Don't stop!

Afternoon Ride

Holubicka Bajkovacka

Morning Ride

Deer and blind car drivers

The Atlas Mountain Race passes (spoiler!) through the Atlas Mountains. This a very dry area without a lot of vegetation. Only in the oasis or valleys you can sometimes find lush trees and water. For the rest it is a hard life. A consequence of all that dust is that by now my nose and mouth look like trenches of World War I. That does not make things easier or more enjoyable.

I started after 3 hours of sleep at the bottom of the Old Colonial Road. Even though the road should be easy to follow, as there is a wide row of stones bordering it, I managed to again set off on the wrong foot and get lost in a riverbed. After seeing this row of wide stones a few meters above me (note that it is pitch dark here), I retraced some of my steps, crawled up and found the road. From now it should be easier.

Even though this road is pure gravel and goes up the whole way it is not that challenging. Just the two big missing parts are a bit tricky. I first went down the road and then left my bike behind to check for a path back up. Once I found the correct path, I pushed up my bike (which was easier set than done) and continued following it.

After reaching the top there is a quite long and difficult descent. Everything was going quite well until just before they end when I suddenly hit a stone just a bit too hard with my rear tire. Bang! I know there was an issue. Quickly I stopped and assessed the damage. I had a pinch flat. Tire plugs to the rescue. Because I could not see too well and I was tired, I managed to plug next to the real hole, creating an additional hole in the tire. Telling myself to stay calm I took a new plug and plugged the right hole, all while there was not so much pressure left in the tire. I used  a third plug to be sure of the sealing. 

After sealing the hole, I crossed my fingers and inflated the tire back as fast as I could. Did it work? I did not feel 100% confident, but at first sight it looked fine. In continued the road until I reached the end of the gravel section and checked my tire pressure again on the asphalt. It seems my amateur plugging did its job.

After the paved road in Issafen, the route continues to a canyon where you have to follow a slow path inside a riverbed. At the end of the riverbed there are some steep climbs to hoist you back on the plateau. I stopped at the beginning of the canyon to eat all my leftovers and set off towards CP3.

It was very cold at the climb at the end of the canyon when the sun came back. Then there was an endless road on top of the plateau which is used for hauling. Each time a truck passed you have to recover from the new dust wave. My poor lungs. When I finally made it out, I had a resupply at Afella Ighir. 

Then followed the beautiful and fresh canyon of Ait Mansour. Shadow and water! I did not stop and pushed on to CP3, which was at the end of a long asphalt descent. I arrived around position 5. I ordered two spaghettis, had a wonderful shower and made sure I was ready for the rest of the day. 

The first part after the CP was quite easy. Later a long a steep asphalt climb followed in the heat of the sun. After another descent, another long climb followed. I found a water tap to cool myself down a bit (soaking my cap, arm and leg pieces). I found a small shop where I had some tea and one of the oranges I had taken with me from CP3.

It was in the long a steep descent on the concrete plates that followed that I noticed for the first time that my neck was starting to struggle to keep up. I tried to empty my pockets as much as I could and a bit later I even ate my other orange (which was half bad) to get rid of weight. 

It did not really get better and at the end of the descent I tried to take a rest and hope that my issue would be better after some sleep. So I again settled for some place in the sand. A local still came to me to ask me why I was sleeping there, but I told him that I was not planning to move again and I asked nicely to just let me sleep. 

Top Sports

Tim De Witte

Atlas Mountain Race - Day 3

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Don't stop!

Afternoon Ride

Holubicka Bajkovacka

Morning Ride

Deer and blind car drivers

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