help an old man
 

52 living in yorkshire wants an adventure......(on a motorcycle!!!! for thoe's of a more furtive/furtile imagination)....planned loads of trips on my sofa biggest trips you have ever heard of...never came to much!!
here it is ...4 weeks ..morrocco..mori..maybe dakar final destination!! easy roads gravel..hard core ..sand is a problem ...maybe ...to be convinced???
questions:-
A:- is it possible from northern spain in 4 weeks.
B:- do I need any carnets for the above?
C:- what is the best months to go.. looking for good weather... hot is good to hot is crap...no rain is ...oh my god ...I'm back on the sofa again any constructive advice is great any one planning a trip next year 2007 please let the old fart know..
30yrs motorcycling expierience
long trips no problem
long days no problem
R1150GS not a buff it up on sunday bike
any advice is great .....
ride safe
Tim

Advice for the oul' fellah
 

Hey old man! ;-)

From Northern Spain in four weeks? Yes! Two days for Spain top to bottom. Three days through Morocco, north to south. Mauritania to Dakar four days along the coast.
That's going flat out. No rests. No stops to savour where you're at.
But if you've got four weeks to go from Northern Spain to Dakar (I'm not talking about the return journey; only one-way) then you have plenty of time to cover the distance and enjoy some of the places you'll travel through.

You don't need carnet for Spain; I'm 99% sure you don't need it for Morocco; but I do think you need it for Mauritania and Senegal. Would be worth checking this. Perhaps phone the RAC?

Forget the weather. If you want to go, and you only have a particular window of opportunity, then just go. Sure, it might be hot. What were you expecting. It might not be the most comfortable in the height of summer, but it sure as hell won't stop you. It's not impossible. Just go!

Regards,
Ken.

P.S. 52? Sure, you're only a young lad! ;-)

Hi mate,
I went to Morrocco in February/March and it was freezing. Caused problems actually getting over the Atlas as the roads were blocked with snow. I'd say April would be a good time for Maroc at least.
If you look at Chris Scotts 'Sahara Overland' you can link up many of the pistes in his book to provide a much more interesting route south than by ordinary roads.
Maroc rocks! Have fun!

No carnet needed for Maroc.

Matt :)

Old ????

You just made me feel bad - your only as old as you feel, or is it the woman you feel?

old? my socks (the new ones) are 52. The Old Woman is even older. But we are still taking an RTW as soon as the university finds out I am not 29 and fires me. Part of the bragging rights a bout the trip when you get home is relating the misery you endured to enjoy the trip.

I agree with Ken, get off the sofa and just do it, you WILL love it. Have a look at this web site http://www.roamingyak.org/index.html This guy did Marocco and western sahara in a landrover, read his diary and look at the photos it will give you a good idea of what to expect and its presented in an informal easy to digest way. Like i said make your plans then go, enjoy the adventure. You will come back and start planning the next bigger/better trip........its a slipery slope your on now. Have fun....Marty.

Smee

Myself my father and a friend did morocco last winter end Oct till mid Nov. We went on two aged XT600E's and an Africa Twin so speeds were limited! Basically we went Hull to Zeebrugge as we live in North Yorks then we travelled down through Belgium, France, Spain and accross to morocco via algeceiras to ceuta. It took us 4 days to get down as we visited friends on the way down. Once in Maroc we went down the east side visiting the dunes at Erg Chebbi (past Erfoud) and Merzouga. We visited all of cities as well ie. Marrakesh, Fez and Casablanca ( to be avoided ). We then came back up the West side seeing essaouira amongst others, definitely worth some time. Then it was back up a similiar route to the one we took going down.
Basically all of the roads were good although we did take take some unclassified roads which were more like trials stages at times and some of the mountain passes were a bit hairy with huge drops! Weather wise it was in the main very good in Maroc although there was some snow high up in the passes on our return and we did get soaked on one traverse of the Atlas. Basically the worst bit was the return through Europe with twinkling roads freezing fog and waking to twist grips frozen solid! My father went again in March and reports that the weather in Maroc was very similiar ie very good on the whole. Planning on going again in Jan to see the Dakar but this will be a nearly all off road trip..
Any questions you can pm me and speak to either of us..

western sahara trip
 

thank you people for the encouragement and advise..the trip is a must then..see you on the road someday definately not on the sofa