The day lasted 20 hours from leaving to arriving back at our hotel.
We used Chris Scott's Morocco Overland to find two interesting routes. Our plan was to do a loop and return to the hotel, which meant we could do it without luggage. This is a rare treat. I normally have a bag across my passenger seat which is my stuff I may need throughout the day in a pinch. I emptied it out as I wanted to put tools for both bikes, puncture repair and some joint essentials in. More on this later.
The morning was on a brilliant piste alongside a riverbed. My off-road riding has improved a lot this trip and I was taking it at speed, feeling a lot of confidence and having a blast.
We rode through a small town and Rachel lost her bag off the back of the bike so we stopped to sort ourselves out. There was an older man there who pointedly told me to cover my head, but managed to do so without losing any of his friendliness. A pack of boys showed up, fascinated by us, but also shy. So the man kept encouraging them to ask us things in French.
First Debacle: "Tree surgeon required"
The second route was going to be "a little more demanding according to Rachel", but sounded manageable. Ten minutes in, the piste turned from loose gravel into almost like a pebble beach. Unfortunately my exposure to this particularly shitty type of ground was very limited. At the first corner, I miscalculated and carried on in a straight line. I was very lucky. As I slid off the piste through pebbles, I plowed into a prickly bush.
We had to use Rachel's pocket tool to saw the branches off to begin to pull Gertie out. But even between the two of us, we couldn't. A few minutes later, a truckload of men passed and set us right.
After this incident, we probably should have turned back. We didn't.
Second Debacle: "Have bike, won't travel"
I reasoned that this gnarly pebble riverbed was an opportunity to learn this terrain. The next few kilometres varied between thrilling and terrifying. Rachel was not struggling on her little 250 Yamaha — she's a better off road rider and the 250 is like a little donkey; it could chug over anything.
At 3:45pm and about 12km down the riverbed of pebbles, Little Donkey broke. It wouldn't move in any gear.
Rachel was on Gertie for this stretch and had just disappeared off into the distance. Twenty minutes later, I was starting to worry. Eventually, I saw her trundle and bounce over the horizon.
It was already 4:15pm. We were miles from anywhere with no cell coverage. She's a better off road rider so the right course of action was she took my bike and went for help.
Sophie's Perspective: Waiting to be rescued
Before she left, I discovered I'd taken out my emergency meal, warm clothing and head torch. Superb. I checked my water and had around 750mm left.
I watched her trundle away, leaving me alone in the vast valley surrounded by steep walls.
I decided to scavenge wood for a fire. I used the rubber hose to siphon fuel out of Little Donkey and built a hearth out of rocks.
Waiting alone for rescue is not as easy as it's cracked up to be. The evening was beautiful. Seeing Orion rise roughly when I expected was magical.
Nine hours after leaving, I heard voices and saw lights. We wrapped ourselves in space blankets and settled in for the long night.
Rachel's Perspective: Raising a posse
Turns out raising a rescue party is easy. I just rolled into a village and spoke to the tallest guy in the cafe and he did all of the raising for me.
We piled into a beaten up Toyota Hilux. It wasn't actually a 4x4 — only the rear wheels were driven. After the fifteenth wheel jacking attempt, I convinced Hassan we should walk ahead.
Rescue
They came at 3:45am. Almost 12 hours after the initial issue.
We got into the hotel at 06:30am and €700 euros poorer. One quick whisky later and we went to bed for 2 hours before starting our day.
The real thing I am happy with and proud of is the team work and communication between us. Big day.
Lessons Learned
- Emergency Gear: Even for planned simple day rides, have gear to survive until recovery.
- More planning: Plan an offramp for your adventure.
- Lean into doubt more: Spend time talking about the what-ifs.
- Garmin InReach was invaluable. Next time, we'll have one each.
- Rescue can take longer than you imagine. Double your estimate. Double it again.
- Big adventure bikes can have proper, big adventures.
- Prioritise your relationship: Communicate gently and clearly.
- Discuss splitting costs before you set out.
- Adversity IS adventure!