Day 483 15th November
58 miles (Moulay Bousselhem to Assilah) Average speed 11.5 mph Top speed 31 mph
I got up at 8 and lit the fire first time despite the dew, had coffee and croissants and charged my phone. I packed up and left at 10.30. There were quite a few people saying good morning as I left town and as I went over speed humps I almost overtook a van!
I turned left and followed the route I’d taken to get here the first time. A young guy cycled with me for a while before saying goodbye as he went to work. It was tough on the legs and I was finding it hard to find my mojo and get back into cycling again, but I was making good progress until I got stuck in the sand as the road ran out once again. I stopped at a bus stop I had been to before and had a drink of water but with shops few and far between choice was limited. I kept going and eventually stopped just before Larache for lunch of cheese and harsha bread beside the busy road and was joined by a farm worker and his horse who offered me water.
Then I went over a new flyover and into Larache where I had a coffee and decided to carry on and try to make it to Assilah.
Larache
The road was hard work once I’d crossed the bridge and there was a lot of climbing. I stopped for a drink at a shop but it was closed for renovations, which meant another 3 miles uphill to the next village, where I bought some chocolate and a large bottle of orange Fanta. I pushed on and checked out a campsite half a mile past the roundabout I needed to turn left at. It was marked on the map but turned out to be a farmer’s field! So I went back and took on the climb to Assilah making sure to avoid the large potholes I’d hit last time I was here. 8 months in and the road was worse than last time despite the roadworks they had done.
I made it to the hostel just before sunset and checked in. The room had a bath but after unpacking the bike I returned to find no plug, so a shower would have to suffice, but it felt great after so long without one. I walked into town and had dinner at Ali Babas, which was not the best tagine I’ve had but the harira soup was good. As I walked through the market a wedding parade was taking place.
Wedding parade
Then I had a coffee and cake in a bar near the hostel. I was in bed by 10 and enjoyed an early night resting my tired legs.
Hostel Mia 120 dirham.