There's a road in Morocco !!!

Steptoe

What a waste.
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Left the T.I,T.S at Tantan, and set off by myself, heading for Zagora, along the south of the country, via Akka and Tata.

Tantan, so good they named it twice.





It was good to get some some speed up, after tagging along with C90's for 9days , good job the warning sign was there, i'd never have noticed the bend - it was a difficult navigating, there were two junctions today .







I was enjoying myself, good roads, no traffic, apart from the convoys of Italian motorhomes that appeared every now and again.

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This part of Morocco is very poor, so not many vehicles or petrol stations around, one i used had a hand pump, like the starter motor handle that was used on old British cars. The towns had no restuarants or cafes for a refreshing glass of mint tea, but you didn't get any hassle when you stopped.
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Passed through Akka and Tata, pretty non-descript places, and i was on the culture by-pass heading for Zagora.

( got to post this now,although not finished, my computer keeps locking up, and i've already lost one big section ) more to come .
 
like the first macho post :) ..but whats in your mouth?

if your pc keeps crashin' do the writing and image links in word and save it as you go every 5 mins... then cut and paste it into here :)
 
Great photo's looking forward to the next set...Did you have much trouble finding fuel ?.

Also did you do any wild camping ?

I'm of down in April, any help and info would be great.

Thanks Dazzer
 
Lots of good roads and stunning views, you can't keep stopping for pictures, or you'd never get to where your going .

Arrived at Foum-Zguid at about 4pm , the only thing this town has is a phone signal. Using the small road from Foum-Zguid to Zagora would save me a lot of miles, a road Sign said Zagora 120 Km , on my map it said road impassable in bad weather, the weather had been good.
I'll take the small road, 120km, i'll be in Zagora for teatime.
It was compacted mud, but very hard and you could ride it at 40-50mph ,



it started to break up a bit, but still easy



then deteriorated a bit more - do i care, go do one

 
onwrds, onwrds, ( who keeps nicking the "A's ") - The road had shallow dips in the surface, and if you kept the speed at 50mph you'd take off each time you came out of them, good fun, i'd covered 10 miles, soon be in Zagora, in a nice hotel for tea.

Surface was now getting a bit softer, then without warning it got very soft, opps, at least the landing is soft.





No, you can't lift a fully loaded GS in soft sand, so lets unpack it and then lift it.

Talking to myself and mumbling as i unpack the luggage ( thank feck forQ/D panniers, wouldn't have liked to unbolt the fixed type), at least no one had seen me make an arse of myself.

Then someone behind me said " OLA" i turned around and said AAAARRRRRGGGHHH( bearing in mind this is over 10 miles along a road into the wilderness, andi haven't seen a soul all the way), which made the boy scream AAARRRGGHHH, so i screamed again louder "AAAARRRGGHHH", which made the boy scream again, soi screaned again, trying not to laugh as the boy was shitting himself, i could have carried this game on for as long as i liked, so i called him a carhnt for creeping up on me, and gave him some sweets ;) . He helped me pick the bike up ( he actually made it harder, but at least he tried). I also gave him a pair of worn socks, which he was most grateful for .

 
That was the start of the " Road of stones " .

The road then became rocky and stoney, with sections of soft sand, the road now turned left into a valley, and the sun was getting low.

I'd fallen off a few more times, the first couple times are funny, then it got very tiring and laborious unpacking and re-packing everytime to pick the bike up. And the rocks were now huge, with no tracks inbetween, you just had to go over them and keep the momentum going. It was tiring riding.

I kept thinking the road must get better in a minute, but it was getting worse, and the sun was almost down
I'd covered 35 miles in two and a half hours, the first 10 miles taking approx 20 minutes. Only another 35 miles to Zagora and a Hotel and tea . Can i do it in the dark ??
Another fall and i made the decision to put up the tent the next time i fell off, i couldn't risk a simple injury like a sprained ankle or wrist .

A minute later and i was off again, so up with the tent. The tent i'd brought with me cost £8.94p from asda, it's single skinned and just meant for the kids in the garden, but it packs small, thats the main thing, isn't it :rolleyes:

The last fall,camping in the desert it is then
 
I put the stove on, cooking some army rations, chicken with herb dumplings, while i put the tent up and picked the bike up, took a picture just as the sun set .
Would i be found dead, and people would be looking at the my last picture .



had the grub, and very tasty it was to, and a cup of tea, and settled down in the tent for the night.
People tell you how quiet the desert is, but you can't believe it until you experiance it for yourself. I never knew the blood pumping through your ears was so noisy.
They also tell you how cold the desert can be, believe them. I was in my -8 sleeping bag, wearing my hat , with only my nose and mouth exposed. It was so cold my teeth ached.

I surrounded myself with my luggage on one side, and a metal pannier on the other, you never know who may want to stab you in the kidneys in the desert, and they'd get a bit of a shock as the razor sharp knife sliced through the flimsy polyester and hit the metal pannier -that what i kept telling myself through out the night, the cold night, the cold silent night, the cold silent long night.

The sun was shining, I'd made it, no care in the community people wandering about in the desert, thats a relief .

Took a north, south, east and west picture to show just how busy this place can be








Get a brew going while i pack away, i survived the nutters who live in the desert, Ray Mears, who he .



Started to pack away, and a voice said "OLA"

Here we go again, i didn't even bother to turn around AAARRRGGGHHH, to which the voice replied " AAARRRGGGHHH, etc etc till i'd had enough.
This time was a boy of about 10 years old, so greeted him with a warm welcome," where did you come from you little carhnt, you were trying to sneak up onme and stab me in the kidneys, weren't you" - he admitted it,and said i had the reflexes of a tourag warrior, so i gave him a box of tic-tacs for his honesty. And a pair of worn socks. And he offered me some of his water. A wonderful moment at 7amin the morning, that will live with me for a long time

 
I asked where he'd come from. He just lived in the desert looking after goats. Thats his life, he's still there right now as you read this, whats his future, how does he get out of it, if he wants to, and better himself ? .


I'd made the decision during the night, the cold night, the cold silent night, the cold silent long night,that i'm turning back. I couldn't tell if the road was going to get better, so if i'd got this far, i should be able to get back. And i'd give myself all day to do it.
I couldn't get a picture of how bad the track was, i had to stay on the bike and keep the momentum going. Going back i had 25 miles of 1st and 2nd gear riding, the clutch was coming al the way back before it disengaged, due to the heat affecting the fluid, and at one point i had 8 bars on the oil temp, i kept my fingers crossed and thought of Rev chuck.

It took 3 hours to get back to the main road. Thereafter i only drove on "big" roads.
I'm out, and rewarded myself with an apple and a coke, that i was saving for emergencies


I drove straight to Ouarzazate, which had some stunning views on the way






and stopped in the best hotel i could find. Bliss. And about £25 a night



 
Steptoe said:
And a pair of worn socks.

They'll be up on ebay before you know it.

You should have filled them with stones to make a protective kidney belt.

Good write-up :D :thumb
 
Fantastic pictures, hardcore :bow
Especially good that you taught the local kids a new word :D

(and cheers for the brake pads :thumb )
 
Steptoe said:
.... so greeted him with a warm welcome," where did you come from you little carhnt, you were trying to sneak up on me and stab me in the kidneys, weren't you" - he admitted it,and said i had the reflexes of a tourag warrior

:hapybnce: :hapybnce:
More, more

Nice one Neil :thumb
 
Nice writing, I'm soooooooooo looking forward to my trip there in April. :)
 
Hotel Fint in Quarazate I think. We stayed there the other week and it was excellent. Definately recommend it to anyone passed through. Did you get to use the swimming pool? Fantastic, can't wait to get back there.

Fantastic roads around Quarazate in every direction.
 
Great write up and photos Neil, where was it?........ Camber?

Also I just love the new pose it's so you, any chance I could borrow your old one untill I develop a one of my own?
 


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