Future Info for Morocco Virgins

[Deleted account AWRT]

I, most probably just like every other Morocco virgin on here, have spent days now reading through different posts getting totally confused about which GPS software to buy / not to buy, which map is best, whether this piste or that piste would be too difficult for a newbie etc etc etc. Tim that Knowledgebase is fantastic by the way!!!

HOWEVER, I know it's all about the adventure, granted!!! BUT!! Would it not be a fine idea if some of you experienced folk put together a newbie route for someone wanting to experience Morocco but has no idea where to go, or the appreciation it takes to do said mileage. I was just thinking of a four / five day circuit for people to follow (if they wanted to) to give them a safe first experience.

No doubt there will be some people out there that will blast me for taking the self discovery element away from the rider, but I’m thinking for a first trip out, of the beaten track it would encourage more people to try it knowing that it is possible to do it, rather than not doing it at all because they are unsure.


I await the abuse

 

[Hexme]

I, most probably just like every other Morocco virgin on here, have spent days now reading through different posts getting totally confused about which GPS software to buy / not to buy, which map is best, whether this piste or that piste would be too difficult for a newbie etc etc etc. Tim that Knowledgebase is fantastic by the way!!!

HOWEVER, I know it's all about the adventure, granted!!! BUT!! Would it not be a fine idea if some of you experienced folk put together a newbie route for someone wanting to experience Morocco but has no idea where to go, or the appreciation it takes to do said mileage. I was just thinking of a four / five day circuit for people to follow (if they wanted to) to give them a safe first experience.

No doubt there will be some people out there that will blast me for taking the self discovery element away from the rider, but I’m thinking for a first trip out, of the beaten track it would encourage more people to try it knowing that it is possible to do it, rather than not doing it at all because they are unsure.


I await the abuse

An excellent idea if you ask me so it could be two of us getting abused

 

[mongo]

Well we've got 5wks till we go and to be honest ive decided to just wing it. Not bothering with sat navs just got a Michelin route map and a compass. We got 3wks over there so plenty of time to get lost.....
And we're on KTM 950 supermoto's(we cant afford GSers)so i think we're fooked!!!! Just go with the flow amigo sometimes a trip can be over planned i think.

 

[Tonibe63]

Well we've got 5wks till we go and to be honest ive decided to just wing it. Not bothering with sat navs just got a Michelin route map and a compass. We got 3wks over there so plenty of time to get lost.....
And we're on KTM 950 supermoto's(we cant afford GSers)so i think we're fooked!!!! Just go with the flow amigo sometimes a trip can be over planned i think.

If you're sticking to roads then wing it
If going off piste I think you will need some idea of where you are going.

 

[santrix]

I'd advise at least one satnav for those lost moments. Garmin units best, Olaf someone or other does a free morocco map which is not routable but it IS accurate, i can personally vouch for it... When travelling through twisty towns its invaluable.

If your staying on roads you could do it on a harly, the roads are fine.

Also as long as your not going to far south then petrol is not an issue either, there are lots of stations selling sans plomb.

 

[Robin B'stard]

And we're on KTM 950 supermoto's(we cant afford GSers)so i think we're fooked!!!! Just go with the flow amigo sometimes a trip can be over planned i think.

Why do you think you need a GS. Tongue in cheek comment no doubt. lol. Just do the trip. After all it's about the adventure not what bike you ride. I own a GS but took my AT instead. For me it was the right decision especially on the High Atlas pistes which were very muddy.

We had GPS (3 between the four of us. The luddite doesn't use GPS) but didn't need to rely on it. We found a lot of road building taking place on the Midelt to Imilchil route mostly at the Imilchil end of the route and also near Timli village in the Dades valley. The new road differs from the Olaf route by quite some distance. The michelin map was good enough in most places and a copy of Chris Scott's book was even better.

Making a plan is great but it's not tablets of stone. We lost two days in the mountains due to the weather and had to make big changes. Don't get into the 'it's Tuesday so we shud be in Mergousa' thought process.
I can't wait to go again. but Nov seems a long way off.

 

[Deleted account AWRT]

I can't wait to go again. but Nov seems a long way off.

Try April 2011

 

[Tim Cullis]

I'm looking at setting out again during Jul/Aug with plans to cover the Rekkam Plateau to the south of Oujda, then heading for the relative cool of the High Atlas.

And maybe a stretch at Legzira Beach near Mirleft...

Tim

 

[Deleted account AWRT]

that would be most welcome Tim, Thank you

 

[Steptoe]

Don't ignore the fantastic roads in the more unvisited parts of morocco.

 

[Decster]

you ruined it with this pic...

thought you were gonna be hardcore sans gps

 

[Hexme]

Nice 1 Steptoe, my trip can't come fast enough!

 

[LivNorway]

-Have you made a few minor adjustmenst on the front part of your GS, Steptoe?

Yes, I'm a little now.
But so is the name of this thread too: ''...Morocco Virgins.'' -I thought this was about young native & handsome men in Morocco? But no, it's about bikes in mud or dust... oh well...

GPS?
Nah, don't you think you'll get lost without it too? Because that is what you guys really want..?

Liv.

 

[Steptoe]

you ruined it with this pic...

thought you were gonna be hardcore sans gps

I was driving the search and rescue vehicle, and a description of " broken down near the rock fall" just confuses

 

[dzstudios]

A little of my pay back plan for you guys

Having just lost my wife in Morocco (again, thank you all) I have a few tips for a virgin.

1. if you dont know how to fix your bike, stay on main routes.
2. if you dont know how to navigate, stay on the main routes.
3. if you dont know the lingo, learn some. A little goes a long way
4. if you cant do any of the above, dont go

I used to ride but now i 4x4. some issues are the same. GPS if fine and can help but when you hit a rock in the sand and break it .... can you navigate by map & compass? do you have them with you?

Your sat phone is fine until a sand storm, solar flare or it breaks in your fall. Buy a local sim card, you can call police for free.

How do you get help.? or your under your bike with a broken leg ... looking at your phone thats just out of reach?

I know this is all what if's but up to this day I have broken my back, pulled a finger off, all on bikes. Overturned a 4x4 and killed a passenger (to this day it still haunts me), I know that it can go wrong.

When you are in a jam and can solve it, thats called a beer story. When you cant solve it thats called in the 5**t.

Always always always let someone know where you 'should' be, give or take.

Always let them know if you change it. (Mardi)

Always agree on a time limit before 'action' is taken to find you.

Always carry water on your person, camelback etc.

When you cant help yourself ... other can & will try to find you.

Cover this and your trip will be amazing. Gadgets are fine and good but no match for the human brain.

Just like a pilot, when all the bells and whistels stop working, can you still get there?

This is going to be an amazing trip for you. Just think of the 'what if's' and solve them before you go. Then relax and enjoy.

One last thing, getting lost is what makes it fun. You will find amazing things out there. Getting back on track is the art.

I know where I should be but after I look at a map, I follow the sun until my time is up. Then GPS, map & compass get me to base for the night.

It can be great fun, fun takes a lot of planning.

Sorry I went on ... I worry

 

[Deleted account AWRT]

Sorry I went on ... I worry

No don't worry all info is good to help people, however i'm just looking for help on routes really as i'm experienced in touring just not the geography of Morocco.

 

[charlie brown]

jeepers

Right,
My brother and I have bought some maps, saved few quid we both have been riding over twenty years, he can tell one end of a spanner from another, I can string some school boy french along, we have agreed that we wont be off roading as I just don't have the experience and he had major surgery last year.
Im reading "search and recovery vehicle" "if you cant, do go" "tell some one where you will be" and so on.
Is there some thing going on in Morocco I am unaware of? Or am I being naive? I know motor cycling is potentially dangerous but the mails posted here seem a tiny bit alarming. Que pasa?

O

 

[Tonibe63]

Im reading "search and recovery vehicle" "if you cant, do go" "tell some one where you will be" and so on.
Is there some thing going on in Morocco I am unaware of? Or am I being naive? I know motor cycling is potentially dangerous but the mails posted here seem a tiny bit alarming. Que pasa?

O

I'm not aware of anything going on in Morocco but when we went last year I got the thoughts that there is very little Police/Law enforcement holding the place together. However the one thing that stops the place imploding is the people themselves-wether thats due to their religious beliefs or just their upbringing I'm not sure but I personally experienced incredible honesty that I'm not sure would have happened in Europe. I paid for a meal in a small town in the middle of Morocco. Just as I got on my bike the owner came running out with my wallet in his hand which I had left on the counter. Inside it was equivalent to 3 months Moroccan wages in cash which was untouched. That sort of experience tends to warm you to a place.

We live in such a structured society over here where we think we are in control of our own lives that actually we don't realise just how much we are all controlled in our own little pigeon holes. Maybe being niave and not fully in control actually allows you to live rather than exist.
Go for it, plan nothing, enjoy the rawness of the place and just go with the flow.

You have a PM.

 

[Steptoe]

Im reading "search and recovery vehicle" O

I was driving it for a bike tour company. The bikes were going off road, across rivers and over mountains, and a couple of them were, shall we say temperamental ( both bikes and people )
.

But really morocco is a just the same as europe.
A hotel on every corner, petrol stations in most places, supermarkets in the large towns.
It's just that we like to kid ourselves that we're adventuras living on the edge. But we aren't.

If it was really edgy ask yourself would BMW run expensive bike tours to the place

 

[Deleted account W]

It's just that we like to kid ourselves that we're adventuras living on the edge. But we aren't.

I've felt more like an alien in a foreign country and more cut off from civilisation in Northern Scotland than I ever did in Morocco