From Hassan Dam to The DESERT, Merzouga! (99.6 miles)
We were up with the rising sun and back up the gravelly path that we took to get to the lake. A very quick morning took us around the lake and passed the head of the dam towards the last major town on our route to the desert, Errachidia. We all stopped here for some last minute supplies and water from the petrol station and hit the road in order to make the most of the cooler morning (which was already at 30-odd degrees!). Barren, rocky landscape quickly gave way as we entered another gorge lined with date, fig and palm trees.
Already, we noticed the large number of 4WD and people carriers, shuttling tourists to and from Merzouga and the desert beyond. Even arriving on two wheels, rather than 4, didn't stop the hustlers from trying to get us to: A. Ride some flea-bitten camels
B. Stay at their riad/campsite/house/shack/rooftop
C. Get a lift in their 4 wheel-drive because the road up ahead was "not made yet!"
However, without the air-con or comfortable seats of these tourist wagons, we plodded on through the oases towards Erfoud. The humidity that seemed to blast from the nearby trees felt like an industrial hairdrier was constantly blowing a headwind. Luckily, we arrived in Erfoud in time to rest in a cafe and to wait for the midday heat to pass. The only customers in the cafe, we quickly moved our table away from the open fireplace (?!) towards the air-con unit, which seemed to fighting a losing battle with the extreme heat.
After a long, stretched out and massive meal we noticed there were a few coulds out and decided to make the most of it and get some miles down before the sun was back out. Chris took the first step and went to the loo so we waited under the aircon for him then planned to head off. Which we would have done had Chris not returned drenched in sweat from his two minute walk to the toilet! After another twenty minutes the clouds were still there and we just bit the bullet and went for it...to our amazement, the heavens opened and the hustlers were sent scuttling under cover as a quick, heavy shower peppered the dry street. Bizzare, considering the temperature and the fact that we were 30 miles from the desert.
The rain didn't last long and the clouds were soon to follow, leaving us in the baking sun and seemingly sapping every ounce of strength from our legs. It seemed to be beyond a physical test now, instead being a test of mental strength and staying power to keep us going instead of collapsing into the ever-so-tempting shade of the palm trees. It was 300m from Rissani that myself and Chris finally gave into this temptation for a short break before tackling the notorious Rissani Rogues...brutal hustlers with a set of skills that make them the Ronaldo of hustlers the envy of every hustler in the land.
By this point Chris was determined to catch up with Matty so he headed on through Rissani as I rested a bit longer. Unfortunately this decision was probably a bad one as we both had to tackle the rogues separately. As I cycled into Rissani I was quick to notice the signposts that had been neatly vandalised by the rogues in order to confuse people as to the direction of the desert; making it much easier for them to sell a guided tour to Merzouga. Reaching a T-junction at the end of the main road I knew I had to turn left but a group of about 10 rogues jumped up and tried to stop me for "a chat" which would inevitably turn into a sales pitch. Having dealt with hustlers before I thought it was a simple "no thanks" and keep cycling but these rogues were keen to live up to their name and started grabbing at the bike and panniers. One went for the handlebars but a quick hand off had him picking himself up out of the dust!
Once past all this commotion I found Chris stopped just past Rissani. I told him my story and he told me his. Apparently he did stop to chat...informing the motely crew of hustlers that it was not he that made the decision on hotels for the night but it was, in fact, me that organised these things and that I would be along in no time!...cheers Chris! However, karma dealt a quick blow to Chris as the reason he had stopped is because he received yet another set of bee stings!
A quick "man up" for Chris and we started off again, only 18 miles to go now. Painfull progress was mad into a relentless headwind and the heat still sapped our strength. So much effort was going into moving at about 3 or 4 mph. At one point, Chris exclaimed that this was the hardest thing that he'd had to do and I breathlessly agreed with him! With the heat and exhaustion it was easy to mistake the advertising signposts at the side of the road for Matty or a building but hundreds of them passed by before any sign of life was to be seen. A blob appears on the distance...Matty with no panniers had cycled back up the road to check we hadn't come a cropper under a 4WD or rissani-rogue-mobile! We eventually struggled back to where Matty had stopped and got down to finishing the last 3km of the whole cycle. This last leg was undoubtedly tough as we had managed almost 100 miles on our final and hottest day of the journey but the final countdown of kilometers was such a push that it didn't matter if our legs were almost dead, we were going for it.
....2km...1km...Merzouga! We'd made it. It was simply a stones throw to the dunes of Erg Chebbi and the start of the Sahara dessert. The much thought about moment had now arrived and it was just as good as we had imagined...one sweaty manhug later and we headed to our abode for the night...knackered but extatic. The past month or so seemed to flood back into our minds that night as we tucked into home-made tagine and cous cous and recounted stories of good and bad times and how much we wish Char was still here. We know she would have loved Morocco but we're sure she made the right choice and nobody can ever deny the great achievement of having reached the southern-most tip of Spain.
To everyone who have offered us shelter and help along the way, to our families, friends and acquaintances who have donated or offered words of wisdom or encouragement we would like to say a massive thank you. It seems a much repeated phrase but without you all none of this would have been possible. Thanks to those who had no doubt we would make and thanks to those who had their doubts. Both were inspirations and encouragement along the way!
If you would still like to donate to our chosen charity, Right to Play, through our JustGiving page (http://www.justgiving.com/Cycle-to-Sahara) it would mean a huge amount to us.
We also have a webpage with some background info on the journey (http://www.cycle-to-sahara.co.uk/)
...and a facebook page with updates (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cycle-to-Sahara/186126538081365)
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