Day 233 9th March
46 miles (Sidi Slimane to Ben Mansour) Average speed 12.5 mph Top speed 24 mph
Up at 8.30 feeling a little fragile for the first time in Morocco but went for brekkie in cafe of omelette coffee and oj and felt better.
Wifi worked OK but it took ages to book a ferry online. All set though for the 18th March to Sete.
I tried to fix the gears but couldn’t, so thought I’d try it and find a repair shop if still no good. Eventually I worked out that if I held the brake lever while changing gear it can work, but it’s not easy to do using two hands at fast speed on a busy road. So mainly I used only three gears today. It didn’t matter too much as the road was flat and fast most of the way.
On the way out of town I passed an accident where a guy had been knocked off his bike and was a bit of a mess. I went back to help, but there wasn’t much I could do with the language barrier. I gave him water and tried to help while the car driver was only concerned with the scratch in his door and his mirror. He didn’t give a toss about the poor guy laying in the road with blood pouring from his mouth while he counted his teeth. Someone helped him to his feet and across the road to the garage to get cleaned up while the driver carried on raging into his phone.
Then I found lots of perfect camping areas with forest aplenty, but was glad I had stayed in Hotel Splendid to experience the bar and the Barca game. I had lunch at Sidi Yahya el Gharb of fish sarnie and a can of Sprite. I tried to buy gifts for my family but only managed a photo and scarf. I hope to buy some at the souk on Sunday at the horse festival.
I went the wrong way on the road out of town, but I turned back and a police roadblock stopped me for a chat and asked if I needed directions; I told them I was off to Ben Mansour and as they had never heard of it they weren’t much help! I hit the road hard with only 23 miles left to go, but it was hot and although the roads were good and flat it was really enjoyable until I got to the N1 which was busy with lots of trucks and a bit of a headwind. Before long though I reached the turn off and soon realised how close I was when I crossed the river and there were men fishing. As there was nowhere to park the bike I carried on to the barrage and stopped for a drink with Dris the security guard who knows Kamal.
Staying at Kamal’s house