Route question

[sola_bristol]

Message for Tim Cullis and others

I am thinking of a trip to Morocco next year in May with about 7 days in Morocco. We're likely to want to stick to tarmac. Can anyone suggest some good routes for that time period which includes the main passes etc. We'll be a mixture of GS's and Tigers

Cheers

Sola_bristol

 

[Paul Rochdale]

The reply will be of interest to me as I'm planning to ride to Morocco towards the end of October. My wife is flying to Marrakech with a friend where we'll all meet up. I have a rough idea of the roads (no off road) I intend to travel especially after Tim's enjoyable talk at Ripley.

They'll be staying at the Riad Dar Anika which apparently is near the main square, but I've yet to sort my own accommodation out. Not wanting to ride into the city, I'm wondering about getting accommodation on the outskirts and walking/busing in to the centre.

 

[Tim Cullis]

Many people are too ambitious about where they go in Morocco. They create a route that ticks all the boxes of places to visit, then have to use the main roads to travel between them. A bit like doing England using nothing other than the A1, A4, A6 and so forth.

The major passes are south and south east of Marrakech. A route that incorporates the passes would take six of your seven days inside Morocco and will result in a tarmac main road tour.

My talk at Horizons Unlimited was focused on 'getting off the beaten track' and I'll shortly be putting up a selection of routes from the talk.

Tim

 

[Baz]

I've got a couple of Tarmac Routes on Mapsource if you want from a trip I did a few years ago and is based roughly on the WOBMW tour. You should be able to do them in 7 days if you push it.
I'll be modifying them for a trip I am hopefully doing next April.

PM me an email address if you want them

Baz

 

[sola_bristol]

Thanks to both suggestions and the -m is david_mears@btinternet.com

 

[Steptoe]

Many people are too ambitious about where they go in Morocco. They create a route that ticks all the boxes of places to visit, then have to use the main roads to travel between them. A bit like doing England using nothing other than the A1, A4, A6 and so forth.

I'm afraid i'd have to disagree entirely with that view Tim.

I love the roads in Morocco, and think they're overlooked.
People shouldn't be put off from touring two up with road tyres by thinking it's all off road and rough. And to suggest if they are using the roads they can be compered with the likes of the A1

 

[Wapping]

I'm afraid i'd have to disagree entirely with that view Tim.

I love the roads in Morocco, and think they're overlooked.
People shouldn't be put off from touring two up with road tyres by thinking it's all off road and rough. And to suggest if they are using the roads they can be compered with the likes of the A1

I am with St Eptoe on this.

There are, if you like, two Moroccoes*.

(1) The vaguely exotic country, just a short boat trip from mainland Europe. Very different, for sure, but rideable on anything from a C90 to an R1 to a fully kitted GSA. You can have fun, see some great sites and sights and not go too far wrong.

(2) The more exotic, off-road Morocco. No tarmac, just mud or dry stones. Indeed, no recognisable road at all sometimes. Again you could probably do it on any number of bikes but a little preparation and planning may not go adrift.

I have been lucky enough to go on two dashes with Neil. None of them were hard-core, much beyond riding a long way in a few days. We saw blokes (and girls) on any number of different motorcycles, all getting along just fine. That's not to say we didn't have a good time, it just wasn't that difficult.

===

*I guess you could say much the same about anywhere. Motorways - V - A roads - V - B roads - V - off-road. People like to hype the adventures, no matter where and how they rode....and why not? It's possibly better than sitting at home.....and, for sure, they had a good time, no matter what.

 

[Tim Cullis]

Jeez, is my English really that confusing

Many people are too ambitious about where they go in Morocco. They create a route that ticks all the boxes of places to visit, then have to use the main roads to travel between them. A bit like doing England using nothing other than the A1, A4, A6 and so forth.

The major passes are south and south east of Marrakech. A route that incorporates the passes would take six of your seven days inside Morocco and will result in a tarmac main road tour.

My talk at Horizons Unlimited was focused on 'getting off the beaten track' and I'll shortly be putting up a selection of routes from the talk.

Just where did I mention off road? The message I was trying to get across was
- don't be too ambitious with long distances (like spending six days just to do two passes)
- try roads other than the main ones.

There are some fantastic minor roads in Morocco. Steptoe will remember the Zouni road, well it's now been re-tarmaced and is part of one of the road routes I recommended in my Horizons talk (but in the opposite direction).

I also recommended routes on minor roads through
- the Rif,
- the Forest of Maamora,
- Jebel Mouchchene,
- the eastern Middle Atlas,
- the Middle Atlas and
- the High Atlas.

Tim

 

[Steptoe]

They create a route that ticks all the boxes of places to visit, then have to use the main roads to travel between them.

To those that haven't been to Morocco this sentence could so easily be misconstrued as " go off road to travel between your intended detinations". There's never enough emphisis on the road riding conditions.

I see 8-10 people a week while working on their bikes, at least half talk about wanting to go to morocco but don't want to go off road. And most are surprised when i tell them to go because the roads are fantastic.

So they can take their partners without any worries of living in snoopys world

 

[Tim Cullis]

I guess you could say much the same about anywhere. Motorways - V - A roads - V - B roads - V - off-road...

The new motorway from Ceuta to Tanger is now open. Impressive construction through pretty scenery. Hardly any traffic.

Tim

 

[Wapping]

To those that haven't been to Morocco this sentence could so easily be misconstrued as " go off road to travel between your intended detinations". There's never enough emphisis on the road riding conditions.

I see 8-10 people a week while working on their bikes, at least half talk about wanting to go to morocco but don't want to go off road. And most are surprised when i tell them to go because the roads are fantastic.

So they can take their partners without any worries of living in snoopys world

The new motorway from Ceuta to Tanger is now open. Impressive construction through pretty scenery. Hardly any traffic.

Tim

I guess it was a simple misreading of the intent Tim's post? Myself included

I think the Moroccans are waking up that there are lot of people, not a few motorcyclists or Land cruiser bods, just across the water, keen to spend their hard earned (and hard currency) Euro somewhere different. The start of the cheap flights tells all, perhaps? The faded glory of Casablanca may yet be re-born as Torremolinos.

If they ever build the rumoured bridge / tunnel across the Straight, linking Spain to Africa, the doors will really open. For now though, they are probably happy with 250 white skinned, deep pocketed bods on each aeroplane.

Whether one likes the regime or not, it's still a great place to have fun. Neil knows that, you know that, Bill knows that etc etc. The truth is anyone can ride around quite content on a half decent road (or fresh superslab) and never, a mile or so later, dive off into the wilds.... Everyone should go, if only once....It won't bite.

 

[Tim Cullis]

The tunnel is 15 years away. Same twin bore+service tunnel design as the Chunnel but much deeper, therefore due to the gradiants involved it has to be much longer.

Tim

 

[Wapping]

The tunnel is 15 years away. Same twin bore+service tunnel design as the Chunnel but much deeper, therefore due to the gradiants involved it has to be much longer.

Tim

That's the chappy....one very big project....and a lot of rock to get rid of....still the Atlantic is deep and probably wide enough....

One tip. No matter how tempting, don't buy shares in the in the 'New Co' created to build it. It will never repay the capital outlay.....