So.....picking up smoothly from where I left off just yesterday
We are doing our 'normal' route (not that there ever was really a 'normal' one....I don't think we EVER did a trip on the same circuit twice- what would be the fun in that?) backwards, because of the weather.
So leaving The Pasha's Palace, Tim lead and Gary rode backmarker from Olad Berhil, with Ian and myself in the Landcruiser towing the recovery trailer (read horsebox, heavily modified and a bit baggy around the seams

).
From Olad Berhil, there's a straight road to Taroudant, which if you've done it two dozen times like we have, can be boring.
Part of the 'skill' (if there is in fact any) of running a trip though is to be able to separate yourself from your own feelings about a route, place, hotel or whatever, and remembering that the people you are taking there have NEVER seen it before....so you try and remember the wide eyed feeling of appreciation for the new that you found when doing that route for the first time.
In the same breath though, every time you do that route, you pick up a bit more knowledge about it, and the places you pass through, so you're able to tell the group a little of the history, or what to look out for that they will find interesting.
The N10 to Taroudant through the Souss valley is one of those roads......it's a main and ancient trade route/ highway for traffic from Agadir to Ouazazarte or Marrakech.
Alongside it are dozens of massive estates that grow a significant percentage of the citrus fruit that is exported to Europe...you can see acres of land laid out in grids stretching back to the foothills of the Haut Atlas, all filled with citrus trees (mainly Lemon, Lime and Oranges, I've never seen grapefruit there)
Taroudant is a bit like Marrakech was 30 years ago....it's classic pisé walled city (rammed earth, an ancient and still used building technique across wide areas of the planet) with soukhs, tiny twisty streets, the hustle and bustle but FAR less of the hassle that you'll get in Marra.
If you're touring Morocco and want to feel the cities and maybe do some shopping, Taroudant is a place I'd thoroughly recommend spending a day in.
It's the silver capital of Morocco, once recognised as being the source of some of the best filigree silverwork you can buy, and it still has many silversmith artisans working in the little back street shops, as well as some fine shops selling top of the range stuff.
We weren't there to shop though....fekk that, we were there to ride!
Just outside Taroudant, after a stop for cash, mars bars, sugary pop and for the smarter shoppers, dried fruit and nuts, the main group turned off onto some of the great pistes heading towards Tafraoute through the high plains and hills full of argane trees with the compulsory climbing goats.
Ian and I stayed on the main drag, passing through Ait-Baha. This is a road that could have been designed specifically for guys with big bollocks riding super motos on very sticky rubber, but it's also a beautiful and spectacular route.
For the bikes, the smaller pistes are a combination of fast gravel, compact mud, tight corners and half a dozen medium height hill/mountain ranges as you head away from the Atlas and down towards the granite Anti-Atlas ranges.
These are the sort of tracks that good riders can make spectacular progress on, as long as they are aware that at over any bump, there could be a sudden switchback, collapsed old culvert or laden donkey, or a frikkin camel
There are points on this piste set that you can look back North and see several ranges of hills, with the Haut Atlas and its snow capped peaks showing up in the far distance...it's a shame that a photo can never really capture the sheer scale of the place.