Cycling Round the Kech and Off-Road in the Atlas Mountains

You would2363 miles of cycling and kayaking would provide enough adventure  to last a few days, weeks or even a month. Not for the Big 5 team. We finished the London to Marrakech Express arriving at La Renaissance Hotel in the dark. A plan was quickly hatched to take the all important finale pictures of the team by the old wall and Mosque near the Grand Square.  The hotel (organised by my mum and dad – thanks folks) was very plush and boasted the highest bar in Marrakech (correct local spelling).

To say we wake up would be an exaggeration, we get up, saved from the broken sleep as a result of the snoring and dogs barking.  I am personally pleased we have camped out, it is fitting. We crank up the Trangia and make drinks and I devour the Morning Fuel breakfast.  Just as we are about to get on the road a chap cycles up on a mountain bike. He smiles lots and we are immediately going to be friends. Bizarrely Mohammed like Wafaa is a French Teacher. Rob has certainly earned his money on this trip! He chats away in French to Mohammed who tells us he is fit, cycles every day and lives 40 kms away.

He is interested in our story and adventure in general. He explains he has two sons who have studied well and speak good English. He is clearly a proud and educated man and given he tells us he is almost 50 has looked after himself.  We are getting ready to depart when a new plan is hatched. He will return to his down of Ben Guerir with us and we can have something to eat as his guest. He heads off down the road on his mountain bike.

We quickly pass him out with our thin tyres and racing frames. The lads pass in the van and we agree they should pick up Mohammed so he doesn’t get left behind and we don’t have time to wait.  We press on and cover the 40kms in the arid conditions pretty quickly. Ollie is drinking water at a rate of knots as he suffered bad leg cramps the day before. It is seriously hot, much hotter than the coast as the land becomes much more arid and dry as we head towards Marrakesh.

We are camped on a piece of wasteland next to a meat market.  Not quite what I had in mind when I envisaged wild camping in our Vango tents. We have a main motorway to Marrakesh about a mile away to the West and a busy road 100 metres to our right.  We were lucky to get this. Various people advised the support team of Rob and Tim that there was a hotel about 15 km down the road. Given we had cycled the last 1-2 hours in darkness we weren’t keen to do any more. The night watchman spoke Spanish and Arabic, we spoke French and English.  We were not going to be putting the world to rights!

We started the day in our apartment by the surf. Funnily enough the surf had dropped to normal levels, aint that the way.  We watched it from the balcony and I desperately want to be back in the waves but I know I need to get onto Marrakesh.  We are back on the internet doing admin and then load the kayaks back on the roof. (they were removed for security, the previous night).  Job’s a good un! Ollie and I are ready to head off. We are taking the back roads which will be interesting, back to the real Africa, local people, interesting roads and the like.

What a day?! We have had a great day sea kayaking, staying with a Moroccan family, and enjoying time around Casablanca.  It is worth stating for the record that the waves increased in size from the day before when we hatched the plan to sea kayak from the Mosque. Today was not ideal with huge Atlantic swell and breakers and also a very confused sea.  We woke to the serenity of Le Doge hotel and enjoyed the last elements of luxury. The hotel is amazing but more than that the staff were very friendly and made us feel at home.

After breakfast there is a little bit of admin to do.  I write up our blogs from the day off whilst others download the memory cards from our Olympus Cameras and Sanyo Xacti Vids.  Eventually we clear down our kit from the rooms and load the van ready for the off.  We head off down to the Hussan II Mosque weaving our way through the crowded streets, it is an art form!!  Having guessed various left and right turns we make it to the roundabout by the Mosque, Jammy or what?!

I have been on the road for 40 days at this point, give or take, with 2 or 3 rest days in total so taking a second day off (well except for 20 km of cycling) is a mystery for my body.  We awake and Ollie is straight on logistics and planning. We enjoy a beautiful breakfast in the Doge with its amazing cuisine.  The plan is to cycle out to where I stopped the day before and then cycle back in from that point and Ollie is keen to come for the ride.

It is time to open up Rich and Ollie’s cycle repair shop and fix Owen’s bike which broke a derailleur hanger in France.  We have the technology and know how and open up the back of the van to start getting to work. It attracts a fair amount of attention from the security staff and also passing children. We replace the hanger and rear gears which got bent and then notice the wheel has a big buckle was well. We have a spare and have to change the block and tyres etc. We don’t have all the official tools so end up using a large screwdriver, an adjustable spanner as a tapstick (hammer) and various other random tools.

It is done and we are ready to roll. It is about 10km out to the last stop and then back and we plan to scout the beach for a launch site for kayaking. We get back to the stop point and check out the beach there which has some clean waves and various surfers and body boarders enjoying life.  I do my 5m x 5m rubbish count and get 52, mainly rubbish from the city rather than the sea. The good news is that there is some clean-up going on and bags of rubbish and plastic have been collected.  Bravo!

Our push for Casablanca has seen us back on schedule.  It is now a rest day or two in Casablanca for the team and also time for some personnel changes.  Colin is leaving and heading back to work.  Martin, Chris and Ester have come out for moral support and are to enjoy Casablanca and Morocco.  And Old man of the Sea, Olly Jay, my paddling partner is heading out. He has been running the sea kayak storm gathering in Northumberland and owns www.active4seasons.co.uk (his kayak, canoe and adventure business)  I have to wake early and get to the van by 8.00am as it is now on a parking meter.  I load the machine and pay the guardian who has been patrolling next to the van.

I grab breakfast in the hotel and watch as a stream of sportsmen and women from the Congo arrive for Breakfast and are heading out for some sort of tournament.  As it happens I am the only European in the room and do get a few looks. The lads finally arrive and we discuss plans for getting Colin from the Hotel to the airport. He flies at 11.30. We get directions from the hotel staff who have to ask someone and we set sail in the madness of the morning rush hour traffic.

We are tight for time and everyone is tense, which direction? Will Colin make it ? We drive a couple of roads and then ask a Policeman. He says head in the opposite direction. Which advice do we follow? We follow us and soon we are making a U –turn and driving back the other way.  It is busy and we are dodging cars, vans, lorries and all manner of obstacles to get out of the city and on the highway.  We manage it and Colin is pushing the envelope, Mach 2, Mach 3 and Stop, a police speed trap.