Riders on the piste route are on their day 7. After traversing the Rif and Middle Atlas mountains, now they are heading to the Sahara desert. In this particular part of the route, riders are going to get to know the people in rural Morocco, people who rarely see any tourists, Where it’s hard to find any accommodation. Where people get the water at a fountain outside their houses. Public water fountain is a common place to meet others and have a talk whilst filling up canisters with water. Locals still ride donkeys to get from one place to another and they use real fire to cook their meals, which may take a bit of time but it’s authentic.
Wednesday, it’s day 5, and thunderstorms made the route much more demanding. Riders had to hide from lightning and earth slides which made the route unpassable high up in the Middle Atlas. The temperature has dropped to 9 degrees Celcius. Riders experienced how important it is to be properly equipped for any kind of weather and carry enough food supplies. At Tamatroucht, Sandro and Till together with the media car found an auberge where they could dry their clothes and recharge.
From Tamatroucht to Imouzzer Marmoucha several landslides made the route unpassable and the media car got stuck in a mix of stones and mud. Up to Tizi Bouzabel, which is 2267m above sea level, about 12 earth slides destroyed the road. However, no problem for the riders and they made it to the beginning of the Ahouli mine parkour.
Sandro, on top of all the challenges, has to deal with his stomach issues since day 2 and that slows him down. Radislav from Czech, who is 68 and is the oldest rider, is constantly moving forward and enjoying the route.
Our road riders are now 6 days on the route, dealing with exceptional weather conditions too. Last 2 days roads were covered with mud and the route was anything else but easy. At the moment, they are all heading to checkpoint 2, the Valée de Ziz, an oasis in the Sahara.
In the meantime, we are heading to meet the road riders.
Yesterday, we met Soufiane “I am stopping frequently to take photos as the route is amazing! After every storm that passes there comes a rainbow after”.
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