Chapter 6 – friends and crashing
My journey to Midelt that morning was thwarted by jet another bloody puncture. The bike seemed to be a magnet for nails and one had gone cleanly into the rear tyre.
Fixing it wasn't a problem but this time the tyre wouldn't seat properly no matter what trick I applied. It needed blowing up to a higher pressure than I could provide with my measly cycle pump.
I spent an hour and a half trying and then said bollocks to it. I packed the bike up and set off to the nearest town. By the time I'd got there the tyre had popped itself onto the rim all by itself. Typical.
On the way to Midelt I had a go at holding the camera and recording. It wasn't practical, or all that safe and I didn't try it again.
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0078.avi
By the time I reached Midelt it was early lunch time and I decided to stop at Restaurant Paris for some scran.
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0087.avi
After lunch I backtracked a little and took a track that would eventually bring me out at the famous gorges. What I did not know was that everything would, by the end of the day, be turned upside down. I also did not know at this stage how bad the GS suspension really was off-road.
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0088.avi
Ever wonder how those famous drive-by shoots are done? Well here's your chance to find out!
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0089.avi
I stopped for a “trail turd” as you on these sort of things. The scenery was fantastic and I was having a ball on the roads.
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0091.avi
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0092.avi
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0093.avi
The 4x4 that I passed earlier stopped to say hello. It was two Spanish guys spending a couple days touring Morocco. They said they were heading to the gorges but were staying near a lake next to the famous village of Imichil for the night. I said I'd follow them there and stay the night. My instinct told me these guys were cool. One had a 800GS on order the other had the new Yamaha Tenere. We got along fine right from the start.
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0094.avi
To start with they were in front and this worked fine until we hit the dirt on which thick clouds prevented any sort of vision. They were going quick and I had to drop back to see the road ahead but I didn't want to loose them. They quickly noticed and pulled over so that I could take the lead. We wanted to reach Imilchil before it started getting dark and there were still a couple hours drive ahead. My pace was quick so that not to hold them up and I became more familiar with the way the bike handled. It didn't handle well. At this stage I thought the rear shock had blown (later on at a BMW dealer I would find the shock linkage was dangerously worn).
My driving on a fully loaded bike was too quick, too reckless. I could feel I was on the edge of my ability especially on the corners. Well on one corner I ran ride a little bit. And so did a Toyota Hilux pickup truck.
My initial thought was to avoid a frontal impact for the inevitable collision. Both of us were going too fast to stop. I threw the bike left to head over the embankment. The Toyota smashed into the side of the bike tearing off the pannier and throwing me up and over.
I had a lucky escape on this one. I'd torn a hole in my pants and my left foot was swelling up, but miraculously nothing was fractured or broken.
The Spanish guys were very helpful and I quickly paid the driver 41 Euro for the (quite extensive) damage to his car. The damage to my bike was largely superficial however the pannier system was a wreck. The frame was snapped and the right pannier was holed – so no water storage in that one!
The crash really put a dampener on things. I wasn't going to dwell on it though. Shit had happened and I'd escaped from what could have been a real **** up. I'd learn by it and not repeat the same mistake again. It was a lesson learned.
The Spanish guys took the panniers in their car and we cruised to Imilchil.
We stopped at a hotel right by the lake. It was a beautiful location. I had a good evening with Antonio and his mate, who's name I now forget. It turned out they were Spanish Traffic Civil. How ironic!
There were some Frenchys and also two gents that did 4x4 tours across the Sahara. When I told them what I intended to do from Merzouga they said I was mad, that the terrain was difficult and I'd be clutching it for much of the time. Doing it by myself was a big no they said. They offered for me to follow a tour they were taking on the Monday – at least others could help pull the bike out of the shit I was going to get it into. I give it some thought I have to say but my mind was in a muddle from the crash. I didn't even know if crossing with assistance was viable now, never mind if I had to carry luggage on the bike. I tried to forget and leave all the thinking till the morning.
http://www.igaro.com/misc/moroc2/100_0097.avi
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