June 27: Delightfully Dizzy on Tizi!

I can’t decide what was more exhilarating – riding up and over a remote, narrow mountain pass with a series of challenging switchbacks, being treated to one of the most beautiful vistas I’ve ever seen, or feeling cold wind on my face for the first time in days.

Leaving my lodging this morning at Ecolodge La Palmeraie in Ouarzazate, I felt almost fully recovered from the heat exhaustion of the day before. Eating fruits high in potassium and replenishing the salt in my body after sleeping in an air-conditioned room really seemed to do the trick. The grounds themselves were also downright soothing, with a burbling pond, lush gardens, hammocks hanging from trees, and bullfrogs serenading us all evening.

Heading north on N9, I soon turned off on P1506, heading towards the Tizi -n- Tichka mountain pass through the high Atlas Mountains above the Marrakesh Plains.

From the very beginning I was treated to one spectacular view after another – camels grazing along the side of the road, donkeys laden with supplies trodding along, earthen clay buildings stacked together on slanted slopes, and layer upon layer of deep red, purple, and orange rocks as far as the eye could see. Because the route rose in elevation, I was also delighted to find that I could feel cold air blowing on my face for the first time in days.

The first half of the ride over the pass was the most challenging as the little narrow road could not usually fit the cars coming both directions, making the blind corners particularly nerve wracking. Two turns in particular required me to complete an almost 180-degree arc on a slanted section of road with no visibility in either direction. I’ve decided that I won’t need to do sit ups in my room at night to stay in shape because I’ve been clenching my stomach muscles enough!

One of the challenging yet fun aspects of riding through remote areas of Africa has been navigating my way through small villages. I’ve found that often in these places there are more people and donkeys in the street than vehicles and almost no observed traffic patterns.

Locals in colorful traditional garb stop in the middle of the street to shake hands and converse while children run around, and vendors hawk their wares. Delivery trucks are parked at all angles on the side of the road and motorcyclists stacked two or three to a bike weave their way through this cacophony of people.  

I’ve found that it’s important to be aggressive enough not to get run over but not so forceful that I run into someone. Today I braked hard to avoid hitting an elderly gentleman with a cane who abruptly stepped right in front of me, only to almost get rear-ended by a motorcycle carrying two passengers that was following right behind me.

After making it safely through the villages of Ali Benhaddou and Telouet, the road became much wider and even sported a white line down the middle. I stopped safely along the side of the road to take a victory picture, the sand from the Sahara Desert still stuck to my boots and a big grin on my face.

The rest of my ride down into Marrakesh was downright fun as the wider, well paved lanes made cornering so much easier, allowing me even more freedom to enjoy the view.