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Photo by Helmut Koch, Vivid sky with Northern Lights, Yukon, Canada

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  #1  
Old 9 Sep 2015
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December weather
Hi Hubbers,

I'm planning a trip down the coastal side of Morocco into the ante Atlas mountains in early December. It will be my first bike trip to Morocco, and I'm travelling alone, possibly camping.
My question concerns the weather, not only in Morocco, but also riding through Spain from Bilbao down to Algiers.
Am I crazy going in December? And alone at that?

Cheers.

Julian
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  #2  
Old 9 Sep 2015
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Nothing crazy about it. You might get cold from time to time. In fact you almost certainly will get cold in the mountains--both in Spain and in Morocco. You might see some snow, and that might cause delays, depending on your specific route choices. And a lot of the higher roads and tracks might be impassable, depending. At low elevation and along the coast you'll probably see some rain, but no serious cold.

Unless you're made of pretty stern stuff, you're likely to find you don't camp out much in Morocco. Even when it's not cold, the days are short and lodging is pretty cheap.

I'm not sure what makes you nervous about traveling alone, but lots of us do. I found this no particular trouble in Morocco.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark
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  #3  
Old 10 Sep 2015
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Hopefully you'll be headed for Algeciras, not Algiers!

I really would advise against camping. It's an awful long time dark in the winter months, you'll waste time in the mornings trying to dry the dew off the tent, you'll be carrying around extra weight, and above all Moroccan accommodation is real inexpensive.

Top tip: cheaper hotel rooms are unheated, so consider taking a fleece-covered hot water bottle.

There's a famous saying, "Morocco is a cold country with a hot sun," so it can be really chilly in the evenings and early mornings. Altitude will of course make that worse. And as Mark writes, central Spain can also be very cold. As your trip draws near, don't look at the forecasts for Bilbao (on the coast, sea level), but instead check out the overnight temperatures for Valladolid.

I've done a lot of winter trips through Spain to Morocco and would strongly suggest you invest in handlebar muffs and a Gerbing heated jacket plus variable temperature controller.



From last winter's trip report, "I normally wear an open face Jet helmet (Caberg Hyper X) when touring Morocco and had combined it with a neoprene face mask. I was also wearing my electrically heated jacket. Although I didn't have heated hand grips, my hands were warm enough inside the muffs to enable me to just wear very thin inner gloves. With the mix of high atmospheric pressure and cold the ends of my thumbs develop splits in the skin, but I carry micropore tape to address this."

Most of my trips to Morocco are solo. Winter is a great time to go, the skies are so blue at that time of year—have a browse of some photos.



The Anti Atlas is a great place to head for in the winter. This was from Jan/Feb with the almond blossom in full swing.
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and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)
Last edited by Tim Cullis; 10 Sep 2015 at 12:14.
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  #4  
Old 10 Sep 2015
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I did the trip through spain this year in early april and found northern spain to be very cold, it is very high up for a long time until you get to Seville where the temperature gauge really knotched up. You might find snow but the motorways are really quiet and appear to be well maintained.

Ante Atlas would be great in Dec, they aren't too high and there is no need to do massive distances. You might have to keep your eye out on flash floods in the river crossings if it rains but they rise and fall very quickly, so a bit of time is what is neccesary. You could expect rain, how much I don't know, have a look at the online weather charts.

Coast can be cool, and that was in April, so you might find it needs a few layers on.

Ante Atlas people are generally very friendly too. By yourself is better. It'll force you to go speak to people and if you need help, it'll never be too far away!
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  #5  
Old 10 Sep 2015
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Thanks guys, really helpful. I'm familiar with lone travel, and prefer it. My concern I guess is getting stuck in mud in a really remote mountain region in the cold. But.... That's part of the adventure

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