Never been to such a dangerously windy place...

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

Just back from morocco. I have to say NEVER AGAIN on a motorbike!
The winds were suicidal.
And the less I say about the trip up to Tanger on the N1 the better.
Never (and i rarely say never) have I experienced a scarier crosswind in all my days... even the cars were struggling.
From day 1 it was blowing an absolute hoolie.

Jeeeees.

 

[Aidan1150]

Saying you'll never go to Morocco again because it was windy is like saying that you'll never go to Ireland or Scotland in case it might rain.

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

I hear what you are saying but rain doesnt kill you.

 

[earthmover]

I hear what you are saying but rain doesnt kill you.

It does if there's enough of it, and you're in a hollow.......
Is there a "windy season" ? Like the rainy season, only blustery?
Mark

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

I think i found it then... just simply plain bl00dy dangerous.
The N1 was a death trap because of the crosswinds to the north.

Never again. Never.... sad to say it but just not worth the risk/money/time/effort to hit a country where the winds could get that bad.

Still shaking my head at the ferocity of it. Unreal.

 

[Fanum]

I think i found it then... just simply plain bl00dy dangerous.
The N1 was a death trap because of the crosswinds to the north.

Never again. Never.... sad to say it but just not worth the risk/money/time/effort to hit a country where the winds could get that bad.

Still shaking my head at the ferocity of it. Unreal.

The winds could get that bad in any country, including here

In whatever number of trips over there I've done (25+ I should imagine, I've lost count) we've never had winds that could be described as that.

Sounds like you were realy unlucky....but please don't go putting everyone off because of it

PS It's also a real shame that your impression of Morocco has been soured so much by bad luck- You'd be missing some of the best roads you can imagine if you didn't go back

Come out with us on a trip and we'll show you what you're missing

PS we don't use Motorways so wind wouldn't be an issue, but I'm confident enough that your trip wouldn't be spoilt by wind, not the weather type anyway ) that if it was, you can have a full refund.

Gowan.....don't cut your nose off to spite your face

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

Give me a few months to get over the sheer terror and depression of having to get back on the bike over there and I might reconsider.
At the moment, not a chance.

Enjoyed the roads to Meknes though, after Chefchouen - even in a force gawd knows what crosswind... but that was only because i was riding in a straight line, with few gusts and my knee/pannier down, keeping me balanced!

It was the gusts in the Rif - wtf... and the N1 over that bridge... hoooooolie of a wind. And dont even get me going about that flamin stupid concrete wall they built alongside the N1 up north - it just spun the wind over the top and it ended up throwing you around from the otherside!

Sigh.

 

[Steve the Kiwi]

I'm confident enough that your trip wouldn't be spoilt by wind, not the weather type anyway ) that if it was, you can have a full refund.

Doesn't get any better than that! After the pucker factor has died down a bit I'm sure you'll be laughing about it....maybe

All Fanum has to do is tell me he'll get me on the sort of pistes as described in Garfields trip report and he'll have my money!

 

[Fanum]

Doesn't get any better than that! After the pucker factor has died down a bit I'm sure you'll be laughing about it....maybe

All Fanum has to do is tell me he'll get me on the sort of pistes as described in Garfields trip report and he'll have my money!

Steve- I'll get you on the sort of pistes as described in Garfield's report....AND if your trip is spoilt by wind that could be fairly described as 'extreme', I'll give you your money back too

 

[Fanum]

Give me a few months to get over the sheer terror and depression of having to get back on the bike over there and I might reconsider.
At the moment, not a chance.

Enjoyed the roads to Meknes though, after Chefchouen - even in a force gawd knows what crosswind... but that was only because i was riding in a straight line, with few gusts and my knee/pannier down, keeping me balanced!

It was the gusts in the Rif - wtf... and the N1 over that bridge... hoooooolie of a wind. And dont even get me going about that flamin stupid concrete wall they built alongside the N1 up north - it just spun the wind over the top and it ended up throwing you around from the otherside!

Sigh.

The Moroccan weather has been, I grant you, rather more extreme in the last 2 years than it has in the previous two decades (according to them, several other tour companies and our own experiences)

Having said that, North African weather IS more extreme than European weather, which tends to be tempered by the gulf stream and various other factors that I make no pretence of understanding.

When it rains, snows, blows a gale, gets hot or cold, it does so on a biblical scale- I've seen the immediate aftermath of 25 vertical feet of water in the Todra gorge and 50 degree heat at a time where the average temp in that area should have been (according to records) between 25 and 30.

Part of getting the best out of a trip to Morocco is knowing where to go to outrun/avoid the worst of the weather, how to deal with it and what to do if it goes tits up.

Many many people have very successful trips over there and have no problems and long may that continue (for every rider who goes over there and comes back with tales of how great it is, there's a chance another might come out with us and tbh it's too big to keep secret), but sometimes, having a support vehicle that can carry an extra 100 or so litres of fuel for the bikes when there's a national transport strike on, a team that has several thousand miles of pistes tracklogged out in case an area is washed out and who know where to go to get the best out of the trip depending on the circumstances can be a real advantage

PS that advantage can be doubled if you don't have to face the ride down there and back as well by having your bike taken to Southern Spain for you

I believe it's called 'adventure motorcycling '

 

[Ogmios]

i had a job delivering a Bike from Toulouse to Dublin a few years ago.
autumn.
up the west coast of France.... famed for seasonal wind
so windy that when i checked the tyres at one stop, they were literally worn a good 3mm more on the left than the right from hundreds of miles spent leaning into the wind!
went back last year and learned a new phrase; "vente violente"
feckin right it was violente
crossing a few high and long bridges was a nightmare.

i dont blame France
sh1t happens

i wanted / planned / hoped to get to Maroc this year - even sorted my annual leave so i'd have 'extra' days.
(that pissed them off in payroll - i accidentally 'forgot' to take all last years leave - last year )
ANYhow,
long story short - now i have the time / but not the money.
I Would LOVE to go To Morocco - (but i'll do it with Moto-Morocco as Fanum has the experience i dont have.)
i will do it.
some day.
soon.
i hope.

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

Aye, quite an adventure.

I guess I cant deny that getting shoved into the way of oncoming traffic and getting 'manhandled' toward sheer drop offs every other minute by the most unpredictable winds i have ever encountered is indeed an adventure.

Give me a little while to calm down about the whole crappy experience and I am sure I will want to go back.... hmmmm

It will just have been the weather eh? - I speak french and found the people lovely (especially the police amazingly - i was chatting with a copper for ages at the port! And they were excellent for navigating through town etc - couldnt help enough and didnt even want paying ha ha)

 

[Jon]

I had a storm force wind (oo-er!) on the first WOBMW trip, as we travelling along a flat expanse of land (lot of that there ) one evening. We found one of the group stopped in a cutting, intent on spending the night there until we turned up.

We just thought it was F-windy, but having two experienced merchant sailor type chappies with us, they both independantly made an assesment of the conditions, so it must have been very F-windy at the least.

Slow down, stick your knee out into the wind on the windy side, to act as a rudder & pull you more straight, or pull over and wait for it to stop.

Didn't stop me enjoying the trip - been 3 times & no doubt will go again......

Chill out, time does wonderful things. Next year you'll be regaling people about how windy it was on your hard-core trip

Go back......................you know you want to really. And with Fanums offer, you can't lose

 

[Dickieboy]

Better not ride either of the Severn Bridges then

 

[Steve]

Better not ride either of the Severn Bridges then

Or anywhere in East Anglia...

 

[Uinneag]

Ride your bike in the winter and then you might not be such of a jessie

 

[Farmboy]

Extreme Wind can certainly taint your view of any ride or trip.

On my recent trip to Morocco I found that by lying under the bike at every opportunity ( especially in the desert ) kept me out of the wind

Sounds you were really unlucky this time.

 

[Ross Dean]

Just back from morocco. I have to say NEVER AGAIN on a motorbike!
The winds were suicidal.
And the less I say about the trip up to Tanger on the N1 the better.
Never (and i rarely say never) have I experienced a scarier crosswind in all my days... even the cars were struggling.
From day 1 it was blowing an absolute hoolie.

Jeeeees.

Just got back myself ... and you are right about the crosswind on the N1. The rest of Morocco was, however, just so worth doing. Look on the bright side, having survived that you'll never be worried by crosswinds again

 

[Deleted Member I]

So let me get this straight Bill ..

If I come on a Moto Moccoco tour and then I tell you that my farts really spoilt my trip .. you will refund me my money?


Where do I sign

 

[earthmover]

Or if I go and Indecisive's farts spoil my trip........



















Coat, gone.
Mark