The ride from Tan Tan north was pretty uneventful. It took a while to get used to the urban driving with frequent speed limits which the locals were observing, so I did the same.
I did pass this gentleman who caught my eye, pedalling along.
Arriving at Taroudant what is most striking sight are the walls which surround the town, apparently 7km long.
I had booked ahead and my riad Der Fatima was in the medina and I was not sure how easy it would be to find it or if I'd be able to get the bike near. I needn't have worried as the GPS led me to a sign and then a guy pointed down a little alley.
I asked if I could take the bike and he agreed and led the way. In fact I was able to park outside, which always makes packing and unpacking easy.The riad was a fine old building, a nice room and roof terrace. After a shower and rest i went exploring the town. The riad manager had recommended a resturant and a route. I got lost but managed to explore at least one souk. The souk is not aimed at tourists but at the local people, a refreshing experience, something I also noticed in Iran. No souvenirs or presents to be bought though.
When I finally got to the square with the restaurant I wandered over and was greeted like a lost soul by the owner. He dragged a table away from a local and put a chair down for me. At this point a couple, who I'd seen in the riad, called me over and asked me to join them. They were a charming Italian couple touring Morocco by hire car. We had a great evening chatting and comparing notes, on good places to visit. We were both struck with how relaxed this town was, with everyone getting on with their jobs in a cheerful way. We felt very much at ease and very safe walking around in this very relaxing atmosphere.
The next morning I had planned an interesting route to Marrakech and this was partly why I had stayed at Taroudant. The route was almost directly north, over one the famous pass, Tizi n Test, which rises to 2,100 meters. I had driven this pass a few years ago and since then wanted to ride it. This was a good use of the extra time I had for my return. The ride started along a plane with the mountains off to the left, which is where I was heading.
Once I'd passed the turnoff to Ouarzazate the road began to climb. When I drove this 3 years ago there was a lot of roadworks and I was hoping most would be finished but aware I was likely to encounter some. The climb did not start well. At the first roadworks there was a "Divation". I had many in the desert and it usually meant you get diverted off the main road unto a prepared but rough temperary road, a bit of a pain but not a problem. In this case the surface was just loose soil and apparently likely to generate dust with the traffic. The engineers had helpfully arranged for a large water tanker to damp down the soil, avoiding the dust. The soil hare was less sandy than of late and making it wet produced...mud.
I love mud even less than sand and it is a surface these knobbely tyres do not handle well, whatever about the rider. I started with some trepidation and in 5 meters the rear tyre is coated in mud and I am slithering around with the rear tyre doing all it can to disappear from under me. What fun! I paddled on up the slope and was feeling a bit of a wimp when I saw 2 locals coming along, also slithering like me and shaking their heads. About this point I noticed a dry strip, which the tanker had missed, on the other side of the road. I wasn't keen on slithering across the road but it looked inviting and worth the effort. I got just over half way across when I heard a beep behind me and it was the tanker making its final run and then proceeded to douse the dry strip. Oh joy! I was wondering at that point if it was not going to be my day. I was smiling to myself, despite the frustration. Anyway, I got through it and didn't drop the bike and stopped to take stock, the bike and my boots were a mess, looked good though. I was hoping there wouldn't be many "Diviations" like this.
In fact I was quickly out of the roadworks and on a good surface. This suited me fine as we were starting to climb and there were some lovely corners. I did wonder how much of the mud was still in the tyres and tested a few corners but the bike seemed to be gripping well. Suddenly this became the ride I had hoped for, with good corners, not hairpin but corners you could ride around and an excellent grippy surface. I had a big grin on my face and on one of the corners which went on much longer than I expected, found myself laughing out loud. Now riding fast on mountain passes needs full concentration and any worldly concerns I had faded into the background for a time and I totally absorbed myself into the climb. It was a pretty good thing to be doing, riding my bike over this wonderful pass and heading to one of my favourite cities, Marrakesh. The road surface wasnt always good, some was broken up and there was a big rockfall blocking my side of the road.
There were also goats wandering over the road but got out of the way when I came along. The views to the side were spectacular, great expanses of mountainside with hill villages on the slope.
This photo shows the road I've been climbing.
Eventually I reached the summit and stopped to catch my breath.
The ride down wasn't so demanding and seemed more gradual. The city traffic only got busy near the centre but I had the hotel location in the GPS and it tracked me to the front door. I unloaded and parked the bike in a garage 100 meters away. After a shower I was off up to the Jemma al Fana square to soak up the atmosphere. It was bustling as usual and I started with a chickpea soup before hitting the souk.
The soup is a Jemma tradition and costs 25 pence, very sustaining. I mooched around the souk, did a few deals and went back to the square some some spicy sausages and tomato salad. On the way back to the hotel I listened to the musicians and soaked up the last of the atmosphere in the square. I was heading towards Fes tomorrow but booked an auberge, near a big lake just 200km from Marrakesh.
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I did pass this gentleman who caught my eye, pedalling along.
Arriving at Taroudant what is most striking sight are the walls which surround the town, apparently 7km long.
I had booked ahead and my riad Der Fatima was in the medina and I was not sure how easy it would be to find it or if I'd be able to get the bike near. I needn't have worried as the GPS led me to a sign and then a guy pointed down a little alley.
I asked if I could take the bike and he agreed and led the way. In fact I was able to park outside, which always makes packing and unpacking easy.The riad was a fine old building, a nice room and roof terrace. After a shower and rest i went exploring the town. The riad manager had recommended a resturant and a route. I got lost but managed to explore at least one souk. The souk is not aimed at tourists but at the local people, a refreshing experience, something I also noticed in Iran. No souvenirs or presents to be bought though.
When I finally got to the square with the restaurant I wandered over and was greeted like a lost soul by the owner. He dragged a table away from a local and put a chair down for me. At this point a couple, who I'd seen in the riad, called me over and asked me to join them. They were a charming Italian couple touring Morocco by hire car. We had a great evening chatting and comparing notes, on good places to visit. We were both struck with how relaxed this town was, with everyone getting on with their jobs in a cheerful way. We felt very much at ease and very safe walking around in this very relaxing atmosphere.
The next morning I had planned an interesting route to Marrakech and this was partly why I had stayed at Taroudant. The route was almost directly north, over one the famous pass, Tizi n Test, which rises to 2,100 meters. I had driven this pass a few years ago and since then wanted to ride it. This was a good use of the extra time I had for my return. The ride started along a plane with the mountains off to the left, which is where I was heading.
Once I'd passed the turnoff to Ouarzazate the road began to climb. When I drove this 3 years ago there was a lot of roadworks and I was hoping most would be finished but aware I was likely to encounter some. The climb did not start well. At the first roadworks there was a "Divation". I had many in the desert and it usually meant you get diverted off the main road unto a prepared but rough temperary road, a bit of a pain but not a problem. In this case the surface was just loose soil and apparently likely to generate dust with the traffic. The engineers had helpfully arranged for a large water tanker to damp down the soil, avoiding the dust. The soil hare was less sandy than of late and making it wet produced...mud.
I love mud even less than sand and it is a surface these knobbely tyres do not handle well, whatever about the rider. I started with some trepidation and in 5 meters the rear tyre is coated in mud and I am slithering around with the rear tyre doing all it can to disappear from under me. What fun! I paddled on up the slope and was feeling a bit of a wimp when I saw 2 locals coming along, also slithering like me and shaking their heads. About this point I noticed a dry strip, which the tanker had missed, on the other side of the road. I wasn't keen on slithering across the road but it looked inviting and worth the effort. I got just over half way across when I heard a beep behind me and it was the tanker making its final run and then proceeded to douse the dry strip. Oh joy! I was wondering at that point if it was not going to be my day. I was smiling to myself, despite the frustration. Anyway, I got through it and didn't drop the bike and stopped to take stock, the bike and my boots were a mess, looked good though. I was hoping there wouldn't be many "Diviations" like this.
In fact I was quickly out of the roadworks and on a good surface. This suited me fine as we were starting to climb and there were some lovely corners. I did wonder how much of the mud was still in the tyres and tested a few corners but the bike seemed to be gripping well. Suddenly this became the ride I had hoped for, with good corners, not hairpin but corners you could ride around and an excellent grippy surface. I had a big grin on my face and on one of the corners which went on much longer than I expected, found myself laughing out loud. Now riding fast on mountain passes needs full concentration and any worldly concerns I had faded into the background for a time and I totally absorbed myself into the climb. It was a pretty good thing to be doing, riding my bike over this wonderful pass and heading to one of my favourite cities, Marrakesh. The road surface wasnt always good, some was broken up and there was a big rockfall blocking my side of the road.
There were also goats wandering over the road but got out of the way when I came along. The views to the side were spectacular, great expanses of mountainside with hill villages on the slope.
This photo shows the road I've been climbing.
Eventually I reached the summit and stopped to catch my breath.
The ride down wasn't so demanding and seemed more gradual. The city traffic only got busy near the centre but I had the hotel location in the GPS and it tracked me to the front door. I unloaded and parked the bike in a garage 100 meters away. After a shower I was off up to the Jemma al Fana square to soak up the atmosphere. It was bustling as usual and I started with a chickpea soup before hitting the souk.
The soup is a Jemma tradition and costs 25 pence, very sustaining. I mooched around the souk, did a few deals and went back to the square some some spicy sausages and tomato salad. On the way back to the hotel I listened to the musicians and soaked up the last of the atmosphere in the square. I was heading towards Fes tomorrow but booked an auberge, near a big lake just 200km from Marrakesh.
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