I know that I start each post with the night before, but after eating sleeping is probably the most important thing for ensuring a happy day on the bike – a rubbish night’s sleep generally leads to a tough day riding. On that note I am happy to report, no dogs, no roosters, a very distant call to prayer, and neighbours who didn’t rise too early! Result!
The fact that the sting on my thigh had been itchy as all get-out so I’d taken an antihistamine before going to bed probably helped with the sleeping too – at least initially!
The usual morning routine of ablutions, packing, breakfast, waiting for it to be light enough to ride, and then getting out on the road. Cooler again this morning, though not as cool as it had been yesterday in the mountains.
Passing by Tourandant this morning and it was a shame that camp was actually before rather than after as we’d expected as it would have been good to have taken a look yesterday afternoon – the ramparts looked pretty impressive as we cycled past! I could have stopped, but having only just begun for the day I was keen to get some km under the wheels while it stayed cool.
Unfortunately the cycling wasn’t terribly interesting to begin with – a continuation of yesterday afternoon as we make our way down the Souss valley which is mostly horticultural – huge greenhouses (mostly of the industrial plastic variety) which from what I could see seem to be filled with bananas and tomatoes, along with hundreds of acres of citrus trees.
I played leap-frog with a local bus for a while, much to the amusement of the teenage boys on the back seat. I’d get past it when it stopped to pick up children on their way to school, it would come past again… rinse and repeat for about 10km
The road condition varied significantly – there were places where it had been completely rebuild and which were as smooth as silk, there was work-in-progress construction, and then there was the original road which was a patchwork of repairs, holes, patches and generally as rough as guts!
I passed a number of other riders as I continued along the way, before stopping at a small town at around 40 km for a coke and a rest during which time I saw Italio and Robert go by – I waved, but they didn’t see me…
Setting off again I soon caught up with Robert and we rode together for a while before discovering Paul and Italio stopped on the side of the road with an injured Eriberto! Paul had been riding with Eriberto following very close behind (as he is want to do) and ‘inside’ of Paul, a gust of wind pushed Paul to the right, Eriberto’s front wheel hit Paul’s back, and Eriberto ended up in the (rather large) ditch!
He has several grazes, but of greatest concern is his left arm which is badly deformed and almost certainly broken. By the time we got there a number of locals had stopped, and the police, ambulance, and TDA crew were all already on their way.
We spoke with Paul, Eriberto and Italio and determined that there was nothing more that we could do to assist, and that it was actually safer for everyone if there were fewer people on the road so continued on. A few km later I saw Shariata and Phil (one of the medics) heading the other way at high speed, so it was good to know that a Dr was almost there.
Yesterday a few riders had seen the infamous ‘goats in trees’, but I’d missed them – not so today
The dinner truck caught me just as I was getting to lunch, which meant that the much more interesting local bread we’d had at breakfast was available by the time I got there – so much better than the very average sliced bread.
I’m pleased to report that so far West Africa lunches are a step above many of the Silk Route lunches, with a better variety of things to go between generally better bread – I’m sure there will be periods in the coming weeks as we cross the Sahara where that won’t be the case but so-far so-good.
From lunch to Agadir was a much more interesting ride as we came over a series of hills – I’d hoped to be able to see the sea from the top, but that wasn’t to be, and I was practically into the city before I got a glimpse of it below
Continuing on down and I was soon through the suburbs, round the central city and into camp. Once again it’s more intended for vehicles than tents but I’ve managed to find myself a spot under a tree which isn’t too rough – the campsite’s definitely seen more prosperous days too, and things are pretty run down, but on the plus side it’s right by the beach and the town. I’ll take that over the flasher option in Marrakech, but way out!
There was talk of a hot shower being an option so I went hunting and sure enough, after a ‘retour dans dix minutes’ from the caretaker, I was having a hot shower and a decent shave. A nice improvement.
Second lunch thanks to the sandwiches I’d made at breakfast but then not eaten on the road and it was time to wander in to town to locate the Maroc Telecom office and find out why my SIM card wasn’t working.
The beachfront of Agadir is where it all happens, there’s a really wide beach, a nice paved promenade and then a seemingly endless line of cafes, nightclubs, restaurants and hotels which stretch as far as you can see down the coast.
After an ice cream – the first I’ve been able to find ‘at the right time’ on this trip – I headed away from the beach and into the city, finding Marco Telecom a little while later. There a very helpful young lady put my SIM card into her phone, pushed a few buttons, handed it back and et vola, it now works!
As I was wandering I spotted this
For the non-French readers – that says ‘Driving School’
Which reminded me very much of getting my bus / ambulance / fire engine licenses on the Chatham’s. After driving the school bus the 1.5km from town to school and back the examiner said we didn’t need to get any of the other vehicles I was supposed to be tested in because “if you can drive this piece of shit on these roads, you can drive anything” and signed the whole lot off on the spot!
Back to camp picking up a couple of beers to enjoy while I uploaded a bunch of photos and completed the blog post from stage 3, before heading back into town for dinner.
I’d seen a Mexican restaurant in my wanderings so figured that fajita con pollo was the right choice – not terribly Moroccan, but you take the opportunities when they exist – there’s plenty more chances for tajine and couscous!
I returned to camp via the waterfront where it’s now really happening
I wandered out onto the beach to discover that it’s super-soft, super-fine sand – no wonder this place is so popular as a holiday destination. Surprisingly given it’s the Atlantic the sea wasn’t all that cold either – I wasn’t going in right then, but had I just got off my bike all hot and sweaty it would have been more than acceptable!
Later: An update on Eriberto – as I expected his arm is badly broken and he is currently in surgery in a local private hospital – he had initially been taken to the public hospital, but the doctor there had suggested that there was a better hospital in the city that he should go to so go they did. Thus that’s sadly the end of his tour!
View from my tent
Selfie of the day
Riding data
That is a very wide beach! What is the section of road to the right of the cycle lane?
Car parking – it’s not the best way to set up a cycle lane – it’s safer if the bikes are on the right of the cars, but it’s better than nothing!