Idea for this September. I have 3 weeks and a pair of good legs. Things I'm unsure about:
– The heat: I found that around September, on the route preview, the highest the temperatures will be is around Marrakesh with around 30 degrees. Is water available enough in small villages along the route?
– General safety: my research told me that it is generally safe – normal safety precautions apply. However, a friend just raised the question of human trafficers and refugees trying to get to Spain/Gibraltar and criminality coming from them. since I would plan on wild camping, it might be something to think about, as I do not want unfriendly night encounters. Anyone heard stories?
– Route as a whole / Choice of Bike: It is more or less the northern part of the route de caravans from bikepacking dot com. so I guess it will be nice. However I fear, it will be more bikepacking/MTB-esque than just touring with some Schwalbe Marathon Plus. any thoughts on this?
– Distance/Time/bail out options: I have three weeks, in which I will have to do 1200km and 18'000 vertical meters (defenitely did not know that Moroco is this hilly/mountainous). Anyone trying to convice me, that it is a bad idea? also: if I should overestimate my cycling prowess: how available are train/bus options if needed, in order to get me to Tangier?
Any thoughts are welcome, as I really need a sparring partner for the planing of this trip idea.
by BaudouinII
1 Comment
I rode quite a similar route in Feb/March this year.
I never had issues with water, I carried only 3 litres and could always find a shop/spigot somewhere.
Never felt unsafe, people approached when I was wild camping but more our of concern than anything else, this could get testing at times after a long day but if you’re firm I found locals will generally leave you to it (even police).
I rode on marathons and they were fine.
There’s no train in this region as far as I’m aware, there are plenty of buses which generally can take cargo as plenty of locals will transport motos for long trips instead of riding, but I never had to resort to this. If you needed to you could also cut across to the coast and take the train that runs between Rabat/casa and Tangier.
Hope it helps!