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Road Bike in Morocco - how far down?
I've been reading Chris's books, and am thinking of trying some Saharan riding maybe next year.
I'd like to first take a look at Morocco, on a big road bike (Pan European), but am not sure how practical this is, or how far south I could reasonably get? The book mentions the odd dune on the road, but are we talking about a bit of sand a few inches deep or something many metres thick which needs riding _over_? I don't fancy pulling a 300kg bike out of a dune on my own! I've ridden plenty off-road (M-X etc.), but NOT on this sort of bike! Also, maybe alternatively, would riding up into the Atlas be suitable, i.e. are there half-decent tarmac roads? Also, would this sort of bike "stick out like a sore thumb" in a country such as this, or are there all sorts down there? I've been all over Europe (Nordkapp, Gibralter, Sicily), but need a bit more space! |
Was last in Morocco some 7 years ago (!) but:
Most of the roads to the (distant) south and in the Atlas are perfectly good quality for road only vehicles. Most sand you'll encounter does not block road completely, and on a bike you can pick best route through (rarely more than 20m long, maybe a foot thick) The others are pure bike questions, over to the bikers... Sam. |
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Thanks, Peter, and Sam. I have had a quick look, and will read more thoroughly later with a map in front of me.
That thread seems a good place to continue with my queries (if any remain), so I'll go there. |
GO FOR IT MATE! We did Morocco earlier this year with two Gold Wings (and yes guys n´gals they ARE real bikes!!!), and have no regrets whatsoever!! We drove to the Mori border, went to Nouadhibou for a day or two and drove back via the Atlas. In general anything that is marked on the Morocco Michelin map as "all-year" is no problem.
I have been to Morocco four times on XT´s and DR´s but the reaction this time was excellent. People wanted to know everything about the bike, especially the cops who were more than just normally friendly, in the six weeks wee were there we were stopped at least two dozen times for speeding or illegal overtaking, we got away with it every time mostly thanks to the bikes. Don´t worry you´ll have a great time Best of Luck Jay |
Wings to Mori sounds like a good story for the next AMH, JC, why not write it up.
See 'AMH 5' at the bottom of: http://www.adventure-motorcycling.com for guidelines Chris S |
JCB - Yep, it's gotta be done!
I'll let you know how I get on. It's going to be a week or two before I go, so perhaps a month before I'm back. I take it you didn't go "on the piste" too much with the Wings? |
We did actually go on the "piste" a lot, by this I mean non-sealed roads, mostly we stuck to gravel and hard dirt pistes where we had no problems whatsoever but we avoided the sandy ones in the east. The only difficult time we had was the piste from the Moroccan border to Nouadhibou, but with the help of a car dealer we got through OK (Cheers Kev!!!).
We did about 1,000km "off road" but at the moment I live in Spain and I had plenty of practice on gravel, dirt etc before I left. The Gold Wing is incredibly reliable and on the long haul from Agadir to the border it was simply the bike to have. Jay |
I recently did the London-Morocco trip on a Transalp, and I did come off a few times on the pistes (sand and gravel), and although I could pick my bike up, I found the heat was strength sapping. I would love to know how someone on a bigger bike e.g. Triumph Tiger or a big Beemer picks up their bikes when they fall? (Not to mention a Gold Wing!)
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JCB - Am I right in thinking that camping is the only option once in Western Sahara?
And would you say the long haul down to Nouadhibou is worth it - the road does sound a bit boring, but I guess there's a certain satisfaction in knowing how far down you've actually gone. That's probably reason enough for me anyway! |
To help picking the bike up we got two great tips from a guy we met going down. He organised some old "vespa" tyres which we strapped to the side of the Goldie`s boxes. This prevents the things from being scratched or eeven smashed open, he also suggested we mount a "pyramid shaped" "church spire" type construction onto the frame of the bike, below the cases, so that when it does fall, it doesnt lie on its side on the ground, but instead leans at an angle a bit more severe than if it is lying on its side rest. The guy who told us this (Kevin) used to drive a V-Max in Mali, he sold it to a Spanish mate of his who I met on returning to Spain. Seemingly the V-Max was driven more than 50% of its time off-road and there were no problems picking it up. To give an example he said that Kevin raced him on an African Twin and another Spanish guy on a KLR650 from Kayes to Bamako, the V-Max won simply because he didnt have to keep picking it up. I admit it isn`t the most elegant solution, but it worked a treat. We bolted it on so we could take it off whenever we wanted to (10 mins) and it worked a treat!
In Western Sahara there are campsites in Layoune and Dakhla (definitly), apart from this there are hotels where there is either an enclosed parking "courtyard" or a watchman. We met Kev in Agadir and just followed him, every night he just drove a couple of hundred metres off the road and slept in the desert, works too! Is the road boring? Depends, the enormous wide open spaces I find personally exhilirating, going for an hour and seeing no other car, person or animal, for me it´s paradise, stopping and hearing no other noise than your own breathing and the engine ticking in the heat? Perfection! No it isnt everybodys cup of tea, but for me it compares with the Tundra and the US West as one of the most fascinating bike routes I have ever done! Jay |
JCB - Yeah, I like the desolate big-mile areas. I must say the nicest area I've been on a bike (and probably off one!) is Lapland etc., in fact pretty much all of northern Norway in particular but also Sweden & Finland above the Arctic Circle. I went in Aug 2001, with the intention of reaching the circle and turning back, but it was too good to miss. Very sparse, but warm (honestly!), crystal clear blue skies, bright sunshine etc. Just a bit cold approaching Nordkapp for maybe 100 miles. I would thoroughly recommned it, but I think you have to be a bit lucky with the weather.
PROBLEM: I'm really having trouble getting insurance at for Morocco. My Equity Red Star won't do it, and the only option I've come up with so far is to cancel this policy which I've just renewed (with a penalty), pay a £100 p/a higher premium to go with Norwich Union, who will cover me but charge an extra £20/week as well. So Penalty+£100+£40 total. Do you or anybody know of a better way? |
Hi,
You can buy insurance at the border only for the days that you intend to stay in Morocco. Thus, you can stay with your insurance back home, without having to change anything. Good luck, José |
Hi Ian
Yeah, Jose is right you can buy it at the border, however I just e-mailed a guy I know in Dakar who does this trip all the time. He says it costs about 40 Euros for five days, 50 for ten and a bit more for a month. BUT, he did say that it isn´t much more than a "third party", if the bike is nicked or whatever then they may/may not pay. He also suggested you get an AA or ADAC coverage in case of breakdown or accident so that you can have the bike shipped back to Europe free of charge. Sorry I can´t help any further on this one Ian, my Gold Wing is on Spanish papers and the insurance is valid for Morocco. From what I hear almost every insurance company on the continent gives "Green card" insurance (covers Morocco and Tunisia) so why is is so difficult to get it in the UK? I has this problem a couple of years ago with a UK reg DR 650. It was virtually impossible. Cheers Jay |
Now in an internet cafe in Erfoud, to check email etc. Just been to Erg Chebbi this morning, brilliant! Land Rover guys tried to tell me not possible on a road bike. Heading off now to Todra and Dades, then to Atlantic.
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Hi,
is ist possible, that we had seen us?? We, three BMW were standing in Rissani at the street. One guy of us had problems with his stomach. A Pan European had shortly stoped, with a second bike. You? So long |
JCB - Really sorry I haven't replied sooner, I've been back a month! Strange, I thought many times while I was away about "reporting back" to this forum, but somehow didn't get round to it till now.
Anyway, had a really great trip - 6000 miles in 15 days, down past Meknes to Erfoud & Merzouga, then over towards Agadir (Dades & Todra on the way) and down the coast to the Mori border. I don't give up easily, but there really was no way I could make it through to Nouadhibou on the Pan (unless perhaps I shouldhave used a guide and a better route?). Some of the dunes were unavoidable where they encroached right accross the piste, and once the sand was more than perhaps 8-10" deep, I just dug in. And 290kg of bike is not easy to extract on your own! In fact I got badly stuck about 3 times, and felt I was not in a very good predicament at all. I had taken a couple of bottles of water, and thought I'd potter nice 'n steady accross to Nouadhibou in time for lunch and a relaxing afternoon, unfortunately I had not bargained on getting stuck, and the water didn't last very long at all with the amount of effort I was using repeatedly extracting the bike! One time took me over an hour. Still, it's probably taught me a valuable lesson or two. I really do take my hat off to you, getting through on the Wings! After that, back the same way to Agadir, Paradise Valley (a little disappointing after my other sites), through Tiz n Test and back to Ceuta. I found the big open stretches really exhilarating - the only similar place I've been is in the north of Sweden/Finland/Norway. I also really liked the "frontier" feel of some of the towns like Dakhla, Tan-Tan (in particular), and others. One thing I was pleasantly surprised about was the _lack_ of crime - I had come to think I was heading into a thieves paradise, but I found the "hosts" to be very honourable and keen to take care of their "guest". Maybe I was lucky, but I expect it was more to do with being mainly in rural areas. I rode downwards to Gib the whole way from Cherbourg over 2 days, but went back from Santander to Plymmouth, as I facncied a day chilling out before getting back. Got stopped numerous times by police, but all extremely friendly. Two bike cops pulled me on CBX750's. Discussed the bikes, sat astride, then fired the starter and headed off 200 yards up the road (without asking)! Then his mate did he same! I did email Chris (Scott) some updated info on the Atlantic Route to do with fuel stops and other things which he said he would put on the "Atlanic Route" page, but for some reason he hasn't used it, although he has updated his page since. Perhaps he lost it, or maybe even threw it in the bin! If he doesn't upload it and anyone wants this let me know. Maybe a little OTT, but I GPS'd all the fuel stops between Gueulmime and the Mori border - there are quite a lot now. Also I am told that they're tarmacing the road all the way accross to Nouadhibou shortly. All in all a very satisfying trip, and thanks very much particularly to you and PaulJ for you advice and encouragement beforehand. If I hadn't had such positive words from the two of you, I might have ended up going to Switzerland & Austria, which although nice, would not have been quite the same adventure. And to anyone reading this thinking of Morocco? Go for it!!!!! Only problem is, I'm not sure where to go next - I may try a more "proper" Sahara crossing next year, through the middle on a bike better suited to sand! Where's your next one? [This message has been edited by IanC (edited 07 November 2002).] |
OH - Sorry for the late reply.
Yes, strangely enough that was me on the Pan. I don't expect there were many other Pans in Risanni that particular morning! The image of your friend on his hands and knees on the gravel at the roadside is very clearly etched into my memory! He looked pretty bad - I hope he was OK afterwards - did you discover what caused it? I was riding at the time (for a day and a half) with a Frenchman named Hubert on a DR650 who I met on my first night in Morocco at Midelt. We'd just returned from the dunes at Merzouga when we saw you. I don't know what happened to him, as I sent him text messages a few times to which he never replied. In fact, apart from yourselves and Hubert, I think I only saw one other "real" bike in 10 days in Morocco, apart from police bikes. Whereabouts in Africa were you going to/from? [This message has been edited by IanC (edited 08 November 2002).] |
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