Bring the boys back home….

Created on 13 March 2013 Ian White

So, the boys… and girl… are now on the road again taking the brilliant green machines back north, in the springtime, to the cooler climes.. Trekking their way across the Atlas mountains to… McDonalds in Marakesh. I suspect that this is only because everywhere else has run out of cake since Mick’s been there for a month.

Mick and the crew may have tamed the cakes of Morocco, but the back country, I’m afraid, remains untamed. On the steady ride home she played her trump card and unfortunately two of the riders had freak accidents. I’ve not heard too much of the details, but I hear the two riders involved are being very well looked after. This was after that extremely rare deluge in the desert, I mean, that’s why it’s called a desert, isn’t it? Morocco certainly has a twist and a surprise at every opportunity, that’s why she always leaves you wanting more.

The two tours couldn’t have been more different in many, many ways. Mell will post whenever she can on the way back home and there will be a much fuller report, with lots of pictures from the second tour next week.

Whilst they were looking after the two riders injured in the group, they met up with riders from other tours having equally bad luck with weather and accidents. What a week!

So, from all at the Mick Extance Kawasaki Experience, we wish not just our two mentioned here, but all the injured riders a speedy recovery and look forward to the next exiting installment of the Moroccan Adventure.

A massive congratulations to those who completed this and the previous week’s tours, they were epic weeks by all accounts! We all know why it’s called adventure riding. Without the adversity, there would be no adventure. That’s why we do it.

Dakar training complete – See you in Peru!

Merci and choukran!!
Mel, Mick, Mark and Gwion.

And another tour finishes.

Created on 12 March 2013 Ian White

Well, looks like it’s another tour over and the guys and Mel will be back at the Hotel Les Jardins du Ouarzazate.

After around 1,200 miles, most of which were through some of the wettest desert ever seen in Morocco, my guess is they are probably supping several very, very well deserved beers.

I wonder if the bikes look this clean?

Does anyone have a 200 mile-long patch cable?

Created on 11 March 2013 Ian White

Looks like the guys are, once again, just out of Wi-Fi range. Must be the steep sides of the gigantic Todre Gorge through which, if all has gone to plan, they should be riding today, along the “Road of One Thousand Kasbahs”.

Todre Gorge

I hope they have had a dry day today. I wonder how many of them will come back with trench foot. At least they should know what the wet stuff at the bottom of the Gorge is.

Hopefully a fuller update from Mel tomorrow…

“Rest” day in Merzouga!!

Created on 10 March 2013 Mel

And so here we are once again in the Nomad Palace near Merzouga and, after a well-earned lie-in, the guys have finally had a play in the dunes!!

Chris seemed pretty happy!!

Like the rest of the country the dunes are very different to last time; 3 days of sandstorm has caused some harder packed sand but also many more patches of the softer stuff that will stop you dead if you don’t power through it!! The ridges are difficult to read at the best of times, but their recent battering made the tops extremely sharp and the drops very steep!! As Kev & I went down one side-by-side we stopped on the top of the next dune & looked at each other wide-eyed!! “That was like riding down a square”! he exclaimed!! It was!!!

It was easy to lose each other, your bearings, even your bike..!!!!

Where’s my bike?!

But everyone who took the opportunity to ride in this amazing sandy landscape came back with grins on their faces, and a few stories of good crashes!!!

The end of the day & camels didn’t interest most, it was Kawasakis to watch the sunset!!

Although sand riding isn’t exactly resting it’s fun & a nice interval before our lovely day’s riding to the Todra gorge tomorrow.

For now I have yet another caption competition though!!!

Sean of Arabia!

Things you don’t expect to see in the desert….!!

Created on 09 March 2013 Mel

Heave!!!

Well!! Apologies for the lack of update and the late post tonight but this has been a COMPLETELY different tour to the last one!!

Just when you think this country couldn’t get any madder it rains for 3 days!! It’s amazing!!

Sun, sand and…..?!

Our gentle introduction to sand & nice relaxed night in the berber camp on day 1 became a night-time orienteering mission & a team-work exercise like no other!!

So we need to be the other side of this lake…?!

The “road” that is usually soft sand was a river & the slow going through this new terrain. As the sun set behind the dunes we waited for Mick, who was rescuing a stranded bike! We prepared for all eventualities – including making a camp fire!!

As we have some moto-cross bikes with no lights & had 5km of dunes between us & the camp a decision had to be made; camp in the desert or ride to camp in the darkness…

The team opted to ride on and, lighting the way for each other, we rolled in to camp 13 hours after we set off!!

We were all well & truly ready for our dinner & bed and excited to see our surroundings in daylight!!

We couldn’t believe our eyes…!!!

Tractor in the desert!!

There was a pile of cars across a lake from us, that hadn’t been able to reach the camp!!

We had to cross with the bikes to fuel up from our jerry cans on the truck (helping some French riders who got stuck in the mud doing the same thing!!) & then we continued on our way!!

A large chunk of our journey on day 2 was very similar to before, with great opportunities to open up in wide open space that would not be possible in many other places in the world…

The viewpoint was a stunning as ever as we looked back at the distance we had travelled. This time we were lucky enough to come upon a helpful berber who kept an eye on the bikes for us!!!!

Kawasaki berber!

His headscarf was even Kawasaki green!!

After a military check point it was then a fantastic long trail on the Dakar rally route; Here you could really feel the size of the place as we were left to ride our own “stage”!

When Mick was asked for any landmarks he said – “there are 2 upturned tires about halfway along the route, they’re original Dakar rally markers, you’ll smile when you see them”. He was right!!

Dakar tire

We were all doing so well until the final stretch to the hotel where, once more, we were thwarted by the flood water & the final hour was completed in darkness yet again!! This time we manage to get guided in by the hotel Land Rover, who had negotiated the safest route around & through the flood water for us!!

Day 3 today and again the Land Rover guided us to our safest route out through soft sand and over the river where we caught our breath & had a drink before heading off for a great 70km, non-stop, blast ending in a quarry – a complete change of scenery once again!

After re-grouping & taking it all in it was an easy ride to Ali’s Nomad Palace where everybody is all in bed now & the bikes have been giving some well-deserved love and attention this evening!!

Only two brave souls had the energy for the dunes today, Kev & Chrissy boy, who returned with massive grins on their face!!!

I’ll report back with how the rest of the group enjoy these newly storm-reshaped dunes tomorrow!!

For now, good night, and answers on a postcard please for this caption competition!!!!