Just got back from a week in Morocco with Cycleactive. Had an awesome time. The country is amazing and the trails fantastic. Cycleactive run technical/expert level stuff, whereas rival company Exodus is more novice-friendly double track riding.

The terrain and trails are really diverse, within an hour you’ve ridden alpine rocks, lush green meadows, and desert slickrock. Body armour highly recommended; everyone crashed (including the guides oh and me using my face as a break after pinch flat sent me flying!!) and the non-armour wearing types have now been converted after some nasty rock/flesh interfaces.

Great to see and experience a different culture the poverty was a guilty eye opener, but there was very little begging and whenever we rode through a mountain village the kids enjoyed the distraction rather than saw us as soft touches or sitting targets for theft…and they ran for miles and miles alongside you just for the fun and company.

In our group were 8 riders, then Rich the UK guide and Hassan the Moroccon guide. The whole trip was awesome, definately worth doing (I know a lot of people had previously thought about it, as had I!). Even got cake for breakfast and candle and cake in the evening of my 30th! Awesome week, best holiday EVER and now I’m gutted to be back home.

Here’s a few taster pics.

Guide Rich following me.

Valley on the old gold trading route.

Me on a climb on my 30th!!

Me knackered at the end of a long day followed by the gang, on the red rock.

the two Johns race unkowingly towards a crazy-loose scree slope

one for the sponsors, if Trek had put visible logos on the guides sweet Remedy 9…

Awesome stuff. Just finished the first part of my International Mountain Leader training and we’ve been really inspired to try running some holidays further afield (Morocco was high on the list). Going to try to get over to North Africa in the Autumn and do some exploring.

I went to morroco, but not with the bikes, and just did ther backpacking thing, and discovered it really wasnt for me… But seeeing those pics, that looks amazing. I wish i’d gone into the mountains even more now…

Wow. looks awesome. Got any more pics? 😀

The third one down in my personal fave…

Really like those action shots. Great stuff.

Poppy fields everywhere.

Me and Mr M-C on day 1!

Descending into that valley on sweet singletrack!

They have some interesting ways of crossing rivers!!

Must’ve been end of day …. can’t think why else I’d be sat down!!!

End of the week everyone survived!!

there are loads of pics, as I get the best ones I’ll do a second thread in a few weeks once I’ve got through everyone’s pics, as we’ve downloaded everyone’s camera.

If you ever thought about it do it! It’s £860 ish to Cycleactive, then have to pay flights. That is pretty much everything except beer which is cheap so only spent another £100 there between 2 of us. Awesome and well worth it! would love to go back ….

Great pics! Looks a fabulous holiday!

Nice photos.
Which area in Morocco was it?

Area … well we landed in Marrakech and then went up into the Atlas Mountains and did a very large tour. Telouet, Ait-ben-haddou, mmm can’t remember the names of the other places at the moment. But a wide variety around the mountains and staying somewhere different every night.

We were here on day 1
http://www.telouet.com/uk/index.php