Stage 45 of 60, day 53 of 71: 159.7 km, 328m, 4:29, 52 shifts, ave speed 35.5, max speed 56.1

It was really nice sleeping in a hotel in my own room when the alternative was camping in a dirty rocky parking lot with no toilet. I packed up and rode to camp at 7:45 for breakfast.

We started the stage not knowing how far it would be, but with a good idea of the conditions: tailwind almost all day! We cruised our way into the lead, a group of six. There was one tough headwind section where I had a crappy position and got dropped but thanks to Wytze, I was pulled back soon.

Then, a sort of miracle: we were on a four lane divided highway. At some point, the right two lanes were closed to traffic but we rode across the dirt and for the next 40 or 50 km had a private pair of lanes of super smooth pavement! We were drafting diagonally so used most of the width. It was really perfect. Occasionally there were some construction guys and they cheered us on, honked their horns, etc.

At km 88, Daniel, Wytze and I executed another rogue maneuver: we gave big waves to the lunch van as we cruised by at 40+. Our plan was to continue to the next town, a few km off route, and have lunch there. So we ended up riding 100.8 km continuously, a record for both Daniel and myself, but not even remotely close for Wytze. Due to the tailwind, it took us under three hours.

We first refueled at a café. Wytze got us a gigantic pile of pastries and fresh, warm bread and I drank two large sodas. Just this was quite a feast. Daniel also had a lunch restaurant all picked out and after verifying with our waitress it was a good one, we went over.

It was at the end of a dirty side road and no one was there. But we went in and the owner was friendly and encouraged us to check out what was cooking in each pot. Big white beans in sauce in one, lentils in the next and something in the third. Luckily Daniel knows the French word for brains, so we could avoid that one! Piles of fresh bread, lentils, beans and a Tajine with chicken along with about half of his stock of soda made for a filling and great lunch. We ate long and slow and finally the text came from Wilbert telling us where camp is.

We had yogurt for dessert, then bought 5 liters of water, packed up and headed out. Luckily we didn’t have to go back the 3-4 km to the main road which would’ve been into the punishing wind. We took the southern exit from town, longer but with side/tail wind. Sand was drifting over the road a bit. After a while we turned onto the main road and from there to camp it was glorious full-on tailwind!

We stopped at the border town of Tah, when we saw Ype and a few of our riders. We had more drinks and everyone was laughing about how easy the ride was.

It was another 20 km or so, and we could not discern the border. That’s because Morocco says that Western Sahara doesn’t exist, and thus there is no border. I am counting it as a new country though, #67. But under no circumstances are we to use the words “Western Sahara” when talking to any official. We are simply on our way to Mauritania and then Senegal.

Camp was in Daoura, a tiny town where the police asked us to camp in a sort of park, on concrete walkways. We have electricity to charge and supposedly a toilet. I took another one bidon shower, had soup and snacks and prepared Reese’s peanut butter cups with almonds embedded for a couple of other American connoisseurs. Then a 15 minute power nap, and a writing session in the tent out of the wind.

Dinner was great, tuna burgers, mashed potatoes, green beans and fruit salad with mint and cookies for dessert.

I’m excited to continue this amazing adventure in Western Sahara. The end goal is still quite far, but now I can at least mentally shoot for Mauritania. That’s six more stages with a rest day at a hotel in Dakhla. We’ve finished three quarters of the stages now, so that’s a good milestone.

Stage 44 of 60, day 52 of 71: 137 km, 545m, 4:20, 147 shifts, ave speed 31.5, max speed 61.8

Lots of dew in the night and camping in red desert sand meant there were a lot of dirty tents packed up in the morning. After breakfast we headed out, encouraged by the wind direction predictions and shorter ride.

It was a quick and easy 20 km to the first town, Tan-Tan. We had drinks and pastries there, then rode another 20 km to the coast. The town of El Ouatia was a little off the route but we explored and found a nice café for more drinks and snacks.

As we left and turned southwest down the coast, the true power of the tailwind hit! It was glorious cruising easily at over 40 kph. We went to lunch at a little over 80 km like that, but arrived not hungry. Still we forced ourselves to not disappoint Ype.

Then it was another 50 km of the same to camp. We ended up riding our own paces, me a little slower. I saw where the camp was supposed to be but it was deserted. WhatsApp told me it had been repositioned to behind a mosque in the next town, Sidi Akhfennir. I found everyone there in a rocky parking lot, with many busily upgrading to hotel rooms. I had to dry my tent so decided to camp. It dried quickly then I rode over to another hotel with Michael to use his shower. I ended up getting a room myself since it was under €15. I think just the hot shower and washing my clothes was worth that! I relaxed and called Katie and wrote this up.

We walked along the beach back to camp for dinner. It was a big burrito celebration of Jan’s birthday! Just like in 2019, Jan sponsored the drinks, in this case red wine. Since I sat at his table I got lots!

We also have another Rider Profile today. Today’s rider is Simo Ruuska, who I rode the Balkan Boulevard with in 2022.

How old are you Simo?

As I tell my grandchildren I’m 14 because 6 and 8 makes 14. I’m just a big kid.

Where are you from?

Originally Finland, now living in Melbourne, Australia

How much of this crazy adventure are you doing?

The whole enchilada.

Tell us about your bike

Ita a Cannondale Super Evo 6 2021 HD. The gears are Shimano Dura Ace DI2, 52×34 and 11-34 on the back. I’m running 28mm tyres for the first time. Used to run 23s.

What inspired you to sign up for Paris Dakar?

The mystique!

Do your friends think you’re crazy?

Nah they just think I’m a big kid in search of adventure.

What else do you want people to know about you?

I like dogs, skiing and camping. I used to be a high ropes instructor. I like to just get out there and give it a go mate! That applies to life!

Stage 43 of 60, day 51 of 71: 163.5 km, 1310m, 5:55, 290 shifts, ave speed 27.6, max speed 70.2

The alarm went off at 7 and we quickly packed up in our Airbnb and walked down to the campsite. Bike shoes on, bags in the truck, then breakfast.

People seemed nervous about today’s long stage, 170 km. But as soon as we started it was pretty nice. I finally saw some agriculture, cactus 🌵 plants being grown. But I’m not sure what they are used for.

Setting a pattern for the day, Wytze pulled us from about km 15 to the town of Guelmim at 50. It was really lively and bigger than I expected. It seemed like most people were wearing robes rather than western clothes. Cars looked newer and it had a surprisingly prosperous look. We stopped at a café with Jonny and Kris. Wytze and Daniel immediately disappeared to find you know what. We got drinks and sure enough, in a few minutes they returned, each with staggering amounts of pastries, quite varied. A fudge one had actual gold leaf!

We had a good long stop, savoring our “last” pastries. It seems like we’re always thinking it’s the last chance for good whatever but so far we’re always wrong. We couldn’t eat everything so had to stuff it in and carry for later.

We headed out and the road changed direction so that the wind was now really an annoying headwind. Wytze just pulled us the whole way though, so no worries. Lunch was unexpectedly early at km 82, not even halfway. We were all still full of pastries so only ate a little but drank a fair amount and I took electrolytes.

Then back at it. There was a rumor of drinks at km 125 so we headed there. It was a bit tedious, boring, not great riding. But “soon” we pulled in to where the trucks were stopped for water. Just ahead there was an actual café where we had mint tea.

Then, the final 40 km was mostly flat with some little hills. The road was amazing, usually very smooth and two lanes each way so we could draft diagonally which the wind required. I finally did have to ask Wytze to tone it down a little, he was so gracious. Toward the end, the wind shifted, almost a tailwind, and we blazed at 45-55 on the downhills easily.

Then we came upon two of our trucks at the turnoff to the campground. Turns out one truck had got stuck and had to be pulled out, so the new plan was to bush camp 500m ahead instead of continuing to the campground. It suited me fine since it shortened both today and tomorrow by 5 km. We set up tents, relaxed a bit. I had a “1 bidon” shower. Now the fact that the water we carry gets warm finally works in our favor. After that and some snacks and cold water, everything seemed better. Thanks to Wytze I think I arrived an hour or more earlier than I would’ve and with lots left in the tank vs probably nothing. Night and day.

Our 8th rest day was October 22, 2023. 70% of our stages are done, but we’ve only done 65% of the distance. From here, the amount of climbing drops and the distance per day increases. Tomorrow’s stage, for instance, is 170 km. Our next block of seven rides will be 1,050 km, an average of 150 km/day. We have one more day in Morocco, then we cross the supposedly non-existent border into Western Sahara (or Moroccan Sahara as they say here).

We slept in a bit, although I didn’t really sleep that well. Daniel went exploring and soon his text came, “Coffee and croissants here”. We walked over, in sort of dismal weather, light rain with wind from exactly the wrong direction for us. He had found a pretty nice café and soon we were under the awning, each at a small table, with breakfast ordered. We had omelets (fried eggs as we would call them), with baguettes, olive oil and jam, plus olives. The hot chocolate was good. After a relaxed time eating, Daniel pulled out a bag of croissants, eight of them, delicious. Another round of drinks was required, then he said, “We’re not done yet”. Wytze says, “I thought not.” Out comes a box with a couple of dozen fancy cookies. We ended up not even being able to finish those, even after a long chat with Simo who walked by. I gave the rest to a woman asking for money.

Then we had a look around, but the city has clearly seen better times. In the distant past. We looked at the lighthouse, the view down to the campground on the beach, then headed home to put out the laundry out to dry – luckily the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. We made a reservation for dinner at “the best restaurant in town”, but my expectations were tempered.

Wytze went off for a swim while we relaxed in our house. Having a house is a nice thing once and a while. I got to do a little coding on my NStrava app – probably not many github pushes and heroku deploys are run from Sidi Ifni on an average day.

Later in the afternoon, we invited Ype over for a little party. We had the last of Andrew’s smuggled Spanish wine, plus a couple more bottles. And lots of snacks from Ype and Wytze. It was a super relaxed fun time. We toasted Andrew multiple times.

When we finished all the food and wine, it was just time for our dinner reservation. We staggered up the street to Nomad, “the best restaurant in town”. It was shut tight the night before but tonight it was lively as the waiter ushered us in. We had a bunch of mostly seafood dishes, maybe four starters plus five main dishes. What a feast! Living it up right before a hard block of riding days seems like a really good idea. I’m not sure it’s the best place in town but may well be. It’s certainly great and a great deal.

We cleaned up at home, then settled in to sleep, ready for breakfast at the campsite at 7:30.

Stage 42 of 60, day 49 of 71: 78.6 km, 964m, 2:58, 268 shifts, ave speed 26.5, max speed 70.0

The last stage to our rest day in Sidi Ifni was easier and we resolved to make the most of it. After breakfast, we took off at 9:10 and rode through Tiznit, then headed along the rolling highway, with little traffic. It was interesting riding with a smooth road. It wasn’t long before we were cruising along on a high plateau and could suddenly see the blue Atlantic Ocean! After descending, the road followed the coast southwest. It was great to smell and hear the ocean. By this time we had the regular group of four plus Kris and were out in front.

We stopped at a café for drinks and of course, Daniel wandered away, then came back with a couple of boxes of pastries including a cheesecake that was seriously good. Bart rated it 93 on the Zaragoza scale but he may have been delusional a little. After all this time and kilometers, no one can really be sure how that legendary cheesecake tasted.

We continued along the coast, up and down, loving the fast descents and the climbs were short and easy. Ype had posted that lunch was by the beach and we were on a really fast descent and I noticed passing lunch. Others didn’t notice, but we had other plans anyway. Our rogue activity for the day was to cruise up to a beach restaurant we picked, another 15 km ahead and have lunch there. We got to the turnoff and had a 90m descent, the last part of which was super steep (>20%) and sandy/rough. It dropped us down to a group of beach restaurants and we finally did find the one we picked (by rating of course). We sat down at a table overlooking the ocean but couldn’t sit still. We had to try the water. Stripped down to bike shorts Wytze and Daniel and I ran out to the water. The beach was really shallow, with large waves coming in, over and over. We waded in and went a long way before we were chest deep. We dove into the oncoming waves with perfect water temperature. I tried some body surfing which was super fun.

We eventually got out, dried off and ordered lunch: a triple order of poisson tajine plus two orders of grilled fish. We chatted away and maybe an hour passed with no sign of food, but we had a ton of drinks. Then we had a couple of salads and finally the tajine arrived as well as two plates with large grilled flounders (or some similar fish). It was a huge feast that somehow all got eaten. Absolutely delicious and the price was under Mad 100 per person.

By now it was after 3pm but we only had 9 km left so it was time for camel riding! Liz and Harry had tried it out a couple of hours before. Now, only Kris was up for it so she and I got on two camels and took the standard tour which is to walk down the beach, maybe 1 km to an amazing giant archway, take pictures and return. The walk is awkward feeling but it’s pretty fun. The saddle has hand grips and small pegs for your feet. But it’s possible to just grip the belly with your feet and ride without hands too. Kris said she had to pinch herself to realize where we were: on the coast of Africa, riding camels! I felt the same way; it was somehow magical.

We got back and Said, the very nice camel driver, let Bart mount up for photos for free. Then we put on shoes and headed off to Sidi Ifni. The first part involved climbing rough sandy >20% which was surprisingly easy for me in 38×52 but no one else had a gear like that. We got up to the main road and quickly rode to town and found Bike Dreams at the campground, right by the beach. It looked like a great place to sleep due to the wonderful ocean sounds but the campground itself was barren and really only suited to motorhomes. We were glad we had opted to upgrade to an AirBnB. Others had done the same.

We first had snacks, then packed everything we’d need for two days into a single bag and headed up the hill. It was the hardest AirBnB to find of my life. The map was wrong, so we went to the right address on the right street – no luck. Leaving out a bunch of funny encounters with locals, all that was left was the picture of what the house looked like. A couple of guys pointed down the street and in the end, Daniel and I checked and sure enough, there it was! Another local knew the name of the host and called him – I had texted but didn’t get a reply right away. Anyway, Rachid came and let us into his strange, 5-story high house. We had the whole house and that might sound like a lot but there is only one room per floor, so only two bedrooms. But it has a nice kitchen, living room, washing machine, hot showers, WiFi, in short everything we need.

We put in laundry, had some snacks Wytze bought, then just before 7 walked back down to the campsite for a pumpkin risotto dinner with the group. After fruit salad, we walked back but noticed the bar (somewhat hidden with semi-shady looking guys kind of guarding the entrance). Inside we found maybe eight kinds of beer and many bottles of wine. They were selling for takeaway or drinking there. So we bought a bottle of Moroccan Merlot for Mad 90 and drank it outside on their deck overlooking the waves breaking on the very wide beach. It wasn’t great but we had fun and got to talk to Andrew, still in the hospital for a couple more days.

What a long, full, fun day! 😃

Stage 41 of 60, day 48 of 71: 103.4 km, 1497m, 4:57, 285 shifts, ave speed 20.8, max speed 63.7

Sure enough, as all the apps predicted, the rain started in the middle of the night. It was still raining at breakfast time so we all squeezed into a little lounge room in the hotel and ate our normal Bike Dreams breakfast.

The rain was lessening by 9 when we took off and pretty much stopped as we really got riding. Daniel, Wytze and I executed another rogue plan, turning right, off the route, after one km. We headed down a beautiful valley and the smooth super wet pavement turned to rough quickly so our wheels no longer kicked up any water.

We started the first and biggest climb of the day and were surprised to be passed by Wijnand in the firetruck. I guess he was going rogue too. Rob later told him, “You know you’re on the wrong route if you see Wytze.” The climb was great, up to 17%, maybe the steepest yet. At the top we had a view to either side, with an almost continuous rainbow on the left. It drizzled and was windy and we were very alive and happy.

We twisted around, through some little villages, and eventually made a sharp turn to drop down. 600m lower it was warmer and the sun came out. We had a food break then continued, up and down, to the town of Anezi at 60 km. We looked for a restaurant but didn’t really find anything. Daniel did find one eventually but said it was a real dive – his English is excellent 👌. By then Wytze and I were buying lunch at the Super Marche, very fresh baguette, Moroccan bread, cheese, chocolate, yogurt and drinks. Where to eat? There was a café next door and the owner welcomed us. We ordered coffee and tea and got down to it. Then he made us an omelet with more bread so we really had a big lunch.

After lunch we had about 40 km to go, with a few small climbs. The wind picked up so we got into Wytze mode. We rejoined the official route about 20 km from the end and immediately saw some of our buddies. Richard and Simo rode with us until Wytze put the hammer down. From then on it was just “hang on” as we blazed away into the wind. The hardest part was every time we spied another rider ahead, Wytze would set it up so we passed them going really really fast, to inflict maximum pain. I almost felt guilty, but not!

We pulled into the campground, just short of the town of Tiznit. It looked deserted and several others came up saying they had already looked and saw nothing. But a campground guy pointed on, so we went on, turned a corner and there were the trucks and a few tents. It turned out there was a giant wedding hall where we could indoor camp. So we moved in, had snacks and soup, then a hot shower and a relaxing rest of the afternoon. When nothing goes wrong and you don’t need any support, picking your own rogue route is excellent fun.

Later, Bart and I called Andrew who may be about to fly home to Australia, details not 100% clear yet. He has a keen eye and says that he can tell we’re all losing weight by seeing our photos.

I was on dinner duty so set the tables, served and cleaned up after and washed a million dishes. Dinner was great, polenta with meat (nice veggie stuff for me). After dish washing we had a cheesecake tasting session courtesy of Wytze. Fine living!

Stage 40 of 60, day 47 of 71: 58.8 km, 821m, 2:26, 227 shifts, ave speed 24.1, max speed 62.9

Ok, two thirds of the stages are done! Today’s was an easy one, complete with a late start from our bush camp. Unlike my past experiences with Bike Dreams bush camps in South America, I did not sleep well. There were some locals, two uniformed police(?) and a couple of others, who stayed up all night at our camp, for our security. I guess they saw us setting up and really don’t want bad press, so to make sure nothing happened to us, they guarded the camp. Very nice idea but the implementation could’ve been better. They were LOUD.

Enough whining, the ride was really pretty, and continually interesting. There were some headwinds and a fair amount of climbing but it was fun. We stopped at a tiny café after 25 km for drinks and snacks then continued. The mountains are dramatic looking and the towns have old semi-ruined forts or castles. It’s a raw looking landscape.

At 43 km, we crested a final hill, took some photos and blasted down towards Trafraoute. Our campground was about 5 km short of the town. Wytze and Daniel had a plan for lunch in town but I had had enough of fighting the wind, so pulled into the campground instead of joining them. After a drink with Jan and a look around I checked out the rooms and for Mad 280 (€26) I got a nice private room, near the pool and restaurant. The WiFi even worked well enough to have a video chat with Katie. Then a nice hot shower, laundry and lunch.

At dinner we had everyone finally together.

Stage 39 of 60, day 46 of 71: 140.9 km, 1987m, 6:21, 399 shifts, ave speed 22.2, max speed 59

This long stage certainly exceeded my expectations! I guess I was biased to think it would be super long, hard and boring based on what riders told me of the previous stage. In fact, it was great.

We left camp about 8:30 and retraced our route from yesterday for the first 15 km. We caught up to Rob in the lead and he and Wytze led for a long way. The riding was varied and interesting and fun. The wind was down so it was easy. We saw the firetruck and our cook crew at a little café in a tiny village so we stopped having cranked out 77 km non-stop. Sodas were Mad 4 (€0.4) and big, fresh, still warm biscuits were Mad 1. We sang Happy Birthday to Willi and posted the video for him to see.

Then back in the saddle. The climb started, with lunch on the first summit at about 88 km. It was slow and steep and headwindy. Lunch was good but Wytze and Rob hatched a plan to go down to the next town for a second lunch. We continued through the headwinds, up and down and got to Igherm at 110 km. We turned off the route and went downtown; it was market day and super crowded and fun. We found a restaurant and had Tajine all around, lots of drinks, persimmons and pastries Daniel bought. It was wonderful, watching people go by, so much activity.

I was pretty full but able to ride, barely. We only had 30 km to go, but lots of climbing still. We took a pee and electrolyte break at a beautiful summit, then stopped for tea when we saw Ype’s van at a tiny café with nothing else around. It was also Rene’s birthday so we celebrated that too.

Then the final bit, up and down beautiful hills, ending at our first bush camp. The trucks were pulled over off the road, nothing at all around. You could pitch your tent anywhere. Rob had even found a cistern across the road with lots of water in it and organized it with a bucket as the shower. We had snacks, “showers” and relaxed until dinner. One thing that’s amazing to me is that we have 5 bars of LTE out here. In fact my phone has Always had a signal in Morocco, what a pleasant surprise.

Dinner was at 7, with a lecture from Rob that included a demo of how to take a bush camp shower and an explanation about how to crap. We are not leaving any toilet paper at any bush camp on this trip, yay Bike Dreams. Dinner was excellent, with French wine to celebrate Rene’s birthday. Massive numbers of various cookies for dessert and a sparkler for Rene.

Today we have another Rider Profile. Sorry these are so intermittent… Today our rider is Liz Donohoo. I did the 2022 Balkan Boulevard tour with Liz. She would probably win a contest of having the most fun on these tours. She always finds cool places to visit and takes more varied photos than anyone else.

How old are you Liz?

54

Where are you from and how much of this crazy adventure are you riding?

Sydney, Australia and I’m riding from Paris to Sidi Ifni (just before the ‘western Sahara’)

Tell us about your bike…

It’s a Giant OCR C2 2007 (yep it’s old). Tires are 28mm and the gears are Ultegra Compact 50/34 11-34.

What do you hope to get out of Paris Dakar? Do your friends think you’re crazy?

I enjoy longer trips especially where there are mountains and different cultures. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to do the whole thing.
Nearly all my holidays are on a bike so my friends are used to it, they enjoy seeing the pictures.

What else would you like people to know about you?

I’m a dog person 😁

Thanks Liz, we’ll be very sorry to see you leave soon in Sidi Ifni.

Stage 38 of 60, day 45 of 71: 68.8 km, 840m, 3:01, 160 shifts, ave speed 22.8, max speed 53.4

It was really nice to sleep in for once. We had breakfast outdoors, breads, jam, eggs, juice etc. We left after 9:30 on an alternative route Wytze and I cooked up. After a couple of km it turned to dirt, then to a narrow dirt trail rather than a road. Bart and Daniel were unsure due to their tires but in the end we decided to give it a try. It was about 2 km more of dirt, rough at the end.

Then we came out onto a provincial road that was paved. We hit it in the middle of a big chaotic market, people everywhere. We back-tracked a bit to have a cultural experience. We ended up spending an hour, having drinks and really enjoying the time.

We finally left and headed out on the narrow road. It went right in the right direction; we went non-stop for 25 km until it hit the national highway, RN 10, we would take to camp. We took this quite a way, up one hill, and we’re starting to get hot and thirsty. Bart was out of water. At a gas station they said to go 2 km more and sure enough, there was a nice looking restaurant with pizza on the menu. Daniel bought us cookies and we learned the value of cookies in a big bag versus pizzas written on a menu. Pizzaless, we ended up consuming 7 liters of water and soda. Then some fries, panini etc. Bart also needed one of my bars.

Fortified, we figured we could make it to our destination town, Taliouine. We found a restaurant with reviews that seemed good, or maybe we were at the next door place. Anyway, we had lunch, tajine de legumes for Bart and me, meatier for Daniel and Wytze.

Then down to the campsite where we found the trucks, crew and the first few riders. The official stage was over 155 km with lots of climbing and headwinds. Quite a few people did only a portion. It was fun to get back in the group and tell others of our adventures. I found shade for my tent, had a shower and did laundry, ate a few more snacks, then retired to the pool to write this.

After a super nice mini party with Ype it was dinner time. The group is a little smaller now, under 30 riders, but dinner was great as usual, with delicious apple crepes for dessert. Here’s hoping for another great sleep tonight since tomorrow is another full stage, to our first bush camp (no shower, toilet, charging etc).

Stage 37 of 60, day 44 of 71: 116.8 km, 1686m, 5:50, 238 shifts, ave speed 20, max speed 66.7

Wow, I’m still glowing from the ride today. It will probably end up being the highlight ride of the tour. We asked for a 7am breakfast to get an early start on the 72 km climb to the top of Tizi n’Test. That didn’t happen but all seven of us did share a great and filling breakfast outside by the pool. Breads of various types with eggs and jam and coffee, tea and peach juice.

We left at 8:30 and our hostess gave us such a warm goodbye it was amazing. They really loved having us stay. We headed up the hill past the refugee camps in Ouirgane, then onto the unpaved part of the road. It was rolling, mostly dirt for over 10 km but I’m not sure that was due to the earthquake. It looked more like they were just improving the road. Over the first 40 km the road condition kept improving and parts were very smooth. I went ahead and caught the earlier crew, Joan, then Kris and finally Andre. We leapfrogged each other as we were all stopping often for photos.

After 45 km the real climb started, 800m in 16 km. It felt easy and was more and more scenic as we climbed. After some large final switchbacks we were on top! Just over 2100m high.

From that summit it was still 10 km with one last climb to the final summit where Bike Dreams had planned to stay, also where we had reservations for lunch. We knocked that out and pulled in to the Hotel Bellevue. Lunch was setup for us outside – the inside looked mostly destroyed. Supposedly they will reopen as a hotel in January. A big group of motorcyclists had the other outdoor table, across the road a ways. We had drinks, then lunch was served just after Bart, Wytze and Daniel arrived; they had stopped in the one town below for pre-lunch.

We had ordered Berber Omelet and Moroccan Salad for seven and that’s what we got. Not omelets with berbers in it, but Berber style, that is, cooked with veggies underneath, in the ubiquitous conical tajine earthenware cookers we see everywhere. With bread and more drinks this was awesome after over four hours of climbing. We had to move the tables under an overhang due to rain, and all of us had all of our clothes on. Joan and Kris shared a blanket they found. Yes it was cold, numb fingers.

We finished eating and realized it was almost 3 pm and we still had 50 km to go and the road looked gnarly and slow, gravel, very switchbacky. We started down in light rain and it turned out the road surface was ok, at least for my wide tires. The gravel sections were fine. As we descended, the rain picked up and pretty soon it was hard to see. I realized at the time it was so epic that it was going to be one of the best rides of my life. The weather just pushed it over the top! Andre and I traded the lead, stopping for photos both of us beaming ear to ear the whole time. It was cold and wet and so perfect.

We felt a couple of blasts of hot air, still with cold rain and then suddenly we were out of the rain, and it was warm and normal. The road straightened out though so we could go much faster. Also we had a tailwind! We finally stopped where it was starting to level out and waited for the rest of the crew. We put away our extra clothes and turned on Wytze mode. This is where he goes ahead fast and we draft. The last 16 km passed in a couple of minutes it seemed. We overshot our turn by 100m and u-turned right into a little café. Daniel bought us pastries and Bart bought coffee and drinks.

From there it was a few minutes ride to our hotel, the Palace Riad Hida, a giant, sprawling place with luxurious rooms, a pool, trees, gardens, massages for under €25, etc. With only one set of riding clothes, we had to do laundry but the sun was out for drying.

The others booked massages and dinner was delayed until around 8. We ate in a very ornate tall-ceilinged room. A round of many types of salad, then tajine chicken without the usual veggies. So I ate the rice and veggie plate, or maybe that’s what they brought just for me. Fruit for dessert then to bed with a great plan for the morning: late breakfast! What a day!!