Day 241 – Meloussa to Ksar Sghir

Day 241                                                      17th March

 

20 very tough miles (Meloussa to Ksar Sghir) Average speed 7.3 mph Top speed 33 mph

I was awake at 2.30 am with the tv still on and roasting from the aircon. I went back to sleep and woke again at 6am with a dry mouth and feeling ropey. The wind that had been howling through the double glazing has subsided a little. I got up at 8 and went down to brekkie of cold boiled egg, jam, cheese and pancake, oj and coffee. The wind blowing the palm tree around was not tempting me outside, they had even lowered all the flags to avoid them being ripped to shreds. After printing my boarding pass for the ferry I had another bath to warm up and retrieved my washing from all over the balcony.

I was finally on the road at 11 and negotiated the first hurdle of being on the wrong side of the road by riding along the pavement, but every passing lorry made life hard. Around a motorway junction roundabout and then the task at hand really hit me hard, just like the full on wind. A big climb with lorries, roadworks and a force 9 gale in my face.

The first 30 minutes average speed was 4 mph. Most of it was spent trying to hold the bike upright at 2.4 mph whilst avoiding lorries. The only saving grace was that the road was being resurfaced and my side was finished. The workers waved and cheered me on from their makeshift shelters.

I thought I’d made it to the top so stopped for a rest, but I still had a long way to go! After a lot more twists and turns I made it to the top where I did have a rest, but it was not easy even standing as I was almost blown over. While trying to take cover from the wind I saw the biggest shoe, and also some birds of prey swooping down on their targets.

Then it was downhill for a while before I stopped at a shop for cake and Fanta. I thought about taking the motorway but decided it was too windy to risk it. So after passing a police training centre I took on the next big climb. Once again there were many lorries using this road to avoid the motorway tolls. The road was pretty awful too and I had to choose my route very carefully. Once I’d made it there was a tiny village with lots of locals staring in disbelief at this weirdo, but a few said hi.

Then it was a great run down but freezing cold, even with all my clothes on (!) and I still wasn’t feeling my best. I stopped just in the town for soup and to warm up a bit. I checked my phone too and Kamal was in Tangier port already. So we arranged to meet at Ksar Sghir for coffee. I found a cafe with wifi and got chatting to an old guy who recommended a double coffee with milk, he must have known I needed it!

Then Kamal arrived and it was great to see him. I still think he is crazy coming all this way to see me off. He had left home at 6am and been in taxis, camios and more taxis just to see me. He is an incredible friend. He now calls me his brother and big brother to his children.

We found an apartment on the beach and he negotiated the price down to 200 dirham for the night. We had a kitchen, double bed, shower and living room with tv. I took the double bed and he slept in the living room on the sofa benches. We went out to buy bread and tea to have back at the apartment. I had a rest and a shower and then we went out for dinner.