Morocco on Airheads

[Garry H]

Well 2 airheads and a Honda to be honest
Got off to an interesting start with a medical emergency on the ferry....Hope everthing was ok for the people involved but it did give us some good views of a sea rescue

You get a fair downdraft from the rotors this close

We did not race straight down to Moroc but had a steady ride down through Spain
First through the Pecos where there was still a lot of snow higher up

Did a little bit of offroading in central Spain

Visited a few interesting castles on route as well

Got the ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta later than planned due to the fact there was a road rally in the Ronda and we had to make a 40 mile detour ...No warning just a police man in the road telling us it was closed
We discovered the night before Pete had forgot his log book
Plan was to see if we could get him into Morocco without it..
it caused a few problems but we managed to sort it out ...Also because we arrived late afternoon it was quiet so having been there the year before i thought i would try and sort all the paperwork out myself ...Result i sorted it out and got us all in ...So no more time wasting helpers needed in the future took less than 5 mins for me and John ( Who had log books ) and half an hour for Pete...
Off into the Riff Mountains and on to Quezzane for the first nights stop...We arrived just as it got dark

John and i were keen to see how Petes quality luggage system would work

 

[Garry H]

Day 2 in Morocco

We Left Quezzane down through Fez to Sefrou in search of some tracks...But what looked like a good track on the map had been graded
But we did see some great views on the way down to Midelt

There was a strong smell of onions at one point and we came across this lot

The team

We met Firebird in Midelt and had a good old chat in the hotel...Who gave us the full SP on his mates troublesome 1200

Next day we left Midelt an headed into the High Atlas in search of some tracks...Picked one up that started at Ait Harou and went off towards Imilchil...Tarmac at first

But that soon changed

Then it turned into a wet slippy riverbed

We must have rode it for a couple of miles but at least it dried up but was still not that easy to ride but great fun

Then back out onto firmer ground

Cracking views

 

[Garry H]

First CRASH

Then in all the excitement Pete had his first off
He picked it up so fast i only got the resulting damage

We turned the rocker cover up side down eventhough we had a spare because Pete thought he might need it at a later date

Back on the tarmac after half a day off road and time for a bit to eat

We carried on down towards Tinherhir down what were tracks last year but now are sadly tarmac

The road still had lots of damage caused by the floods last autum

With little more warning than a few rocks places in the road...I would not have wanted to come acrosss this in the dark

Nothing stops the locals from making a living mind you

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

Amazing!
Hope there is more to come?

 

[Timolgra]

Great stuff Gary, I have a photo of you and the lads at Santander.
Glad you you got into Morocco without your mates logbook

Tim

 

[Marks adventure]

Great Picks Gary

Looks like you had a great time.

Anymore to follow?? PLEASE!!

 

[Garry H]

The 72 mile track

The track from Tinerhir to Nekob was a cracker
72 miles long and took most of the day
Starts off flat

Then slowly starts to climb

Some stunning views....and Petes luggage is still attached

It then went into a big sandy plateau..Interesting stuff to ride on

It then starts to climb again

And keeps on climbing up to 7500 feet...It also gets a bit rougher

Great place for lunch
Got my packet of crisps out and they were like a balloon due to the altitude

Tasted the same mind you

 

[Garry H]

The long decent

This was a rough one and seemed to go on forever

Cracking views

Then just as you think the track has smooted out it starts to climb again and gets rough

Impressive stuff

Then atlast tarmac

 

[Garry H]

And on to Zagora

We decided to stick on the tarmac to Zagora
still some very impressive mountains to be seen

No washing machine here

Hows this for a bridge repair

You would have to be mad to try and cross here

Every time you stop you seem to be the centre of attraction

Got down to Zagora and looked for a hotel
Secure parking no problem

We had to make a discreet exit in the morning mind you
because Petes broken rocker cover had left a nasty stain

 

[Garry H]

On down to the desert

Now we had come this far south we thought we would carry on to Mhamid
It gets dryer and dryer...A hard life even for the locals

Where theres water theres life...
You take it for granted back home thats what makes it more impressive here i think

Then the tarmac ends

We went a bit further but it soon got sandy and tricky

From past experience in the sand and because there was only 3 of us the best plan i think

So we headed back towards Zagora and stopped for lunch with a view

We did a couple more tracks but it was hot
so you had to search for shade even for a small stop

I wounder how old this is ?

 

[Firebird]

Garry,

Great to see the write up. Thanks for the company in Midelt.

The pictures of the tracks make me wish I was still out there. Look forward to reading the next section.

 

[Timolgra]

I agree about the piste from Tinerhir to Nekob, a true biker's piste all the way and I think, my favourite.
Last nov, Rick and I rode from the very top to Nekob and onto Zagora in the pitch dark

 

[rocks]

Stunning..

Great report guys.. and lovely photos. Really does seem to be a bikers paradise.

One day.. one day..

 

[Garry H]

Quarzazate to Marrakech

We carried on along the road to Marrakech
We stopped for a bite to eat and cool our feet down in the river...This happy chap was washing his sheep skins

Singing away and even told us the water was safe to drink

Other side of the bridge was the 30 deg wash area

Stopped for a restock at a small village and somethink had attracted John attention

John is a butcher and had spotted the local butchers shop
There was a cows head on the counter
But not for long a chap came and bought it carried it across the road and put it in the boot of his car

We carried on towards Marrakech stopping to admire the scenery

Then on to the Tizi n'Tichka pass

 

[Garry H]

On to Fez

The next day we carried on towards Fez
You do see some sights that make you laugh
Like the souks

Overloaded on 4 wheels

On 2 wheels he had a sheep on the front and a goat on the back

You may wonder what happens to the shoes yor send for recycling ??

Well here they are....seeing people search for a pair of trainers now doubt a trendy fasion item

You can buy it all on the same street

Some cracking fruit aswell

You can spend a while people watching

 

[Garry H]

Then we has a big storm

That night it rained all night
and half the next day
but it made the whole place look so different...What was the day before dry river beds were now raging torrents

Made for some interesting riding too

The whole place was a mud bath....I even saw people putting snow chains on their vehicles so they could drive on the now very muddy tracks

Spotted this river in the middle of Fez

What do they do with all the rubbish ?

Simple just throw it over the bridge...By the lorry load i recon

Time for 1 last stop for presents

And thats it back to Ceuta to catch the ferry

 

[Timolgra]

Great to speak with you again last night Gary, Morocco in the rain doesn't look quite so inviting does it.

Here is the photo of 'The Likely Lads' at Santander

 

[Garry H]

Morocco in the rain doesn't look quite so inviting does it.

Great to speak to you aswell Tim
No i doesent Tim but i still got a smile on my face

 

[Timolgra]

Nice jacket

 

[robbie c]

it's on the list of places to go, looks as though you had a great time, good write up,

how many hours slaving over photobucket was it ?

cheers

Rob