Routes Morocco: different info material?
 

Hi there

For the trip to Morocco I'm looking for a set of routes with detailed descriptions (difficulty, pictures etc.).

I already found some very interesting looking sources and wonder which I shall buy (sorry, I'm afraid it's mainly in German).

MDMOT
MDMOT OFFROAD ENDURO - Afrika

GPS-DATABASE.CH
GPS-DATABASE.CH | CD-ROM Marokko

Kohlbach
Reisehandbuch Marokko: Marokko zum selbst er"fahren" - Routen, GPS-Waypoints, Städte, Hotels, Camping, Insider-Tipps: Amazon.de: Edith Kohlbach: Bücher

Thanks a lot for any hints!

Wolfgang

Looks like Chris Scott's Morocco Overland might be the book for you.

Tim Cullis has loads of information on his thread here:
Morocco GS Knowledgebase - ::. UKGSer.com .::

Cheers, Julian

Edith's writings are great, I'd certainly get her book. She also has a website.

The best book I know of at the moment for pistes is Chris Scott's recently published Morocco Overland, though this concentrates on the south of the country and he doesn't cover anything in the Rif or Middle Atlas. If you can read French then Jacques Gandini has a series of very detailed guide books.

However... detailed descriptions with the degree of difficulty is a problem.

When I travel on pistes I save the tracklogs with a colouring system according to difficulty--green is absolute novice on any bike, blue is fairly easy with no technical skills needed, red needs offroad training and black shouldn't be done alone or with luggage.

Fine so far, but the problem is that these categories are subjective, only apply to the day I did them and in the direction I took--going up steep sections is normally easier than going down. Pistes change over time according to weather and the amount of traffic--the more local traffic, the better the repairs. The best example of this is the link piste between the Todra and Dades gorges.

The first time I did this piste in 2006 I was solo riding with luggage and it took two or three hours, see post #16 on AdvRider report. When I rode it again in 2008 without luggage in a small group it took 17 hours, the last six of which we rode/crawled in moonlight. There had been bad weather, traffic on the piste had been restricted by erosion and the piste hadn't been groomed since the flooding.

The other thing is that pistes are difficult to categorise. The surface totally depends upon the underlying geology and a single piste might change from beaten earth (great) to small gravel (fine), hard rocks and steps (more difficult) to big stones (hard) or fine sand.

And the wonderful beaten earth when dry turns into a nightmare when wet and it's been churned by traffic. Then, when it's been snowing, locals throw down branches on the track to provide traction...

Anyway, have a look at the various threads on the Morocco forum at UKGSer. One of these has some 'hidden routes' I've described in Horizons Unlimited presentations.

Tim

Thanks for this info!


@Julian: this book really looks exiting although actually I'd prefer a German one. So let me ask: would you rate this book over the ones I mentioned? If so, I'll manage it in English as well.


@Tim: wow, that's very, very impressive. I'll start reading tonight!


Tim, I have a very strange request.... I need a "temporary UK lizard turntable" :helpsmilie:

Instead of giving pens away I plan to buy some small and lightweight toys for the children in Morocco.
So I want to get some of these cute and colorful little lizards here: Bulk Buy Lizards , from Party Delights

But unfortunately Partydelights want to have £20 for the shipping to Switzerland. What do you think: could I maybe order it to your address in London and you put it in a padded envelope and send it to me? I'll send you the money for the postage via PayPal.

It's one of those unique once-a-lifetime chances to be a Lizard-Turntable; don't miss that :cool4:

Wolfgang

[quote=Tim Cullis;272901.]
However... detailed descriptions with the degree of difficulty is a problem.
When I travel on pistes I save the tracklogs with a colouring system according to difficulty--green is absolute novice on any bike, blue is fairly easy with no technical skills needed, red needs offroad training and black shouldn't be done alone or with luggage.
[quote]

They sound excellent Tim:thumbup1:- can you post these tracklogs up here for those who would want to download them?

Sorry, can't help you there, I don't know enough about those books.

Chris Scott's books are generally regarded as excellent works, and even though I haven't tried it out "in the field", Marocco Overland certainly makes a good impression.

Anyhow, I ordered "Morocco Overland". Thanks for the hint!

Wolfgang