Marocco 1996 (April 20 - May 12)

by RogerScherrer

1. Day (Sat)

Meetingpoint was the petrolstation „Wührenlos“ on the A1 direction Bern. Time 3.00am. Just to drive there was already a pain, although it was only 25 to 30 km. The gloves, especially made for spring and autumn season on the bike, did not warm my hands enough. And it should turn out that it wouldn‘t change for the rest of the night unfortunately! Anyway, the 4 of us (PascalBuchbinder, MarkTuchschmid, GuidoKuehne and me) were top motivated and not to stop so we didn‘t care about a chilly night on the bike.

We drove off direction Maroc to find the adventure. One hand on the gas handle the other somehow on the exhaust baffle because they are known to be quite warm...

Well, my Yamaha TT600 gave me a lot of pleasure already. The main lights turned on and off for a long time just to die totally a little later. And this, as you know, at night on the highway! But hey, the other cars just come from behind so ...

Just after a few miles, I think it was short of Lausanne, I was forced very brutally to switch to reserve petrol. With this setting it should be possible to drive until Geneva. Should... my lovely TT stopped working just short after Lausanne. On the highway. In the middle of the night. I couldn‘t belive it! This couldn‘t be happening! It coudn‘t be possibly be the lack of petrol I just switched to reserve. So I demounted the seat, the tank and the spark plug to check the proper function of the ignition system. Well, it worked! Thanks to a lot of work on my kick start I was warm again... sweating like a pig to be perfectly honest.

While mounting the tank I tried to put all the petrol left to the one side where it can flow out of the tank. So I tried again. What a wonder, my TT worked again. So petrol consumption of a TT600 fitted with a Dynojet tuning kit on the highway is: 9 Liters per 100 km !!!!!!!!!!!

We reached Sète right on time around noon and enjoyed a last lunch on our continent befor we stepped on the ferry „Marrakech“ direction Tanger.

2. Day (Sun)

The time on the ferry was quite entertaining. We tested Marks GPS, planned our route and I tried to control my sea sickness. Thanks to Pascals medication I succeded. Yeah well, the sea sickness medication made us quite tired so we spent a lot of time in our „overwhelmingly spacious“ cabin for four.

3. Day (Mon)

Arrival in Tanger on Monday morning and we decide to escape from this big, strange city as fast as possible! Half way between Ksar-el-Kebir and Souk-el-Arba-du-Rharb only a few hours after arrival we want the feeling of gravelroads below our tyres. So we just turn left into the first path we can find. After a few hundred meters a tiny river crosses our path. To follow the „hard“ path we drove on would mean to drive approximately 15 m into about 50 cm deep water. This was far too wet in our opinion so lets cross this thing off the road were its only 2m wide and 20 cm deep... Mark wanted to be the first (the one with the heaviest motorbike of course) and he made it a full length of a bike! The ground was pretty soft and muddy, kind of like a swamp!

We had no chance to move his bike by manpower so we tried with our other bikes available. My trusty TT and Pascals powerful Elefant gave their best. But with no success at all.

The Marocans, quite a few of them around so far, wanted to try a „medieval“ age tractor. Even the tractor had its problems on the first try!!! The second attempt succeded although Marks Super Tenere lost a rear wheel spoke.

After we took off a vast amount of mud and dirt Mark wanted to clean his bike by driving through the wet pathway we tried to avoid before. Following my advice, never take your feet off and lots of power, it should be possible. And what a surprise he made it over and back. The Super Tenere was quite clean and Marks face as well! To be frank he was totally wet from head to toe! But who cares we are in Maroc now and we survived our first adventure.

Back on the street and we were still hungry for more and we got more. This time we turned right into a wide street made only out of deep red earth. What followed was pure pleasure. It was great, the men and women on the side of the street cheered and showed us directions where to go although they had not a clue where we wanted to go. It was like driving a rally. I made my first encounters with deep ditches across our way and tried to warn the others with less wheel travel. To our regret it was a blind alley and to our luck we could race back the whole way again.

We didn‘t want that Mark got a cold in Marocco so we decided to drive to the next town (Souk-el-Arba-du-Rharb) to rest in a hotel..

4. Day (Tue)

The goal of the day was the Kingtown Fes. Our way carried us through Karia-Ba-Mohamed. We stopped in the hills behind the village to have a luch break but soon later too many visitors arrived and we headed off.

Of course we couldn‘t resist to drive off the street and so we drove without a clue where we were into the country. Ahh, I fell in love with the cross track like and shit hot ground we drove on.

Somehow we found back to a proper road, it was probably the P26 which connects Ouazzane with Fes.

5. Day (Wed)

The sight-seeing in Fes was absolutely not my cup of tea. Looms, old universities and countless mosques were really not the reason for my stay in Marocco. And we did not buy anything despite their obstinacy.

On our way through the atlas mountains and again searching for an offroad adventure we leave the street and end up in a very, very rocky blind alley. We were lucky that we left without a punctured tyre when I think backt.

Back on the street I enjoyed the offroad shoulders, which one should drive standing not without a reason! After turning onto the S330 to Missour we see the desert for the first time. This view was so overwhelming that we coudn‘t speak for a while. The vast space, the unbelievable colours, it was like in a dream. Even the quite dark sky and the miserable weather coud not stop us to head into this unknown world.

In Missour, a god-forsaken place, we find a magnificent hotel. We decided to stay for a day, so we can go racing big time.

6. Day (Thu)

No racing at all unfortunately because the weather god stops us from polluting the environment. A village sight-seeing did not make up for a nice ride. Mohammed who worked in our hotel showed us round the village and invited us to his home for a tea.

7. Day (Fri)

100 km offroad track ahead until... well, as far as it goes.

Just on track, a few times a little bit of speed and a construction fault on my TT attracts attention. The exhaust pipe clips the brake hose which uses to be on top of the swing arm. After I went straight out of every curve for about 57 times even I realised that my rear brakes didn‘t work anymore! (Of course I know now that using the rear brakes offroad on a 4-stroke machine is pretty damn stupid. But the whole life is there to learn, isn‘t it?)

The tracks we drove on and the ones on the map didn‘t match somehow. First we had tracks, then we had small tracks and later it was kind of a „almost a track“ track and in the end we move in undisturbed nature.

Where the hell are we, god-damn-it?! Very close to dusk we find back to the track thanks to our compass. I reckon it must have been around Toura.

We spent the night in the only so called hotel in Talsinnt. I don‘t remember how much the owner asked for in the beginning, but it was an exaggerated amount. In the end we payed almost nothing! It was the only hotel in which everybody used to sleep in his sleeping bag... don‘t ask. But nobody moaned because of lack of sleep this night.

8. Day (Sat)

This days stage was paradise for me. First we had easy warm-up on street until B-Tajjite. Then easy cruising on fine gravel. Then on the last kilometers before Col de Belkassem one could drive as fast as it goes. The track straight as fuck and slightly ascending. I wanted to be a rocket. My speed meter, as far as I can say, showed around 130 km/h when I saw this too deep ditch ahead. Ok, braking... shit, bollocks, damn... impossible to stop before it... ok, I go less deep the faster I cross it. And power... I used the same trick 2 or 3 times after that.

At least I know where I got my front wheel damages now!

After a great view from the summit of the Col de Belkassem it goes on with easy cruising and drifting and so on. Behind Tazouguerte we enter a deep green oasis. And here drifting on gravel roads following a river I really found myself in paradise. Later that day with smiles on our faces we reached Er Rachidia.

9. Day (Sun)

This was the time, this was the place, to see the dunes and the pure sand of the Erg Chebbi. A tiny heap of sand and dunes (30 * 10km) compared to the Sahara. We followed a beautiful valley until Erfoud. There we bought some food and water and headed off. Some inhabitants wanted to guide us to the dunes. And Guido ends up giving one of them a short lift on his Dominator but soon after that we had enough of this shit and tried without any help.

Here and there I found some single dunes where I could try to surf with a bike for the first time. Well to drive is kind of the wrong term, you know.

We found Erg Chebbi without a problem and stop at a house we find there. The owners invite us for tea and tell us about an oasis. Ok, lets go there we decided and after they gave us the coarse directions we drove off into the dunes.

But as you know, wind surfing means to fall into the water all the time for the first 3 hours and its kind of the same on a bike in the dunes especially if you drive a heavy machine.

To sum it up...:

• Pascal, Mark, Guido on the edge
• Roger very likely sun-stroke / heat-stroke
• TT clutch lever broken (didn‘t bother me because I use just 2 fingers anyway)
• TT auto decompression fucked (did realise it a few days later so it wasn‘t a real problem)

However we found a nice place in between the dunes to spend the night below the billion stars tent.

I will never forget that night. I woke up every hour to throw up dark green slime. And the stars in the sky weren‘t that great because of the bright moon and without my lenses I couldn‘t see them very clearly anyway.

10. Day (Mon)

The dawn was bad, I couldn‘t stand the sun, my pulse rate was about 140 all the time and I had to breath like after a run. I ate the rest of my „Power Bar“ and drank some water... I didn‘t keep it very long.

We went off towards Erfoud. After a few minutes just outside the dunes we had to stop in kind of a restaurant because of me. We enjoyed a chilled coke but then I had to throw up again. I lay down close to the housewall in the shade.

My friends and the present Maroccans tried everything to get me going:

• Medication from Pascal (didn‘t want to stay in my stomach)
• Lying on my stomach with fistsize stone under my belly
• Stomach massage
• Pressure treatment between my thumb and index finger (very painful)

While Pascal, Mark and Guido enjoyed their lunch I slowly came back to the living. Therefore we went back to Erfoud.

There we sat ourselfs down on the hottest, loudest and most dusty place on the main street to eat some spaghetti. So after 2 or 3 bites I really had to go to a hotel/ bed. But this time the medication succeded and I could eat something for dinner. I think it was time for somthing solid after all.

11. Day (Tue)

Coarse direction „Atlantic“. We wanted to see the sea. Consulting the map that meant to drive to Ouarzazate first. On this stage we ate lunch in tent.

Only a few kilometers before reaching Ouarzazate my TT and I had to climb a rock. Upwards we had no problems but back down without my rear brakes!?!?!?

Ouarzazate itself was a huge disappointment. But if your interested in the story with the 5 girls in the Club Med just ask Guido or Mark.

12. Day (Wed)

Goal Agadir - stop - shortcut on gravel roads - stop - 100km off-road - stop - from Anezal toAoulouz - stop - didn‘t we do something similar recently!!!!!

As said before, the 1 to 1‘000‘000 maps and the off-road tracks just didn‘t match and we got lost again. But this time big time. Well we found a village but they didn‘t want to invite us for tea. They looked quite shocked when they saw us. We drove like forever but then after the point of no return I grabed my compass and map. The compass told me we‘re heading north and my map told me that north is absolutely nothing except for the atlas mountains................

When we saw a car that surely was running with gas we were pretty reliefed because we drove only god knows how many kilometers and Guido almost killed his bikes front tyres. It took a while until we reached Agouim that lies on the main route between Marrakech and Ouarzazate. Guido told us that he fell in front of a car and first he didn‘t want to know us anymore. All of us were damn tired and exhausted.

After a short rest we went back to Ouarzazate to have a good nights sleep!

13. Day (Thu)

I reckon we had enough of gravel roads, defects and getting lost. So we drove on normal streets towards Atlantic sea. Meanwhile I don‘t remember why we stopped in Taroudannt 60km before the coast. But I think after 2 weeks of intensive riding one gets a little tired.

14. Day (Fri)

As said before it wasn‘t far to the coast / Agadir so we drove a bit further and reached Essaouira - wind city africa. We admired the colorful dresses „Schlabas“, the old towns, the beach and enjoyed white Toblerone swiss chocolate from the KIOSK. We wrote postcards and somehow summer holiday feeling came up. So we decided to stay for another day to sunbath on the beach.

15. Day (Sat)

And now a wee tiny story about god: „He saw that it was time to play a little game. So he spoke to Petrus he shall bring rain to this place that lies below. And so it occured.“.

The question of the day was, what next? Following the coast to Casablanca wasn‘t recommended. We decided to drive to Marrakech.

16. Day (Sun)

A city again! But the scenery of this city in front of the white peaks of the atlas mountains was breathtaking. Guidos search for a brake lever in the medieval old town did almost drive me into insanity.

17. Day (Mon)

Further along the atlas mountains. We all knew that it was time to head home but we wanted to experience another thing. Off-road driving wasn‘t really asked for so we searched for another example like the Cascades d‘Ouzoud, a wonderful waterfall.

The night we spent in Beni-Mellal a dreary, dull place. But the Crèpe was delicious although it was far to much. Lucky for the beggars!

18. Day (Tue)

Azrou!! This was the name of the place where horrible things happend. Guido told us about apes that live in the woods around this village. And while were talking about apes, in the film „Indiana Jones and the temple of doom“ there was this scene where they ate brain right out of the apes head. And this leads me to dinner and brain... I am really terribly sorry to remind you Mark, but the vegetable soufflé was brain of only god knows what!!!

Luckily I wasn‘t there because I suffered from stomach aches and spent the evening in bed. But I‘ll never forget the total crazy nightmare I had with the oranges and the motorbike in the old town.

19. Day (Wed)

Not very much was happening anymore. We headed back to Tanger and stopped for the second time in Souk-el-Arba-du-Rhar. The village where a stork shit on my helmet.

20. Day (Thu)

Tanger, the city we escaped on the first day of our trip to Marocco, turned out to be quite interesting. We really enjoyed the taste of Europe. It was all kind of more normal here again. Of coarse we were hardend from other big cities in Marocco as well. But it was the last night on the african continent and that we all knew.

21. Day (Fr)

The food on the ferry was delicious! Despised on the trip to Marocco, it was now after 3 weeks in Marocco, like a gift from heaven. Even the meat was eatable.

But never forget the toilets, which didn‘t work for quite a long periode of time. Man, what a complete mess!!!!!

22. Day (Sat)

DThe ride home was like it it always. All of us wanted home as fast as possible, everybody is somehow a bit aggressive and we had enough of everything.

But 800 km aren‘t just nothing.

The essential in short form:

• We lost Guido just before we reached the swiss border, but we reckoned that an over 20 year old would find home alone.
• We got lost... on the highway and drove home through Neuchatel.
• After Solothurn I filled my 595ccm large cylinder with as much air/petrol mixture as possible.

The farewell ceremony took place on the highway while driving about 140 km/h. A short look followed of a wave and that was it.

To sum it up:

• It was a unique experience and adventure. The plan to do a trip to Tunisia two years later says basically everything.

Improvements:

• Only 2 instead of 3 weeks
• More sand (I know exactly what I wrote about sand, thanks)
• More adventure (needs more preparation of material, spare parts and last but not least fitness)