Aussie Family in France: Trail biking in Morrocco

Preamble
Back to the Riad Zanzibar after 10 days driving around Morocco. Asma welcomed us. Good to be back. And Christophe from Australia is here too. Okay. Let me tell you the plan.
The girls are now flying to Rome to meet the Grand Parents. I stay in Morocco for another 10 days riding with my buddy Christophe. He bought a bike in France and just completed 4,000 kms to join me via Gibraltar and Tanger ferry. I will hire a bike from M2R a moroccan bike hire specialist.
Both bikes are Yamaha XTZ 660 'Tenere'. A bullet proof bike. It was actually the first bike I bought in my long list of acquisitions. That was in Burkina Faso, Africa twenty years ago...
I won't go into the details of the bike hire. Negociating in Africa is an art. I don't have the right tyres. They are not off road really. Anyway we are all set now.

Originally I was thinking of joining a dirtbike tour. Sounds more practical: no hassle with logistic, assistance, getting lost or any other issues which comes up when you ride in a foreign country. On top of that my chances to find a buddy for that trip where very slim. Tight schedule and my motorbike buddies are all busy with work, family or without any budget. Still I can't see myself in someone else wheel. The idea of following a group of bikers that I don't know and following an itinerary I wasn't part of the design of is just not what I expect from a bike trip. I am trailblazer not a client.

I was about to rent a bike by myself balancing the risks when comes Christophe. I know him for a while but I met him at the infamous french get together monthly meetingin Sydney. He was thinking of linking Anchorage to Mexico. I convinced him that Morocco is a much better trip and that we could ride together instead of being alone. Deal done!

Day 1
We have few places in mind we want to visit but not a fixed itinerary. South Morrocco is our playground but nothing set yet. We don't book any accomodation. We are confident to find it on the day. And we have camping gear if things turns ugly.
We leave early Marackech and we head towards Ouarzazate the gateway of South Morocco. We pass through green valleys and twisty roads. We go off the main road to enjoy a smooth ride in Ourla Vally which ends up in the famous Ait Ben Haddou kasbah one of the most preserved fortress in the Maghreb.
We finish the day in Skoura where we start to feel the heat of the South (38 degrees at 5pm).

Day 2
We had a better look at the map and Scott Thomas 'best moroccan rides' guide book and we opt for seeing two of the best valleys in Morroco: Dades and Todra and joining them by a dirt road.
As for the breakfast we'll leave the tarmac and ride in the foothill of the Atlas instead. It was our first foot in the trails and we loved it. Away from the crowds that's what are trail bikes for.
Except that we couldn't manage to close the loop we were aiming for. The track ends up in a oued (creek ou riviere). Stones and sand everywhere make the track extremely difficult. We spent two hours in there before heading back. I can feel that my buddy is not prepared to hit the hard yard yet.
We are getting late with our schedule. We keep the link track for tomorrow.
We spend the night playing drums with locals in a gite on the banks of the Dades river

Day 3
Up we go for that famous dirt road that Scott Thomas describes as one of the toughest ride in Morocco. After being bogged yesterday Christophe had a closer loop to the itineray and starts to show sign of holding off...
It was a magic ride through gorges, moutains, high cliffs and some remote encounters with local sheppards. That ride gave me some credits with my buddy to opt for more off road.

Mid afternoon we reach the main highway and enjoy a rest in Tinghir where we found cafe, wifi and fuel. The plan for the afternoon is to climb up the Djebel Sarroh. Christophe is still coldish with all these tracks. He wants to spend more relaxing time on the tarmac. On the other hand scenary is so much incredible off the beaten tracks. A desert storm which lasted one hour was about to cancel our plans when we saw a bit of clearing and head up to Ilknoun. This time we had an hour debate about the itinerary. Christophe is now getting into the map details...

The climb was magic. A bit technical crossing volcanos and moutains. It starts to get late when we reach Ilknoun. But our hope that we'll find a guest house is actually not happening. Locals advise us that we need to go up again to reach almost the summit and we should find something there. Hopefully! These extra 20km were magic. Great track hanging off the cliffs with the sunset until we found the guest house of nowhere. A tiny house where a Berbere family hosts guest occassionaly. And what a view. On top of the Djebel Sarroh. I can see smiles on Christophe face. It was a long ride but our efforts are paying off. We feel like privileged to be here. Ibrahim family is so welcoming. The oldest boy is just coming back from school with his muppet ... through that track we just did. That's his daily routine!

Day 4
Two options: we go South through a medium track but it's a long loop via the tarmac or go East through a tougher one. Scotty mentions some cutting knife rocks in its book. Christophe is holding back again. He's now asking advice from the locals directly and study the map into the details before analysing each comment from the guide book. But I manage to convince him to do it.
Again another beautifull ride this time as a descent which is more scary especially with the rear tyre who can't stop sliding away!

We reach the tarmac at midday and go full gear to Merzouga topping 130khs to be in time with the start of the camel ride to the dunes. We found that camels are all booked out. We jump in a 4WD and stay the night under the bivouac tent in the dunes. Great experience to enjoy the sunset and the stars in the desert. Algeria and the start of the Sahara desert is 20kms away.

Day 5
This time Christophe puts a formal veto on a long 2 days ride on the edge of the desert I was aiming for. Okay dude. It's all about compromise. I understand where is coming from. He's not used for the dirt and we have already 24hrs of riding under our belt. We go back on the tarmac and stop at midday. We agree that he should stay on the tarmac while I will hit the wild alone. Indeed there's a great track though Oum Jiane I can't wait to tackle. There 's only one issue. There's a sand crossing section and my bike is not prepared for that. Weighting 220k naked with 20ks luggage extra on the tail. Plus the rider... No GPS either (I still don't bite in it). And riding alone is always another extra risk.

Anyway I hit the track after wishing good luck to each other. See you in Zagora. Inch Allah!
What a ride! not so hard technically compared to the mountains but one of the toughest one navigation wise. Tracks are going everywhere splitting up all the time. No villages around. I have to rely on Scotty's road book, compass, landscape and the few sheppards I cross at the beggining of the track. I stand up on the bike most of the time to have a better visibility on the terrain. The scenary is awsame. Sand dunes, ridges, dry lakes, oued crossing.

Here comes the sand crossing. I have experienced few times escpecially at the notorious sand dune at Stockton beach but not with a 660.... I end up bogged after 50m. A disaster. 20mns of useless efforts. I take a breath and sit under a tree thinking about my options. But then comes a sound of a muppet and soon 3 guys sitting on it paddling in the sand. They saw me and are offering help. Thanks Lassan! Without you I may end up like these skelettons around the tree. Lassan doesn't accept anything for help. Great guy. Like all the moroccans we met so far. So welcoming. The second most hospitable country probably after Thailand.

I managed to reach Zagora at dusk after a great day of riding. 7hrs under the clock today.

Christophe arrived 2hrs ago and picked up a nice Riad. One problem: he's fully sick. Probably from dehydration. He can't eat or drink anything.

Day 6

Rest day then. Shopping and true local hammam experience for me. Bed and vomiting bowl for Christophe.

Day 7 & 8

Christophe is recovering slowly. We head to the South till the end of the tarmac. From there we can reach the dunes of Chergaga. Obviously there would be sand. Lots of sand. Christophe prefers to hire a 4WD while I will be on the bike which means I can unload my cases.

Tough ride with lots of sand crossing in the famous fesh-fesh (deep sand) and a sand storm.

We got there after 3hrs and 70km. Bivouac in the desert near the Algeria border.

The next day Christophe goes back to the base while I will keep going east towards the dunes, the salt lake and the famous Paris Dakar track. A puncture slow me done but I went out ok. Great finale.