Morocco October 2013

Now that I have the bike, I unfortunately have to use it! You see, the bike is getting very unhappy if she is restricted to only bringing me to work and back.

After careful consideration, I decided to go to Morocco ... again.
I was in there in 2010 when I took part in an organised All Road trip. The bikes were transported to Almería, we flew there. In Almería, we were reunited with the bikes, crossed the Meditreanean sea and rode down and up to Merzouga in a week ... and flew back home. A truly magnificent trip where I learned a lot and saw a lot of the eastern part of Morocco. The trip was organized by Berrt.

This time, I wanna see more of Morocco and ride to and from the Mediterranean Sea myself.
I made a plan ... fully aware that plans are there to deviate from. Deviations can be caused by:

• My mood, energy and stamina (or lack thereof)
• Landscape and impassable roads or terrain that exceeds my skill
• People I meet that have planned a 'slightly different' route

The plan

The route, the whole route and nothing but the route:

View Larger Map

In a nutchell, the plan is to go to Nador as quickly as possibly,enjoy Morocco as long as possible while discovering as much as possible of the High Atlas mountains, and ride back home as quick as possible.

The Morocco part in some more detail

View Larger Map

Especially the part around the waypoints F and G is gonna be challenging ... Google seems to be convinced that the road is closed around point G on the map ... I must investigate that!

Preparation

For starters, I need to get more accessories on the bike:

• AltRider crash bars (slightly modified)
• AltRider Oil cooler protection
• BMW Engine protection underneath the engine
• Touratech Zega Pro Luggage system (31 + 38 Liter)
• MachineArtMoto MudSling to protect the rear suspension against damage

Some personal protection:

• AlpineStars Enduro boots
• Body harness

Stuff to help me do what I wanna do:

• Map of Morocco
• Instant food
• Water purifying tablets
• Injections
• Tools and Spare parts
• Gelert Solo minimalist tent

That is it!
Let's do it!

Execution

Day 1 (saturday 28 sept): started the trip by riding 800 km to Zürich.
Day 2: did not touch the bike!
Day 3: rode to Monaco.
Day 4: rode to Barcelona.
Day 5: rode to Almería, had new tires fitted @ Tyre King in Antas.
Day 6: took the boat to Nador and rode to Driouch (47 km).
Day 7: (oct 4) rode to Fes (Fez) via the R505, through the Rif mountains.
Day 8: Fes - Arfoud
Day 9: to Kherifa
Day 10: to Zaouia-Ahansal in the high atlas
Day 11: to Marrakech
Day 12: stay put
Day 13: Casablanca - Rabat
Day 14: (oct 11) Asilah
Day 15: stay put
Day 16: Tangier Med - Algeciras crossing the Mediteranean sea to Europe
Day 17: Had bike serviced and rode to Guincho (Cascais, Portugal)
Day 18: Rode to Ourense (north-west of Spain)
Day 19: (oct 16) Rode to Santander to meet the British for one last time
Day 20: Rode to St. Étienne de Baigorry to stay in a nice hotel
Day 21: Rode to Graus in the Spanish part of the Pyrennees
Day 22: Rode to the beach near Perpignan (Sainte Marie)
Day 23: Limoge. A bit more west than planned, because of rain on the planned route
Day 24: (oct 21) Rode home ... 846 km. Had some very wet roads near Paris, but no rain!

So ... after 9750 km, 21 days of riding I am back home.
I may write something about it ... if I find the time ;-)