Money, credit cards
Don’t expect that you can pay by credit card. None of the small shops in the villages you come along will accept credit cards. Local cash is a must.
Mobile phone
Best coverage offers Morocco Telecom and Orange.
You can buy cards to recharge your SIM with data or voice minutes at all small shops over the country.
For Morocco Telecom:
| function | enter on your phone |
|---|---|
| recharge your phone with datas | 555 xxxxx *3 (xxxxx is the number on the card you buy) |
| get the available data and voice of your SIM card | 580 |
Trash
In most places you come along, especially on the first part of the whole route, you will have a problem: where to dispose of the carbage. There are rarely trash cans and people throw the carbage just on the road. So please be a good example and don’t do it the same. Take a bag of your garbage with you and trash it where you see a trash can. We can not change the situation, that later the carbage is deposed outside the city. But think back, it was exactly the same 40 years ago in Europe. And like this is a simpler chance, that the problem gets solved in the future. All the carbage at one place makes probable sooner more sensible and brings a final solution as everywhere a little bit.
Dogs
On the whole route, I had 2 times dogs running after me. One place is not anymore part of the route. The second was at around km 600 of the first route file, end of Serghina. A woman came running immediately out of the house, looked after the dogs, and said sorry.
Recommendation:
Go off your bike, place the bike between you and the dog and walk. Talk to the dog. Usually, as soon the dog realizes you are a human they stop.
Kids
You will see plenty of kids near schools, kids sitting along the road in some small places and around small shops sometimes. I heard stories of kids throwing stones. They might ask you for a pen or money.
I never stopped at places with big groups of kids. I never gave anything as I personally think it’s wrong.
It happened once just after the start, that kids throw a “stone”, it was an olive stone I think. And a second time near a school on the last 35km before the finish, a very small pebble.
Rain and rivers
ATTENTION:
After a rainfall rivers get flooded and river crossings dry before the rain come unpassable even by car. After a rainfall in the High Atlas it can take about 24h till the water arrives in the desert. Do it like the Moroccan, waiting till the water is gone is the solution. It can take 2 hours till a day, ask the locals. Don’t risk to cross the water, it’s slipery and the current is stronger as it looks like.
Clothes
Morocco is a Muslim country. It’s recommended, that you have some long pants with you, to take on when you stay in a hotel and go for dinner, or after you arrive at a place and like to walk around in the streets for shopping or sightseeing.
Photos and videos
It is strictly forbidden to take photos of police and government buildings. Never take a photo of people without asking their permission first.
Don’t bring a drone to Morocco. It is illegal to import a drone to Morocco.
Riding in the night
On some sections riding or staying outside in the night is not allowed. The sections are marked on the page “The route”.
ATTENTION:
Be aware that pedestrians, cyclists, and people with or on a donkey can be on the road without having lights. It happened to me, I rode in the dark into a village in the desert, came around the corner, and about 20 women, dressed all in black, walked all over the street. There was no light, nothing.
And in past editions riders crashed on pistes when they came in a soft surface that is hard to see in the dark.
Camping or bivy
In general wild camping is not allowed in Morocco.
Anyway, over some sections, you will not have many choices. I asked the police at different locations if it’s a problem to stay the night in the tent and they said no. Lately, I see photos of people camping on their bikepacking trips just beside the road. I would not recommend this.
- in many cities, you find a campground that is safe, for example at Chefchaouen and Midelt
- place your tent at a location not visible from the road
- place your tent not long time before it comes dark, look for a location just before it comes dark
- don’t place your tent when people working on the fields see you
- don’t camp in river beds, with rain the water can rise very fast.
- leave the place as you found it when you arrived
Weather
The west side of the Atlas mountains is the green region. The weather comes from the Atlantic and brings rain. East of the Atlas it’s dry and you come unlikely into the rain.
But it can happen. Some days before I was on the Erg Chigaga extension, it was raining and everything was underwater. There is almost no vegetation on the east side of the Atlas that holds back the water. They said it was the first rain in more than 10 years.
The temperatures I had along the route were between 7 degrees celsius in the night minimum and 29 degrees celsius near Erg Chigaga.
Public transport/buses
Buses take your bike. The small buses servicing the small villages load the bike on the roof. The big buses between the big cities load your bike below in the luggage area.
On the trains you are not allowed to take your bike, you need to pack it first.
Police checkpoints
Along the route, you pass several police checkpoints.
At some of them, you need to show your passport even traveling by bike. Some just let you pass with the bike. They will ask you where you travel, where you will stay the night. They are friendly mostly concerned about your security. When I was traveling the route last year, that was it. More information you will find in the route description.
Road laws
One of the rules, each rider is responsible for the road laws.
Rider bag
For this event, it is not possible to provide transport for a rider’s bag to the finish.
Communication
Please use info@2-continents.com only for event-related questions and use the Facebook public forum for questions like what tire to use etc. and connect to other riders. I don’t check messages on Instagram and messages sent to the Facebook. It’s not possible to check all these different channels for messages.
Scratching
If you leave the event before finishing at the expected finish point, please send an email to info@2-continents.com that you have scratched and the reason.