Rocks and Sand

After suffering rain for the first day in Morocco (and a small crash on diesel on a roundabout at 5mph) the sun came out and the rest of the trip unfolded under blue skies and moderate sun. A stark contrast to the unprecedented snowfall in the UK during the Christmas period.

Progress was slower than I had hoped for, and after 2 days in Morocco I was already behind my intended schedule. With no prior knowledge of the roads ahead I had to keep up the pace and pack in the miles to ensure that I made it south as soon as possible. By December 23rd I had reached Rissani and was ready to embark on my first real desert ride. Chris Scott's book Morocco Overland was my bible for the trip. His routes descriptions and GPS waypoints were to become invaluable when crossing the desert landscapes of the south. His route MS6 would take me from Rissani, past Erg Chebbi to Mergouza and then on through the total barreness of the Morocco/Algerian border region to Zagora.

For this inaugural desert riding experience I was lucky enough to meet and team up with an Italian couple in a fully equipped Toyota Landcruiser which gave me the extra support and confidence I needed to tackle the desert for the first time. They carried my luggage boxes for the whole day which gave me the added agility to really ride the tracks and dunes without the extra weight.

We spent 11 hours riding old Paris-Dakar trails and passing through enormously varied scenery which went from rocky tracks to pure desert, flat plains through rocky outcroppings to valleys and gorges. The last 2 hours were done in the dark, something I thought would be ludicrously dangerous but in fact turned out to be fully possible in the high beam of the Yamaha. The headlights of the Toyota somewhere not far behind gave added comfort. This really was the most enthralling ride I have ever done. The pictures (see Image Gallery) do not do it justice.

After completing the 320km route and spending Christmas eve at a Kazbar hotel/observatory, followed by a Christmas day lie in and lazy ride further south, I found myself in Assa on Boxing day in the only hotel in town, ready for the next day jaunt into the Sahara proper.

I left the luggage at the hotel and took just tools, food and water plus emergency shelter supplies including space blankets, a tarpaulin and some plastic tent pegs. Thankfully I didn't need them.

The ride to Labouriat was pretty flat and uneventful. My aim was to cross the 'border' to Western Sahara. It became a less enjoyable endurance ride rather than the invigorating ride of Christmas eve. Just beyond Labouriat, 20 miles from the border, I got stuck in a Saharan sand sea where I managed to entrench the bike in sand and drop it at least twice. At this point I decided to turn back. There was little point in fighting through this only to turn round at the imaginary line and fight my way back again. Being alone with no help out of the sand could create problems I'd rather not entertain. I didn't really want to use those space blankets.

I returned to the hotel after a 7hr round trip, took my luggage and headed off for Guelmin and civilization. Technically I had failed to enter Western Sahara although I suppose I can say I reached the edge of the Sahara proper. Oh well.... there's always next time.