UK - Morocco adventure tour anyone?

[Flyboy1]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum and surely not the last!

This is more of a "feeler" than a bonafied plan of action. As of yet i have no route or set goals apart from spending a couple of weeks adventure biking in Morocco. I thought i'd put this up now for kind of "early warning" and incase anyone else already has an itinerary up and running and are looking for tag-alongs! Currently i'm going solo and so i'm just putting this out there incase anyone might be interested in joining me. i know that from a safety point of view, company through Morocco would be better though i feel ok going it alone and just meeting people as i go.

So as it stands i'm planing to take a Ferry to Santander, spend about a week riding south with maybe one day off-road (though the priority is to get to Morocco with enough thread on ma knobblies!). Get to Gibraltar for maybe a rest day then ferry to Tanger Med. Head south to the mountains and try and ride a loop that takes me towards Western Sahara and back North to Tanger Med. I hope to ride tracks, pistes, mountain roads and i'm keen to give some sand a go. i'm not too interested in just riding asphalt as there will be plenty of time for that on the return leg. In morocco i'd expect to spend up to 2 weeks riding around the Atlas taking into consideration 100-150 miles per day (off-road). I may return via Portugal or Spain Med coast, not sure yet. I will be going through France whilst avoiding motorways as much as possible. Depending on how i feel i may detour to the Alps along the Pyrenees to maybe do the Stella Alpine route before it snows. finally a Ferry from Calais to home.

as far as the trip is concerned, i'll be trying to be as low cost as possible meaning camping when it's dry with maybe the odd wild camp here or there (pending "opportunities"). limited use of hotels though i will make exceptions in Morocco (or anywhere for that matter) if security is in doubt. i will be riding most days with 5-8 hours in the saddle or up to 200 miles a day; adjusted as necessary for off-road terrain. i'm flexible with time and can leave in October if other plans develop with other interested parties. though I'm aiming to head off early September (best case) or later.

just a wee bit about me (and for kind of "match-making" purposes). This will be my first tour where off-road riding is concerned though i have ridden tours last year and have been practising with my Yamaha 660 Tenere on local byways and unclassified tracks. it will be my first time riding in Spain and Morocco so i'll be frequenting the map and researched routes . I'd class myself as intermediate rider as i'm pretty happy riding most types of terrain (competent mountain biker) but when it gets knarly or close on a single track i take it slow. anything technical like big rocks are beyond me but i suppose on a 600cc+ machine it would be for most. i'm in good enough shape at 23 to pick my bike up all day, though hopefully this shouldn't be the case .

This is all very vague i know but it means flexibility to chop and change if others want to join. it's just to give an idea of what i'm kinda aiming for. if anyone wants to join my band wagon or has plans of their own and want to share just pop something down or email me. i live around North London so if anyone wants to meet up to chat about possible plans over a few bruskies just let me know .

thanks for reading!

[rtwpaul]

right now i'm in Kyrgyzstan heading west i will be going to Morocco probably late september or october i have a route set out as i've been spending a lot of time here with my friend Sambor1965 from advfactory.com he has toured morocco over 30 times and we sat down and set a route plan taking in the absolute best Morocco can offer, probably around two weeks of riding on and off road, nothing to extreme just the best it can offer and some places and roads that aren't even on most maps but he knows they exist from experience

sambor may be with me depends on his schedule but as i say no dates set in stone but soon, is the best i can tell you

from Morocco i would head to the UK i have a alps route also planned taking in some areas that were built for the 1st and 2nd world wars and just had the route confirmed by some italian riders who claim i had some of the best areas plotted


just a thought, lmk

[Pheb]

i'm planning a ride to morocco in september, some company would be appreciated

[noel di pietro]

Originally Posted by rtwpaul

right now i'm in Kyrgyzstan heading west i will be going to Morocco probably late september or october i have a route set out as i've been spending a lot of time here with my friend Sambor1965 from advfactory.com he has toured morocco over 30 times and we sat down and set a route plan taking in the absolute best Morocco can offer, probably around two weeks of riding on and off road, nothing to extreme just the best it can offer and some places and roads that aren't even on most maps but he knows they exist from experience

sambor may be with me depends on his schedule but as i say no dates set in stone but soon, is the best i can tell you

from Morocco i would head to the UK i have a alps route also planned taking in some areas that were built for the 1st and 2nd world wars and just had the route confirmed by some italian riders who claim i had some of the best areas plotted


just a thought, lmk

Hi Paul, keep me posted when you approach Europe and getting towards Spain/Morocco. I just returned from trip to Mongolia. Did ride some time with David Koenen as well, who you are in contact with regarding Pamirs
Have plenty of time on my hands and wanna go to Spain Morocco September / October.

Cheers,
Noel

[rtwpaul]

Dave literally just rolled in to memos in Kyrgyzstan ....ill be in touch when i get close...drop me a pm with your email

[TheWarden]

I'll be in Morocco during October, happy to tie up with anyone looking to do some pistes etc. I'm in a Landcruiser but if any bikers want the extra security of a support vehicle I can carry spare fuel, supplies etc.

[Flyboy1]

Originally Posted by Pheb

i'm planning a ride to morocco in september, some company would be appreciated

Hi Pheb, sounds good, what kind of riding are you thinking of doing? happy to go off-road much? PM me your email if you like and we can talk about a plan perhaps (i can't PM at the moment as i'm "too new" )

[Pheb]

i sent an email

[eazy]

I would be keen on this.

Dave here, 24 y/o from Norwich. I have 3 months spare, love motorcycle adventures and have a background in Motocross.

No bike as yet, but I would be happy to pick one up for this trip.

How are plans shaping up so far?

Dave

[Flyboy1]

Hi Dave,
Good to hear! Plans are definitely in motion, me and Pheb are meeting in Tanger Med in Morocco on Saturday 6th September and then doing about two weeks or so of riding with plenty of off-road. I will be arriving in Santander in North Spain a week before and doing alternative days of road and off-road on my way south to Algeciras. Return leg i plan to go back through spain towards the Alps and do the stella alpine track near Bardonecchia in Italy. After which i'll probably be sick of it and head home :-)

If you can get yourself sorted in two weeks you could join me on my way down, though that might be a tall order, it took me about a month to get everything sorted! ferries are not so regular to spain so you'd need to get an early one so you don't end up having to race across spain in a day (1070km)!

Tom