A bit far this one. Worked out to be around 165km by the time I arrived at thehotel.
That would have been ok, but I have a knee injury. I’d forgotten this and by 130, it was starting to cause problems.
Apart from that, it all went well.
It was actually more than 86 miles. That’s just when the Fitbit ran out. All in all, the trip was 104 miles.
Cycling in the 30° heat
Didn’t seem to make that much difference to be honest. Unlike the tropics, it’s a dry heat, doesn’t really cause much sweating. In fact, it didn’t cause any sweating, not that I noticed anyway 🙂
5pm is around the hottest part of the day, and by that point I was pretty tired , (I started at 8.30).
The journey
Was in three parts.
The flats. The climb. The decent.
I was freewheeling downhill for the last 14km which was a blessing, as my body wouldn’t have been able to manage any more hills.
The day started with about 70km of flats. Just long straight roads. These had cycle lanes which was a large reservation on the side of the carriageway. It was a pretty easy journey and I was able to average 20-30kph.
For the middle, and the hottest part of the day, I was climbing hills. These weren’t massive hills, they started in undulations, then worked their way up. Toward the end of this stretch, I was stopping in every available shop or village for soft drinks. I needed the fluid and also the rest.
It was about 8.50pm when I arrived at my accommodation. That meant some cycling in the dark. That wasn’t really a problem. The Moroccans are not crazy drivers at all. I put my head torch on, they could see that and the reflective material of my cycling top. Even so, it’s definitely not something I’d aim to be doing again.
The day was over and I made it in one piece.
Today (the 11th)
I’m just going to be relaxing. I need to see if I can get a bit of bandage from one of the pharmacies to act as a knee compact. Other than that, I aim to wander round a bit, have some food and have a look at the falls
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Oh my that knee sounds painful good that the last bit was downhill. The dry heat is really rather pleasant and so different from humid stuff which is draining. Sounds as if you enjoyed your first day…. that’s fantastic. x
Wow Mike, that’s hot the climbs must be difficult…well done you. Hope the knee bandage helps ease discomfort. Ensure you get enough rest though. Safe travels. ❤️