Third stage of the Scram Africa 2023 - rain, sand and unexpected challenges
The Moroccan desert can be treacherous, especially in the rain. The conditions would not only be dangerous for our motorcycles, but also for the robust Land Rovers. This made me think of a Moroccan proverb: “It takes a Land Rover to drive into the dunes – but a Toyota to get out.” That made me smile.
So we changed our plan and headed to Merzouga, where the weather was finally merciful. The sun broke through and we couldn’t wait to ride the dunes that slowly opened up to us. But sand and desert can be a challenge, especially when the sand is constantly shifting under the wheels, which was especially difficult for me. My shoulder, which was still hurting, didn’t make it any easier.
In the afternoon we were finally able to ride our motorcycles into the dunes. First we drove through seemingly endless steppes. Again and again we passed through small villages that seemed to have fallen out of time. After some time, the chain of dunes, which we really wanted to climb, could be seen on the horizon.
Arriving in front of the dunes, I took a run-up and tried my hand at riding the dunes. At first everything seemed to work out so far. About halfway up the dune chain my bike lost speed and despite shifting down and accelerating I realized it was too late. It wasn’t long before my bike wasn’t moving forward at all – I was stuck. So it was digging, digging and digging. Isidoro from Fuel came to my rescue and dug my bike free for good. I returned to the support vehicle and met Otis on the way, who had destroyed his clutch. Together we hitched his bike to the support vehicle and headed for the hotel.
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