Wear the Fox hat!

[GSTraveller]

So, last night was eventful. We made it into Todra and decided to attempt to go up it and cross into Dades gorge and come down that way. Several had mentioned it might be difficult but the road up was both breathtaking and tarmaced more or less all the way. No problem we thought, until we reached the peak and had to head down the otherside. Half past 5 at night is not the time to be attempting a 45km piste. Half way along there was a minor collision between Gerry and myself which resulted in a bit of minor damage but thankfully no injuries. This was 3000 metres up at about half 7 in the rain and the temp had dropped to about 16 degrees. We eventually made it into Dades for damage assessment and found somewhere to get our heads down.

Today, minor repairs on route north. More to follow.

 

[Count Pikey]

Glad everyones ok, we are up exploring the picos mountains now. If you get a chance on the way back its a beautiful place to peruse.

★Tip★ the ferry back to spain will not accept durhams. So spend um boys......

 

[GSTraveller]

So, the scene of the crash last night looked like this:



We picked the bikes up, dusted them off and moved on to find some accommodation. By the time we made it on to Tarmac it was gone 9 and pitch black. We found a nice little riad to recover from out eventful ride across the mountain.

Today we moved on to a place just outside Marrackech. I managed to find a man in a garage who could work wonders with super glue and a cigerette butt in order to repair my tail light. We eventually landed in a place called Ait Ourir after a 9 hour ride to go 200 miles. I have worked out that is why you don't need to worry about fuel stations over here, because you never get anywhere and so never use much fuel.

So this evening 2 of us remain on the outskirts whilst 2 other intrepid explorers have ventured in but personally I couldn't think of anything worse. I much prefer relaxing with a bottle of red wine, especially as it's my brithday tomorrow and I don't need any stress.

I'll upload some pictures today of our journey west as and when I can. Amazing views but very cold up at 2000 metres (12 degrees! What's that about?).

Tomorrow, north to Asilah.

 

[GSTraveller]

Here's the guy fixing my tail light. You take the filter apart from the cigerette butt and add superflue; hey presto, mini fibre glass!!

 

[Camel Toe]

Nothing for miles n miles and two bikes collide..... I reckon ya started on that birthday wine already......
Brill report and have a great b,day tomorrow......

 

[GSTraveller]

Tell me about it John. We were following each other too close, lesson learned.

Anyway as I wake up on the morning of my birthday:



(I dragged them round the whole trip at the insistence of my wife )

I think back to yesterday's ride and I am just amazed at the contrast in scenery. The road between the famous gorges and Marrakech sees you passing through the 30 degree heat of the desert up grassy green mountainsides eventually climbing to 2000 metres through the most perfect set of twist-backs I think I've ever ridden where the temperature fell to around 12 degrees with threatening skies and back down the otherside.

While it it true the time it takes to travel the same distance in UK is more or less quadrupled, so to is the fun you have while riding. It really is an amazing place to ride.

Here are some shots from yesterday:


(Note the repositioned plate look which I kind of like, oh and the missing spotlight!)

From that to this:



And to this:

 

[GSTraveller]

Motorway day today in order to make it within striking distance of the port of exit. Ironically we have travelled the furthest but stopped the earliest. The three amigos are back together, Mark, Pat and I.

We made it to here;



Not a bad place. It's in Asilah, €40 a night for a double room, they have great beer and a pool right next to the beach:



The rooms (note the birthday cards):

 

[GSTraveller]

Before I forget, a couple of snaps from Todra and Dades.

Leading up to Todra:



Into Todra (Pre-crash):



And then the classic view down into Dades:

 

[GSTraveller]

My advice to anyone contemplating a visit to Morocco is to go for it. You do not need an adventurous bike. You choose to be adventurous or not. All the main tourists spots are accessible by road and bloody good roads at that. There are decent fuel stations everywhere. You could do it all on any bike or car, no problem. Just dont try to go over the top from Todra into Dades! you just have to see all this with your own eyes but don't go thinking you have to be Indiana Jones to see it, far from it.

 

[GSTraveller]

Finally made it back into Spain. It was up early and out the door for 8 this morning in order to get to the port (Tangier Med) in good time. Flew through the relevant kiosks, there was literally 3 of us and a couple of cars.

Landed in Algeciras and headed straight to the hotel to collect our bags which we left before entering Morocco. No point carrying the dead weight of our camping gear around with us.

We headed straight to a McDonalds where the three of us (Mark, Pat and I) said I final goodbyes and headed out seperate ways. Pat was heading north to catch his ferry on Sunday. Mark was heading west via Gibralter to RV with his better half and I am headed east towards Milan.

Booked in to a swanky hotel just outside Marbella in order to recoup and regroup. I think I am headed for Valencia tomorrow via the Sierra Nevada but no fixed plan.

Starting to feel really tired of the travelling now but only just over a week left and then it's back to the old grind stone so I am determined to squeeze every last drop out of the time I have left on the road.

 

[GSTraveller]

The bikes ready for the off this morning:



Bounced to here just east of Marbella:



Nice view of Gib on the way in:

 

[Jeffk]

Well done Pete, you've certainly covered some miles........you should be rightly chuffed. I made it back yesterday around 4ish. Home was a welcome site as my saddle was beginning to be a 'real' pain in the arxe! Relaxed, rested and now it all seems like ages ok..........kind of sad really.
Heard from Phil and Vernon. Vernon got a puncture on the way back and I believe needed to be recovered.
Otherwise all OK, see you when you get back. Enjoy the two up ride home
Jeff

 

[Rockred]

Great write up, I have really enjoyed following your progress. ..... ps did you see me waving to you from Gib?

 

[GSTraveller]

And so the journey continues and the miles fly by. After getting off the boat from Morocco I decided to stop somewhere near Marbella. I made it to here:



The hotel I found was a bit pricey but I needed to recoup and regroup in order to sort my admin out and figure out my plan for the next few days. At £50 it definitely wasn't cheap but well worth it:



Here's the view from my balcony:

 

[GSTraveller]

That was the day before yesterday. After walking along the gorgeous beach and grabbing a relatively authentic Italian Pizza down town:



I retired to the lounge and worked out my route whilst listening to the pianist with what looked to me like an annual Saga meeting. Very pleasant it was too.

The next day I had 1000km between me and the campsite I was heading for but I knew it would be foolish to try and smash it in 1 day. Especially as my Sat Navs seems to enjoy sending me down dirt roads and country lanes. The views were amazing though and I was still enjoying the ride:

 

[GSTraveller]

Id smashed over half the distance and I generally try and look for somewhere to stay anytime after 4pm and my arse was definitely ready to stop. The seat is still no more comfortable nearly 5000 miles in.

I decided to pull into a town called Teruel. I had made it to about here:



I found a room for €40 and quickly got changed and headed into town for a beer. The hotel wasn't bad, very modern inside but no Eurovision on the telly, what's that about?!?.



I sat in a small Piazza and thought how beautiful the place looked, it reminded me of the kind of places you see all over Italy and certainly one of the prettiest little towns Id seen in Spain so far. I managed to sink 4 beers which came in at only €6.40 which is always a bonus.



By now it was gone 9pm and I staggered off to find somewhere to eat, got completely lost and then couldn't be arsed so I went to bed. Sometimes I think I eat because it's dinner time and not because I'm hungry and I definitely wasn't hungry anyway.

 

[GSTraveller]

Up early and out the door this morning for half 8. I only had a small hop of about 370kms to go so I wanted to crack on. I am really feeling the cold temperatures now, this morning it was down to my golden 10 degrees which is the limit of where the fun stops and anything below is just miserable. Of course it didn't help that I still had all the gear I wear in Morocco on. It was a 'man test' and I past!

More lovely views as I rode up towards Huesca:



And at lunchtime I finally made it back to Camping Isabena. Gone for a wooden house this time at €30. I am too knackered for canvas this far into my trip.

 

[GSTraveller]

Up early and out the door this morning for half 8. I only had a small hop of about 370kms to go so I wanted to crack on. I am really feeling the cold temperatures now, this morning it was down to my golden 10 degrees which is the limit of where the fun stops and anything below is just miserable. Of course it didn't help that I still had all the gear I wear in Morocco on. It was a 'man test' and I past!

More lovely views as I rode up towards Huesca:



And at lunchtime I finally made it back to Camping Isabena. Gone for a wooden house this time at €30. I am too knackered for canvas this far into my trip.

 

[GSTraveller]

This afternoon, some admin is in order. Luckily they have free use of a washing machine here so I can start to freshen up before I make Milan.

The bike has a number of issues. Not least the shunt up the backside which I can sort easily enough when I get back to UK but my next service is now due and there are a couple of issues which will need to be looked at under warranty hopefully so tomorrow's plan is to swing my a BMW dealer to see what can be done.

The pulsating is still there which I don't like and the handlebars seem to vibrate way more than they used to. My hands get pins and needles they vibrate so much. The ABS has stopped working, so too has the ESA preload adjustment. The most worrying issue is the rattle I hear when I pull on the throttle quite hard. It used to make that noise as I was coasting to a stop, pulled in the clutch and gave it a little Rev. I reported this some months ago but Vines said they couldn't replicate the issue. It now seems much more prevelant.

On a plus note the tyre has held up well. It's just done around 4900 miles and I reckon with a bit of luck it might just get me home. We shall see.

 

[GSTraveller]

Well done Pete, you've certainly covered some miles........you should be rightly chuffed. I made it back yesterday around 4ish. Home was a welcome site as my saddle was beginning to be a 'real' pain in the arxe! Relaxed, rested and now it all seems like ages ok..........kind of sad really.
Heard from Phil and Vernon. Vernon got a puncture on the way back and I believe needed to be recovered.
Otherwise all OK, see you when you get back. Enjoy the two up ride home
Jeff

Glad you made it back OK Jeff. Enjoyed riding with you out there. Still a long way to go as yet for me and the poor old bike. Hoping to get her looked at tomorrow or Tuesday.

Have you been in touch with Susan by any chance. She seemed to think you'd nipped off with the Spot GPS Tracker. They are missing No. 3 which was our one I think. Anyway, if you have it you'll need to send it direct to Canada but get in touch with her and she will give you the details.

Hopefully we can meet up when I get back. Mark mentioned the Hogroast might be a good opportunity to get together.