Sleeping beside the bike in a Moroccan river bed

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

You are some encyclopedia!
Amazing photos, great adventure!
+1 on the big cahoonas......

 

[Tim Cullis]

On a 60-mile piste through the Middle Atlas from Kerrouchen to Jbel Hebri and beyond

Suddenly transported to Tuscany!

What a glorious day

And the beat goes on

1st gear and rear brake for this one

Bridge disappeared some years ago

Looks pretty now, but not exactly comfortable in the depths of winter

Looking back over the valley

Tightening the steel hawser holding the logs on the lorry
Two guys bounce up and down on the winch handle whilst the others support them.

Constantly changing scenery and piste surfaces

Not sure what this is. Maybe a lime kiln?

Back into the trees

M'Diq rock

Fast section to Jbel Hebri

On the edge of a volcano caldera near Azrou

A 25-mile piste from Ait Rhanm (east of Timadite) to Ait-Kermouss
Followed by a 35-mile piste back again skirting Jebel Abbou

Getting interesting

Gorge of Oued Derdour

The right-hand side might be smoother, but I kept left!

Another glorious day with constant sunshine

Ice on the stream

If I had visited Morocco as a child, I would have been a geologist

Glorious riding

And not so glorious

And then the piste disappeared. Time for a short cut across the fields.

I hate it when this happens!

to be continued

 

[xylo66]

Cracking !

Well done Tim !
Brilliant pics and documentary - green with jealousy. I won't complain next time Yasmina and Chris Evans' support team took our luggage every day while doing the Pyrenees trip last year ! Hats off to you mate - well done and thanks.

 

[Tim Cullis]

An extrmely easy novice-level piste in the Middle Atlas east of Khenifra

For riders who find their local pub car park difficult

Gentle gradients

80 miles in total, but with lots of get out points

Mile after mile of consistently well-graded track

This was the most 'challenging' section I encountered

Go on, just imagine you are there. You open the throttle, crest the slope...

Somewhere near Jebel Irhoud

No electricity, no phone, no running water. But what a view!

Debris blocking water channels

Follow water down hill to get out

Over the Tizi-n'Rechou

Finally hit asphalt 5km from Boumia

to be continued...

 

[david a hall]

thanks 4 that tim, its a lot of work but we apreciate it , its a great read.

 

[Timolgra]

to be continued...

C'mon, hurry up there's no time for a tea break

 

[Tim Cullis]

Day trip Imilchil
I had tried to get to Imilchil from the south but was told at Agoudal that the piste was closed with snow.
So this was a day trip from Rich (above) to Imilchil and back again on mainly asphalt roads.

Well, what would you do?

After splashing through the ford for the third time I noticed the women on the left laughing at my antics

Water everywhere

Amazing strata

Fresh omelette with melted 'Vache qui rire' inside

This reminded me of Scotland

The earthern field boundaries are intended to trap water and encourage nutrients to settle

Petrol, but no lead free

Wash day

There are many hotels in Imilchil, but Hotel Tislite Bride gets my vote

Back in Azrou: Why all the flags?

Resurfacing roads, laying turf?

Who's coming to dinner? The poster is a clue...

The King's motorcycle escort leaving Ifrane

Sweeping into the main drag in Azrou, with HM King Mohammed IV standing through the sun roof

Unfortunately, I pan the camera so much that all I get is one of his hands! (circled at right)

to be continued...

 

[harry]

Would it not have been better to catch a train,Tim?
Great post,well done

 

[xbootie]

Tim

Brilliant Photos and write up, if i was wearing a hat i would take it off to you

 

[STUBBS]

great photos and a brilliant write up, got the itch feet syndromme now dont know if id have the balls to do it on my own though

 

[Tim Cullis]

The weather later that afternoon
You just KNOW something nasty is this way headed

By next morning 7 inches of snow had fallen

Winter wonderland but difficult riding

By the second morning we have cabin fever and are planning to leave 'en convoi'

The overnight temp of -6C in Azrou had risen to zero by the time we left

Caesar and Filipe from Verona in the lead
As we climbed the temperature fell to -3C in the trees

As we climbed towards 7000 ft, the temperature dropped to -5C

And then stayed there for the next three hours until we were over the Col du Zad

We stayed in Hotel Xaluca in Erfoud, a kitsch (and rather expensive) Spanish-owned hotel

Visit to the major fossil workshop

Back up north the snow is fading

Suddenly everyone and their mother has sledges for hire

Morocco the land of contrasts: On one side of the road is the Jebel Hebri ski slope with people in designer skisuits

On the other side people are living under plastic sheeting

to be continued...

 

[Garry H]

Brilliant stuff Tim
Great photos
Keep them comming

 

[brassmonkey001]

Great report Tim

 

[Steptoe]

Great pictures and write up Tim - What happened to Lol and the others you went with ?

 

[Deleted account W]

Tim, any chance on seeing your track log or a couple of waypoints (start/finish) for the pistes in posts #22 & #24 of this thread. Thanks

 

[Trippy]

Great report and photo's Tim, you've got balls to do it alone.
I only wish I didn't have to wait another 12 months before going and seeing it for myself.

 

[Tim Cullis]

Great pictures and write up Tim - What happened to Lol and the others you went with ?

Kev became separated from Andy and Loz when he couldn't keep up on the motorway bends in Spain. I dropped back to keep Kev company and we didn't see the others again for 900 miles.

I met up again with them in Ouarzazate but they left the next day. At that stage I decided not to go to Dakar but to stay in Morocco touring solo.

This is the only photo I have: (left to right) Kev, Loz, Andrew from Hubb and Andy (Number 6).

Tim

 

[BAKERMAN]

I am a wanker

 

[Jockser]

Well done Tim Seriously impressive 'spin' & great pics too

 

[Tim Cullis]

Back in Azrou the snow has now gone

The green roofs are an Azrou characteristic

Cedres Hotel, favourite of Timolgra

I spent some time on my continuing hunt for land to buy in the Azrou area. I had meetings (in French!) with the Centre for Regional Investment and the Regional Tourist Syndicate, also discussions with four landowners on potential plots. One piece of land was extraordinarily expensive, another two were uninspiring, the fourth a distinct possibility.

Azrou is Berber for 'bloody great big rock'

Crocus?

I then spent several days exploring the vast network of tracks around Azrou. These ranged from not much better than a faint footpath, to fast, level, well groomed pistes. In the end it became, 'look for a blank bit on the map and start exploring.' Everywhere I went I was welcomed by locals, reinforcing my view that Azrou and the Middle Atlas are the most friendly part of Morocco.

Tracks to the west of Paysage D'Ito

Under the rim of the escarpment

Some a bit stoney

Overlooking Ougmes

The Middle Atlas is my favourite area

Finally it was time to leave. I thought I would go north via the Rif Mountains to see whether they were still
as bad as previous trips. They were--see report in Morocco Knowledgebase.

Impressive mountains

Almond tree in blossom

I thought I had finished with pistes, but the road from Ketama north to the coast was missing most of its asphalt.

Then a bit of cloud to add some moisture

Finally can see the sea
This new bit of road is financed by the EU. Why??

It will be a great road when it's finished, but in the meantime it's another 40 miles of piste

Sleeping beside the bike, Part Deux
I carried on through the drizzle and arrived at the Ibis Hotel in Fnediq (Moroccan side of Ceuta border). It was 10:30pm and the receptionist thought it was his lucky day. He tried to stick me with additional fees, then another 30 dirhams (!) for parking. My travels through the Rif had put me in a bad frame of mind and I told him to stuff it and stormed out.

No problem, I had my new tent, my sleeping bag and all the gear, so I would camp wild.

Five minutes later the heavens opened, but by then I was on my way cross country to Tanger (it doesn't look far on the map, it's only about an inch). Anyway, I eventually found a dryish bit of ground under pine trees and unpacked the tent.

Home sweet home

Instruction 1: Don't place the tent under a tree. Bit late now.
Instruction 2: Practise putting the tent up before you need to for real. Pity that wasn't on the outside of the pack!

By the time I had the tent roughly erected it was nearly midnight, so I crawled into the tent, kept all my clothes and boots on, and draped the unzipped sleeping bag over me. I had a great night's sleep.

Next morning: the trucks started at 7am

My journey the next day across to Spain was uneventful, if rather wet. Thank goodness for Steptoe's gauchos and muffs. The following day I decided to check out the Las Bardenas offroad area near Zaragosa. The weather, however, was vile, with freezing fog and I stopped some way short just inside Aragón. The forecast for the next few days was continuing rain and low cloud.

Then I had a brainwave. The next day was my wife's birthday. She had graciously not objected in the slightest to the fact that I would be away for her birthday. But perhaps it was possible to get back to the UK by tomorrow night? I did the math and it looked about 1,000 miles, so I went to bed at 2000, and set the alarm for 0330 the next day.

I was away into the fog at 0430, but what I hadn't considered is that my faithful SatNav would route me directly over the Pyrenees in the middle of winter!

0930: I thought this was Formigales, but if so, I was miles off course

I crossed into France by the Midi d'Oussau (2800m) but wasn't to see a motorway for another 135 miles of D and N roads. And it was 1050 before the temperature finally rose above freezing.

Anyway, the rest of the ride across France was fairly smooth going. I managed to get a Chennel Tunnel shuttle with only 15 minutes wait time, and arrived at my daughters' flat in London at 2130. Total milage that day, 955 miles (not including the tunnel).

Total milage for the trip: 7500 miles.
Offroad milage: in excess of 1200 miles.

The end.

Tim