Playing in the sandpit

My immediate thought when I awoke from a good night's sleep was where's my ibuprofen. It would be quicker to list the bits of me that didn't ache! Clearly hauling heavy bikes around in the mud was not what my body was ready for.

Suitably drugged I wandered off to breakfast. Clearly everyone else was feeling it as well from the moans and groans being uttered. It was decided that rather than move on to the next hotel we should stay an extra night where we were. That way those that wanted to have a rest could and those that wanted to go for a ride in the desert could also.

I opted for the desert ride along with Phil, Colin, Jim and our glorious leader Julian. This turned out to be a fantastic decision as we had a fabulous time.

Initially we collected Mohammed from Rissani, he would be our desert guide. Then we headed out into desert surrounding the high dunes of the Erg Chebi Their golden orange sand were a stark contrast to the surrounding desert which has a top layer of black rock.

This is known as hammada and is firm and easy to ride on. In the dips there is often soft sand but with all the recent rain it was firm, if not boggy. We were having a great time speeding across the open desert watching out for any dips or large rocks.

Bill and Mohammed were heading to a small house in the middle of nowhere. We all pulled up with big grins on our faces. The homestead consisted of a few mud brick buildings and a small shed for a donkey. The man of the house came out and via Mohammed offered us tea. We graciously accepted and carpets were brought out of the house for to sit on even though we were covered in dust.

Around the corner the lady of the house prepared the tea along with the children who kept themselves out of sight. Considering it is Ramadam we were honored in their hospitality as they were not eating or drinking during daylight hours. We took tea and some nuts that they offered us.

When we left we gave the family some money as well a tin of biscuits for after Ramadam. It was nice to have left them with something to improve their lot.

We then drove to an old fossil mine that was built during the French colonial days, but now lies empty and derilict. A group of fossil sellers appeared and we haggled over a few bits and bobs for souvenirs.

It was getting hot and we were now tierd so it was time to head back. We tried one route but it ended up going over a small area of dunes. We'd played in some smaller dunes earlier with Jim showing the skills he'd built over years of beach riding in Guernsey.

These dunes were a lot softer and it wasn't long till the heavier riders, that'll be Phil and I, were struggling with our bikes bogging down. You then had to dig them out and pick them back up again. I was soon hot, angry and exhausted. But as you can see I did find the time to raise a smile.

We changed our route and took a longer ride to avoid the soft dunes. As we drove back to the hotel we could see a massive thunderstorm storm adding more rain to the copious amounts they've already had. We got a little wet, but managed to avoid a complete soaking.

At diner we met another group that had tackled some of the areas we are soon to ride. The news was not good. It is possible that the bikes might make it, but the Landy probably wouldn't. This would leave us without support should a rider or bike have a problem. We'll take some more advice, but it doesn't look good currently.

The only blessing is that the tarmac roads through the Atlas mountains are also fabulous to ride.