skygo 100cc's and Lexmoto 125 cc's!

THE 9,000 FEET HIGH CLUB! MY NEW MOROCCAN BIKING BUDDIES!
Well that was my bubble well and truly burst! Anyway I stopped to ask them to take a couple of snaps, which they duly did. They were all so friendly even asking me to come to lunch, where on earth that would be up here god only knows! And my bubble was well and truly punctured when I saw a couple of mountain bikers carrying all their kit pedalling along the track! And as I cracked on the bikers suggestion didn't seem quite so outlandish for even right the way up here there were people somehow eking out a living mostly through farming but i presume some the peasants had become more entrepreneurial and opened up as a cafe/auberge. As I went along mile after mile new vistas were constantly opening up in front of me requiring a stop for some more photographs. I came round one bend to be confronted by a great big digger type thing straddling the whole width of the track trying to repair a bit of the road that had obviously recently subsided. For a moment I thought I was going to have to turn around and travel back 2 hours to get back on the main road! But these guys had it well rehearsed. He simply retracted his wide stabilising feet, drove forward into a tiny lay-by, in order to allow me past. How a car would get past I daren't think!
At last I started to descend at first gradually and then via a series of switchback bends, all on gravel, but I just took it nice and steady. By the way the bike is now performing perfectly, no leaks, all the luggage and everything I strap it to is all staying screwed together and tightly strapped on, despite taking a real hammering today. Finally after about 30 miles the gravel finally gave way to tarmac and I was able to push on a little, but still being wary as every so often there would be a patch of unmade or unrepaired road, quite often through the centre of the little villages I was now passing through. I've just thought of an idea, we could save millions in our towns and cities by employing a similar tactic. Allow the roads to fall in disrepair and hey presto no requirement for sleeping policemen or other expensive speed reducing road furniture! Sorry, I digress; once more the road went into switchback mode and as the walls of rock around me became steeper and steeper I knew I was entering the upper end of the Dades Gorge, like Cheddar but about twice the height and five times the length! Several stops and pics later the scenery at last began to give my senses a rest a until I knew the show was finally over and I emerged on the main road for Ouarzazate where I had my first 'heart in the mouth' riding moment. From nowhere a cat decided to use up one of it's 9 lives by running out in front of me. I missed it by inches! And the next was a 'slow motion but you can't do anything about it' moments. I'd just ridden into Ouarzazate and was riding slowly along the main street looking out for a hotel following a pick up truck which stopped in front of me. No problem, I took a trajectory to ride round him but he suddenly decided to reverse causing me to have to turn really sharply to the left. I managed to avoid him although the rear offside of his truck did brush fairly heavily with my nearside pannier. Thank god I had soft luggage, no damage done. Hard luggage could've been a whole different story.
So here I am in the hotel Royal in Ouarzazate. Royal it certainly ain't! I'm afraid it's another 100 dirham job. However this place although basic it appears clean and does have sheets! When inspecting the bathroom there was a fairly pronounced sewer smell wafting up from the shower drain, but then I noticed a cheap aluminium ash tray in there as well, which fitted perfectly over the shower drain, sorted!!
The street at the back of my hotel housed all the main shops, market stalls and restaurants, so in the evening I took a stroll and settled for a tuna pizza and big bottle of spring water, all for just over £2. Back at the hotel I was starting to feel a bit squiffy as I think something in the couscous the previous night was playing havoc with my guts! So I took a couple of paracetamol went to bed and prayed I wasn't going down with something.

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DAY 15 - SUN 18TH OCT 2015 - OUARZAZATE TO MARRAKESH (125 MILES APPROX)
So I guess you've all got two burning questions? Firstly I wonder how he's feeling this morning? Well I'm pleased to report that whatever it was has now safely passed through and I'm feeling much better thankyou! And secondly you must be thinking 'What's the plan Stan?' Well having travelled as far south as I reasonably can in the time available I had to start heading northwards again and as Marrekesh is directly north west it would be silly to miss it. I may stay a couple of nights but more than likely I'm going to continue north west to the Atlantic coast and then make my way back up to Tangier Med and be ready to sail on thursday morning. That will then give me thursday afternnon, friday, saturday and sunday morning to get to Santander in the north of Spain for my afternoon sailing.
Anyway back to today, having not bothered with breakfast I was away by 8.30am and I didn't even go wrong with my initial way finding, mind you there was only one main street into and out of town! It was another sparkling day but as I new I had to go back across the High Atlas mountain range I still made a point of wrapping up quite warm as I was heading back up into the stratosphere once more! Just another observation about Morocco; I get the feeling they've only just introduced traffic lights on their roads because when you pull up to them in the bright sun they're just not bright enough and if you actually pull up to the indicated stop line on the road you've actually gone past the traffic lights!!
Needless to say driving through the mountains brought yet more stunning scenery and to make things more interesting they are in the process of upgrading a 4 or 5 mile stretch which involved some, shall we say, 'interesting' contraflows, sign posting and men waving red flags everywhere directing traffic. There were earth movers everywhere and one particular huge CAT digger seemed to be defying the laws of gravity as it clung on to an incline, well, like a cat! Put it this way, if Mr. Health and Safety was there from UK Highways department the whole operation would have been closed down immediately!!

'DON'T YOU KNOW WE'RE RIDING ON THE MARRAKESH EXPRESS?'
Finally the mountains were left behind and the riding was a more relaxing proposition. Also being that much lower and now into the afternoon the temperature had shot up and by the time I hit Marrakesh it must have been 80 degrees F. Despite having removed my fleece earlier, in my leathers I was still boiling up and although I had earlier drawn up a short list of hotels in the Medina, that plan went out the window when a local told me there was no parking at all in the Medina, so for a few dirhams he directed me to the nearby Grand Tazi hotel where I was able initially to park right outside in order to unload. I then had to take the bike to their secure underground car park. Again the room is basic, but clean and even though it's only a stones throw from the main square (Place Jemaa El Fna) in the city it's got a swimming pool.
Once all booked in, and having missed a couple of my routine swims back home,the first thing I did was get my cozzie on and do 30 minutes of crawl. I had the whole pool area to myself so once finished I just laid back and sunbathed for half an hour or so thinking of you poor damp sods back in the UK!
After changing I walked the couple of hundred yards to Jemaa El Fna and just had a meander up to the huge city mosque, bought a few fridge magnets from one of the side street souvenir shops for family back home, well on a bike you can't fit anything much bigger on, can you? In the evening I wandered again down to the square and sat in one of the hundreds of eateries that get set up in the square each evening. For my meal last night in Ouarzazate I paid about £2.50. Tonight I paid £10. That's tourist prices for you!!

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