May 2005
This was the reason I had bought my BMW F650 GS Dakar !
Through the www.ukgser.com website I met up with Tim, Steve and Rob.
Garmin GPS, Touratech panniers and many other accessories were added to the bikes - most important of all, our Comic Relief Red Nose mascots !
Setting off from the Ace Cafe in London. My 650 Dakar, 1150 Adventure's of Rob and Steve, and Tim's 1200.
The plan was to ride from London to Plymouth where we would catch a ferry to Santander in Northern Spain. From there we would ride to Madrid and put the bikes on the MotorRail to Algeciras, then catch another ferry to Ceuta in Morocco.
Despite the fact that we had purchased tickets for the MotorRail before we left England, the Spanish would not let us load the bikes onto the train. Cars only. We managed to get a refund, but this did leave us some 400 miles short of Algeciras. Instead resting and spending the night on the train we had to ride late into the evening and get up early in order to catch the ferry to Ceuta.
Crossing the border into Morocco can be fun. Lots of willing helpers (for a fee). It took us around 2 hours to get all our paperwork sorted out and be on our way.
Ever wondered where all the old Mercedes go? They end up as Taxi's in Morocco! These were waiting to pick-up fares from the locals who had been shopping in Spain.
We road through the Rif Mountains via Chefchauen, and arrived at Fes late in the evening. The mountains were not our favourite place. Lots of locals trying to stop you to sell drugs, and then throwing rocks and stones if you do not stop.
We arrived in Fes late to find that our hotel reservation had been cancelled. Some teenagers on mopeds offered to take us to another hotel. 4 large BMW's following 2 teenagers on a moped probably looked strange, but we were also being pursued by the Police. Eventually the moped crashed into a crowd of people in the market square. The rider was arrested (he had apparently stolen the moped) and we were left wondering where we could find a hotel for the night.
The next day we continued on to Marakesh. Compared to the previous couple of days, it was pretty uneventful. Marakesh is a wonderful mixture of sights, sounds and smells. Sensory overload.
From Marakesh we crossed the Atlas Mountains, mostly off-road, and guided by GPS.
It seemed necessary to play in the water whenever possible, the temperature rose to 45C on some days.
Sometimes the river beds dry up, and the gravel is not as firm as it looks. Steve's bike buried.
Wave to the camera Rob!
At last, a couple of pics on the northern edge of the Sahara ...
Not sure what breakfast was really. Can't even say it tasted that good either!
My Comic Relief Red Nose mascot, still smiling after more than 3,200 miles in 10 days.
