As Mark is not really able to type at the moment I’ll continue with the story. Firstly and most importantly, Mark is definitely on the mend. He is in good spirits this morning and actually sat on his bike earlier. I dont think he will be riding again for a couple of days at least but it is good to see him recovering.
We have woken to proper desert weather today. Clear blue sky and high temperature. We were up early……again…….to get into the huge dunes here before it got to hot.

Mick spent an hour tutoring us on how to ride the dunes. Its pretty scary as you have to keep the bike speed up so it dosent sink into the soft sand, but reading the terrain is almost impossible – it just all looks the same and you can find yourself going over a crest to a 100ft drop quite easily. We had fun and I had a few offs – exhausting stuff, but what a thrill.
We rode back to the Berber tent and had half a hour in the shade, then helmets back on and back into the cavernous dunes. I jumped onto Marks bike ‘Betty’ for this blast. Now Betty has a reputation. Mark wasn’t the first rider she had chucked off and injured. Still, no bother I thought. I can handle Betty…… Wrong. After 10 minutes of ripping around the dunes and having a fantastic time, I made the big mistake – I flew over the top of a dune, the drop on the other side was very steep. The front wheel dug in and I went over the handlebars violently. Betty hit me hard on the back and head completely knocking the wind out of me. I think I blacked out for a second or two. The next thing I knew I was spitting out sand and one of the other riders, Martin was running over. It took me a little while to get myself back together and I rode slowly back to camp to nurse my wounds. Nothing more than a painful back by the looks of it. Very lucky. I wont ride again today but we are heading out on Camels tonight to see the sunset from the top of the dunes. I might need to pinch a couple of Marks pain killers!

On a totally different note – Congratulations to George who came first in a big dancing competition in Nottingham on Sunday (in the pairs dance with his mate Jack). Well done George, I cant wait to see the trophy.

All is quiet here now and I can see the Berber tribesmen getting the Camels ready for our excursion. I’ve only ridden an animal once (Pony trekking in Wales when I was a teenager) and I wasnt good at it. With my sore back I’m not sure if this is a wise thing to do, but thinking about it, spending two weeks riding a motorbike through Morocco probably isnt a wise thing to do either and I’m loving it, so what the heck!

Pete

Its been a dramatic few days. Where did we get to?
I think the last time I wrote was the day we went to the rally stage just outside of Zagora. In my timeframe that was two days ago. A lot has happened since then.
I’m not sure if Mark has written a blog entry since then. Our internet connection is so sporadic it isn’t really possible to check what we have been uploading. I hope it is looking good.
The night of the rally day in Zagora, our host at the camp site, Ibrihim, prepared us a lovely evening meal of couscous and lamb tangine. We ordered a few beers and bottles of wine and eat next to our tents and bikes on a palm and cane covered terrace. We were treated to entertainment from a local traditional Moroccan band.

It was very atmospheric and a few of us joined in. I got the hang of the percussion (Tin casternet type things), but neither Mark or I could get to grips with the hollowed out cricket bat with 3 different length strings on it. The bloke in the band knew what he was doing with it though. We had a late night and checked into our tents around midnight with a lazy 8am start planned for the morning.
We left Zagora and within minutes we were into desert. The riding from there to here (Erg Chebbi) has been fast and dusty. The trails became less rocky and more sandy and it wasn’t long before we were riding in classic desert terrain – basically sand. This is tough going but everyone was having a great day. Early in the afternoon we arrived at a huge dry lake bed. A flat smooth plain about 5km long. We did a bit of filming with Martin our cameraman sat on the roof of the land-rover as we all rode behind. This was an amazing place to ride – the bikes totally flat out over the smooth compact sand with nothing but the horizon to worry about. It was such a blast.
Next stop was a wild camp – in the desert. All we had was the supplies in the Land-rover to keep us going so we had to make sure we got far enough in to be able to get out to the town on the other side the next day. We picked a spot, did a quick check for snakes and scorpions and started to pitch the tents. I was pretty exhausted from the day but a few of the lads, including Mark, went to have a play in the sand dunes on their bikes. I had had my first scary dune experience earlier in the afternoon. The art with dune riding is to realise that a nice gentle run to the top of the dune often means a vertical drop on the other side. I had just managed to stop my bike before dropping 35ft over the other side of a small dune I was on. I had my helmet camera on at the time. My laughter was of the nervous kind!
As I was getting my sleeping bag unpacked I noticed Mark come back to camp on his own….slowly. I went over to see what was going on. He looked in pain.
He had had a big fall and hurt his shoulder – it quickly became apparent that this was serious. Mark is a tough guy and I have rarely seen him succumb to pain. We helped him get out of his riding gear and had a look at his shoulder, which appeared to be either dislocated or broken. Not good, especially because we were a long way from any kind of civilisation. Jackie strapped him up with a sling and he had some pain killers to make him comfy for the night. We discussed taking him out in the Land-rover immediately to find a doctor but it just wasn’t practical as the nearest civilisation was a small town with little facilities of any kind. Not much you can do with a broken shoulder/collar bone anyway apart from subdue the pain and wait for it to heal. Mark was very sensible about it and aware and alert enough for us and him to know that he hadn’t gone into shock from any further internal injury. It certainly changed the mood in camp and everyone was very concerned. The best we could do was make him comfy in his tent. As we were doing this the sun was going down and then the next drama arrived – a huge desert sand storm! It came out of nowhere. A sudden howling wind and blindness. Within seconds tents were breaking away from their pegs and you really couldn’t see your hand in front of your face – literally. Everyone managed to get to their own tent and we all sat it out. It passed after about half an hour but left us with a windy and wet (yes, rain in the desert!!!) evening. Our cook Richie made a great job cooking omelets and rice for everyone in his tent – what a genius. As we ate we discussed the next, and rather serious drama. Looking at our location on the map earlier, we discovered that we had accidentally crossed the boarder into Algeria. This was a serious concern. Algeria is a volatile country and they don’t take kindly to visitors. A visit from boarder patrol or bandits was now a possibility and neither would be good news. It was too late and dark to break camp and make our way back into Morocco, just miles away. It was an uneasy nights sleep and at one point we heard a helicopter in the distance. But we made it through the night and everyone was present and (almost) correct this morning.
We broke camp, loaded the Land-rover and got Mark as comfy as possible in the passenger seat with Jackie at the wheel once again. We were all relieved to see that Marks health had not deteriorated during the night. He is still uncomfortable but doing okay.
Today went well, for a while! The rain during the night had made a few of the dry river beds a little less dry and the poor Land-rover got well and truly stuck in one ravine. Luckily we were only about half a mile from the little town and lots of locals came to help dig it out. After 45 mins we were rolling again. We stopped in the town and grabbed breakfast. From there the rest of the day was a fast run through the desert to Erg Chebbi, where I am writing this. The riding was superb. I’ve got pretty quick on sand now. Its very odd, almost like riding on ice but when you get the hang of it, its great fun. I felt bad that Mark hasn’t been next to me though.
Our reward for the riding so far is a 2 day stop here at the Nomad palace on the edge of the Sahara desert. It is a wonderful Kasbah in the middle of nowhere and our accommodation is a Berber tent at the base of huge, dramatic dunes.

One building, a few camels and us. I shan’t mention the swimming pool, that would take the edge off the drama and adventure!! It was lovely to jump into the cold water earlier this evening though!!!
Right now we are sitting waiting for our evening grub, Mick took Mark off in the Land-rover earlier to find some medical help, we are waiting for them to return. I’m sure all is well and I’ll update you as soon as I can……..

(Later that evening)….. It was getting late but Mick and Mark got back eventually. They had taken a 200 mile round trip to Er Rachidia hospital to get Mark x-rayed. Good news, Nothing broken. We are not sure what the damage is but Mark has some strong pain killers and seems much better. Happy camp again tonight.
Thanks for reading.
Pete