Calum's Road - A Ride Of Two Halves

So I phone down to Bhud who’s still having a drink with the others, “me legs broke” I say…………………….

The next morning I see Bhud and Paintman in the breakfast room and we discuss what to do. Paintman offers to stay back and help me do some ‘running’ repairs and we both offer to stay back and wait for Crapaud who has yet to obtain a visa and has to go back to the embassy again. The others head off for Marrakech and we try to decide what to do.
I strip the leg down and discover a couple of failed rivets, a not uncommon problem with my type of prosthetic. Now the receptionist was a helpful kinda chap so asking for his advice as to where we could find a garage/light engineering shop he co-opts the help of the doorman and Paintman and I find ourselves following him to a closed garage :( We must have looked quite a sight, Paintman carrying my leg, me on my crutches and the doorman in his uniform :D

As we walked / hopped away from the garage a guy came running over and there followed an unintelligible conversation between him and the doorman and then another long trek up a nice steep hill :mmmm. We eventually entered into the basement of an apartment block and found ourselves in a saddlers :confused: Looking at one of the saddles on display I noticed it was held together with rivets – bingo :bounce1 30 mins later and £5 down, my leg was as good as new (actually BETTER than new, they did a real good job on it :thumb2).

All fixed up, a lazy lunch was had, bikes were packed up, visas collected and Paintman, Crapaud and myself hit the M-Way to catch up the others in Marrakech :bounce1

I don’t normally ‘do’ music on the bike but we were for once doing proper M-Way speeds, the sun was going down on wonderful scenery and we were on a mission – on went some banging techno and I was transported into another tripy world of streamer car lights and alien landscapes – fab :roll . Having got a text from t’others that they were pitched up at an Ibis on the edge of town we soon found them and headed off to good ol’ Djemaa el Fna square. The cab ride there was a laugh to say the least as the driver carved here and thither on unlit streets – top fun :pullface

Ending up in the square we went for the full on ‘experience’ wondering around all the food stalls until one of the hawkers we came across was just a wee bit more persuasive than the others………………….

Time for grub :drool



Our cook



The food was fab and we celebrated the end of another eventful day by having wet shaves in a small barbers on the edge of the square :)



Have to say, that was quite a day for me. When the leg went I really did think that was the end of the trip fo me, I never really thought I was gonna be able to get it sorted so easily and so well – thanks John, you were a star :clap

2.45pm 23/01/10

“ A bit of catching up to do as it’s now satuday…………..Thursday, having gone through all the drama of sorting my leg we had to wait for Sid to sort his visa, he went of first thing, told it’d be ready in 10, 20 30 40, mins etc we eventually picked it up at 3pm after a lazy lunch in the sun. Meanwhile t’others were on their way having set off first thing – doing a mad dash on yet another M-way meant we got there only 30 mins after them. Unpacked, got mini taxis and did that Marrakech thang. Sat at one of the stalls, had mixed veg, lovely spinach dish – great wet shave in the same barbers I went to when last here with Amanda, everybody else seemed to think that looked like fun and ended up have a shave or a bonce cut ………………”

Andres
 
Up bright and early the next morning we remained in our respective groups. It’s all a bit chaotic with regards to where we’re heading and by what route but the general consensus seems to be head for Agadir for the night, at least that’s what I thought :nenau

I was really keen that we met up that night as that would be my last night with the crew before heading off on me todd – I also had a secret plan and (hopefully) some good news to share with them that night, a couple of good excuses for a party :JB

Our group decided to cross the Tizi-n-Tichka pass and then head east to Agadir whilst t’others chose a more direct route there.
After an easy ride across Marrakech we, at last, hit some ‘proper’ Moroccan roads, passing through small villages, herds of seemingly wild goats and a mad selection of vehicles on the road :) And then we were in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, snow capped peaks in the near distance.

Stopping for a glass of tea we were at last able to sit back and soak up a bit of the ‘real’ Morocco that I increasingly felt myself falling in love with……



The ‘grocers’ over the road from us



Inside the café



and the view up the ‘high street’



Feckin’ Coke gets everywhere…………………



Continuing up to the pass we stop for piccies…………see that road through the tree line, we’ve just ridden up through there :)



I stop to have a piccie taken and try to out-pose Paintman !!!



……Milk Tray Man has had enough of this foolishness and tries to escape….



The climb up to the summit was breath taking, boy this was good! But, when we crested the summit and saw what lay ahead………….wow :eek The pass is now tarmac but, in various states of repair (sic). What followed was a hilarious ride, the only time I have ever ‘had ‘ to use my ABS when faced with a van head on around a blind corner covered in gravel……..and that was the fun of it, you never knew what surface was gonna greet you as you came around another blind corner………………….proper SM territory, not for the first time did I wish I was on me Husky………….

Very soon Crapaud and Paintman had left Milk Tray Man and I a long way behind – Paintman; you said the next day that you thought I was just enjoying having a bimble and good on me for not getting caught up in yours and Crapauds ‘ride’…………got news for you, I was ridding as fast as I dared, especially after the ‘ABS’ incident; hats off to you two :bow

We were rapidly approaching Agadir and my last night with the lads………

2.45pm 23/01/10
“Brings us onto Friday….bit chaotic in the morning with nobody seemingly able to agree where we were gonna end up at the end of the day. Had a funny feeling that we wouldn’t end up all together at the end of today…..really wanted to though ‘cos had some news…..Myself John, Glen and Sid decided to ride the Tizzi Tizzi pass (or what ever it’s called), little more than single track in places and often crap surface – not too open so couldn’t always see what was coming – well worth it though, such a fun ride…..”

Andres

Away from home ‘til next week now so nothing more ‘til then, sorry.
 
Stopping at the beautiful walled city of Taroudant for some snap we reckoned we'd make Agadir easily and, 'hoping' that that was where the others had decided to head to we then rode a flat and unremarkable ride to the outskirts of Agadir.

Typically, a lot of the towns we rode through would have these (not so) grand arches as you entered and left them

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Paintman and Milk Tray Man rode off to find a hotel whilst Crapaud and I waited by the beach ………….. the place reminded me very much of a Spanish resort and is very much set up for ‘winter sun’ holidaymakers.

We ended up at the same hotel that Paintman and his good lady wife had stayed at before, and, up on the 7th floor has fantastic views of the bay. Co-ordinates were taken and texts sent to the others but for once the texts didn’t get through and we got no replies. We never did meet up that night, it later turned out they were only 40 odd klicks further down the road.

I was bitterly disappointed, my last night before going solo and I wasn’t gonna be able to say good bye in proper style :(

I’d also been hatching a plan whilst away and that night phoned the long-suffering Lovely Amanda and asked her to marry me……………she said yes :bounce1 so a double celebration was on the cards.

A lovely meal followed, washed down with some very decent Moroccan wine, good byes were said and Crapaud and I left Paintman ensconced with an Irish couple whilst we wandered back to the hotel and were offered, coke, hash and sex all within a hundred metres – could have been a fab stag night but I behaved myself :D

The view from my hotel room that night – anybody know what the writing says :nenau

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2.45pm 23/01/10

Hit Agadir and stayed in the same hotel that John and Debby had …..great big tall thing with views…wandered down for a meal, lovely grub. Some guys tried to sell us coke, smack and weed, very bizarre.
A very mad days for a number of reasons, said my good byes to the lads, it was also Sue’s funeral (an old mate from London who’s funeral I was missing by going on the trip), gave a toast up to her and also I proposed to Amanda…………….and she said yes, to a drive in wedding in Vegas in the Autumn. Really pissed off I didn’t get to say good bye to the others…………..

Andres
 
The view from my hotel room that night – anybody know what the writing says

Hi Andres

GOD, KING, COUNTRY.

Looking forward to May, and really enjoying your report, :clap, now lets see your solo stuff.

John.
 
really enjoing your ride report !:clap

especially as im off to morocco at the end of next week
 
Another day, another dollar……………..

I woke to the sound of Crapauds 1100 starting up and as I made it to my window I was just in time to see the intrepid travellers set off.

That was it, I was now on my own for the next two weeks.

It took a while to get myself going but, eventually, I hit the road and found myself heading back the way I’d come in order to get inland. I really couldn’t be arsed with working out a route so just headed in the general direction of Quarzzate.

Stopping for fuel I sat there with a mint tea contemplating nothing in particular, then had another tea.

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I’d had enough, that day, of riding the bike so with nobody to please except myself, I left my kit with the café owner and went for a wander around the town and very therapeutic it was too :comfort

Back with the bike and I’m off again. Back on a small quiet road, all the time I’m heading east the scenery is becoming that little bit more different, that little bit more unfamiliar :)

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Despite this I was soon fed up with riding the bike and decided to find somewhere to stay. As I was thinking this I saw and big old building in the distance by the side of a river and idly fancied how great it’d be if I could stay there.

A couple of klicks down the road and there is a sign to an Auberge and I realise that the track does, indeed, lead down to that very same building :bounce1

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Following the dirt track down to the river I park the bike up and can not believe what I’ve stumbled upon. This place was everything I’d hoped I’d find in Morocco and, not for the last time in Morocco, I was to have the whole place to my self :)

The corridor outside my room and where I had breakfast the next morning

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I struck a deal with the owner and went up to my room to watch the sun go down over the hills from my room

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Not for the last time, either, was I blown away by peoples kindness. The owner invited me into his home (next door to the Auberge) and offered to cook me a meal. Of course I accepted :)

This was more like it, as well as feeling I was at last in the ‘proper’ Morocco I was also looking forward to riding some Pistes the next day (and next, and next……) so I sat there reading up on some routes the next day (thanks for the book Mikey :beerjug:) whilst my host went off and cooked

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Soon after the grub arrived. One of the nicest meals I had all the time I was away.....

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Having had a lovely meal I retired off to my room and suddenly realised just how feckin’ cold it was. The Auberge was defo not set up for winter night time temperatures (no heating) so I slept (sort of) in my jumpers and woolly hat – I didn’t care though, it had been such a great end to the day and the beginning of the rest of my ‘own’ little adventure :bounce1

I was looking forward to the next day……………

2.45pm 23/01/10

Woke up this morning (Saturday) and decided to head to Quazozwazorat (or what ever it’s called). After all the group riding, which I think I’ve had mixed feelings about, it’s been lovely to be on my own……….not worrying about stopping when I want, or to have to stop to put the lining back in my jacket ‘cos I’m a little bit cold………..or if I just want to keep going all day long. It’s also been wonderful not staying in ‘Euro Hotels’. Set off late morning and I’ve stopped early, about 2pm…amazing Auberge, really beautiful …….on the outskirts of Aoulouz. Stunning ……colourful broken tile floors, coloured glass windows…..30 odd rooms but only me here and the whole thing is costing me £12.50 including grub……saw it from the road and it looks like a castle surrounded by mountains……off now to give the bike a quick going over before the light goes; looks like the hydraulic pre-load is weeping…………then I’m gonna laze around and do feck all for the rest of the afternoon.

5.59pm 23/01/10

Sun’s going down and feck it’s freezing – all me jumpers on and my jacket……..beautiful sunset

9.14pm 23/01/10

Nicest, biggest Tagine ever………….off to bed now with my woolly hat, sooooo cold, just like camping, good night.

Andres
 
Hi Andres

GOD, KING, COUNTRY.

Looking forward to May, and really enjoying your report, :clap, now lets see your solo stuff.

John.

Ah ha......cheers John :) Really looking forward to May too :thumb2

really enjoing your ride report !:clap

especially as im off to morocco at the end of next week

Cheers, have fun......wish I was going .................. :)

Andres
 
Oh yesssssssssss....

...hope you saved the coordinates!
 

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Up bright and early I head east north east towards Quarzzate. Today’s ride was to introduce me to a Morocco I’d only ever imagined before. The further I rode the more desolate it became. After a while there was virtually no vegetation, just hilly, rocky and barren scrub land. Desert really, but without the sand.

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I can’t really get over in words just how much I was enjoying this. Here I was all on my own, totally self reliant, doing something I’d never done before and in a landscape that was becoming increasingly alien and any terms of reference that I may have had were slowly ebbing away.

I saw a track off the road leading up into some hills and turned off, my first proper piste :bounce1

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It was very rocky and quite hard going on the GS, riding it at not much more than walking pace and following it for some miles I was soon in the middle of nowhere. For me this picture gives a great idea of just how desolate and remote and how small I felt.

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I stopped there for some time……………..just soaking it all in, took a while, there was a lot to take in :eek

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Back on the road……………..

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………… and, later, stopping for a mint tea in a small village I had a choice of two routes; a fairly small (main) road or off on a very minor road that eventually became piste. Mmmmm, which should I choose? I wonder :rolleyes:

I climbed and fell into small valley after valley, through narrow passes and eventually came out onto the moon. At least that’s how I thought of it. Totally barren, grey, featureless hills. And, in the middle of all this was a mine

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Where the miners live

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Soon after and I was on mile after mile of piste. This was fun, proper, wonderful, fun :roll Can you imagine what it feels like to be all alone in a place like this……..

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Occasionally I’d meet some other traffic on the track and pull over

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I always had plenty of warning of when they were approaching

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Size matters over here and I soon learnt there was no way the trucks were gonna give way to a poxy little bike. You also didn’t wanna get caught in that shower of dust :blast

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Andres
 
Did I say I was enjoying this? You bet I was :bounce1

I ended up going quite far south east of Quarzzate in the end and so had to head back up to it in a north easterly direction. Still incredibly barren I climbed up to a high and windy pass, my intention being to find Bikershome and crash the night there.

As I climbed up into the hills the views were stunning

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and much of the Armco missing :D

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It got increasingly cold and a vicious, gusting wind picked up. The days ride had taken it’s toll and I was, at this stage, shattered. Too tired to fight the wind I let it blow me across the lanes of the pass – fortunately there was little traffic and it was both scary at times but also exhilarating, certainly kept me awake :augie

Tired and euphoric I arrived on the outskirts of Quarzzate and easily found Bikershome. Peter was outside and directed me straight into his immaculate garage :thumb2

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Now………….what a beautiful place and what a beautiful family :) Both he and his wife (sorry, I’ve forgotten her name) could not have been more hospitable. I cannot recommend the place highly enough and really look forward to staying with them again one day.

There was a retired Dutch couple also staying there, travelling across N Africa in a truck they’d had built for them

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and together we all went out for a meal. The star of the evening was Peter’s six year old daughter. So happy and bright and spoke fluent English, Dutch, Berber, Arabic, German and a smattering of other languages :clap I couldn’t help thinking just what a marvellous upbringing she was gonna have, what with all the interesting people coming and going at Bikershome and all the wonderful and varied influences she’d grow up amongst :)

Throughout the meal she was begging to go to the fair on the way home, which, we duly did……………..

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there were only half a dozen rides but both her (and Peter) had a very clear favourite, the bumper cars.

Back at their home and I slept, like a very tired log……..what a wonderful day :)

6.39pm 25/01/10

Right, yesterday (Sunday) was a fantastic day and rode into some quite incredible scenery. Amazing colours, mountains & valleys…..hoooooge skies and then desert as in wasteland………..dead flat as far as the eye could see with snow capped mountains in the distance……beautiful blue skies, fluffy clouds floating around. It really was quite an incredible day!
Not warm, fairly cold but very wonderful none the less.

Decided to head to Bikershome…….final climb across some mountains into Quazzzzazarate (how the feck do you pronounce it!?!) was quite hairy and very narrow – very, very gusty winds blowing you across both lanes. Made it to Bikershome, Peter and his lovely family…..Dutch couple in their 50’s staying there in a humungus truck. He was dead interesting having raced in the Paris Dakar on both bikes and trucks. Raced last year in South America, this is his year off and he’s back again next year……..lovely couple, now travelling all over North Africa and Europe…..racing and travelling, can’t be bad!

Out for a meal with them all, another veg tagine, not bored of ‘em yet but suspect I may soon be…..

Andres
 
You make a great ambassador for Morocco.

And with these photographs, you are spo... :blast :augie

Seriously though, I'd really like to see your track logs (you DID, didn't you?)
 
Seriously though, I'd really like to see your track logs (you DID, didn't you?)


Mmmmm...........yet another 'outstanding' job :mmmm

Will see what I can do young man - off away again this w/e but will try and sort next week and bung 'em over to you :thumb2

The trip just about killed off my trusty old Quest and it ended up being held together with gaffer tape :D so fingers crossed it's still working (not used it since I got back)

Andres
 
Mmmmm...........yet another 'outstanding' job :mmmm

Will see what I can do young man - off away again this w/e but will try and sort next week and bung 'em over to you :thumb2

The trip just about killed off my trusty old Quest and it ended up being held together with gaffer tape :D so fingers crossed it's still working (not used it since I got back)

Andres

:thumb Sounds good to me. No rush, I'm thinking about popping off there around July. I likes warm weather, me. :D
 
One thing I forgot to mention………………..

On the way to Bikershome I saw a car at the side of the road with the bonnet up and the owner trying to wave me down.

The general advice I’d been given by peeps was that you would be best off carrying on as it could often be at best a scam or at worst a mugging. I must admit I nearly did carry on but, remembering my earlier ‘chat’ with myself about trust and preconceptions I pulled over.

Now the guy could speak very little French and I certainly spoke no Arabic / Berber but one way or another he told me he’d run out of oil and could I go to the next village and let his dad know. His dads name was Mohammad and his house had a small garden in front of it :eek :mmmm

When I saw the size of the village I almost gave up there and then but perseverance and pure luck conspired together and on seeing an old guy walking down a track I just ‘knew’ it was him. His name was Mohammad and he had a son out on the road. Before going out to ‘rescue’ his son I was invited in for a cup of tea – lovely :)

I rode back to his son, told him his dad was on his way and carried on towards Bikershome……………………….

When I recounted this to Peter over dinner that night he was really adamant that I shouldn’t have stopped – yet again though, I was glad I’d buried my distrust. I had a lovely reversed s
tuation a couple of days later and like to think it was some sort of Karma :thumb2

Andres
 


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