South African endurance cyclist Mike Woolnough went in search of adventure in the Atlas Mountain Race and he found plenty of it as he finished 28th overall in Morocco at the weekend.
Mike Woolnough finished 28th overall in his first Atlas Mountain Race in Morocco at the weekend. Photo: Erik Vermeulen
The 59-year-old finished the 1 150km race in five days, 10 hours and 15 minutes.
“In search of new adventure I hopped on a plane destined for Marrakesh in Morocco. My purpose, the Atlas Mountain Race,” said Woolnough. “All I knew about the race was gleaned from the single paragraph that promoted it.”
The Atlas Mountain Race is a fixed-route, unsupported, single-stage cycling race that starts in Marrakech, crosses the Moroccan Atlas Mountains before taking riders through the Anti-Atlas and on to Agadir.
The clock does not stop and there are no prizes. It follows gravel, single- and double-track and old colonial pistes that have long been forgotten and fallen into disrepair.
There is very little tarmac. There is some walking, and at times there are great distances between resupply points.
“What’s not to love about a race description that mentions mythical Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains? I knew nothing about Morocco, its language or its culture. And then there was the bike-packing aspect which I have never done before. I figured I’d take my usual kit and toss in some sleep-out stuff.
“Arriving a few days early to take in Marrakech, we had booked a Riad hotel on the fringes of the old medina. From the moment the taxi dropped us at the end of a long narrow and dingy alleyway we knew real adventure was going to start a few days earlier than expected.”
Woolnough said the stay in Marrakech was a story on its own.
“The short version is that it is a vibrant writhing crush of people intermingled with motorcycles pulsing along a myriad narrow alleys selling all manner of goods. It’s a clash of European, African and Middle Eastern cultures.”
The five South Africans – Roger Nicholson, Kyle Sole, Rob Enslin, Guy Jennings and Woolnough – together with another 183 cyclists from 25 nations headed out of Marrakech into the Atlas Mountains to tackle the 1 150km route with almost 20 000 of cumulative ascent.
The route was GPS-guided and there were three checkpoints en route where they were told accommodation and food might be available.
Apart from widely spaced checkpoints – the distance between the first and second points, for example, was 539km of mountainous terrain – each rider was responsible for sourcing their own water and food as well as finding a place to sleep.
“Sleep was mostly next to the trail in bivvy sacks or in any other commercially available or unsolicited accommodation offers from the local population.”
Woolnough said the format of the race was unsupported, which meant you may not get assistance from other riders or ride together for protracted periods with another rider unless you have registered as a team of two.
“That means you need to ensure you have all the food and water you require when you set out into remote areas. You cannot rely on other riders for assistance.”
He added that it was an arid environment with villages and towns clustered around ancient oases.
“The geography is similar to the Karoo, except that it’s overlaid on mountainous terrain. There are no windmills like we have in the Karoo as there is no ground water.
“It seems the bulk of their precipitation comes by way of snow high in the mountains. Some makes its way down the mountains as seasonal rivers at the end of winter, but most seems to percolate through the rock and reappears at oases.
“The houses are all flat-roofed with tiny windows that can be shuttered off. I guess it’s to keep the oppressive heat of summer at bay.
“The sleeping arrangements for most people was to bivouac down next to the trail. At around 10pm each night I’d start riding past riders ensconced in bivvies.”
He said he rode through the first night and planned to sleep for the first time just past the town of Afra, which was 378km into the race.
“I found a shop in the town of Afra and stocked up on water and snacks. As I was leaving, the owner declared that I was going to be his guest for dinner. He hopped on his scooter and I tagged along, following through the maze of streets.
“Instead of a few hours’ sleep I got to spend a few hours interacting with him and his family. We shared a meal and chatted for hours before a makeshift bed was assembled where I was able to grab 45 minutes of sleep. A few hours later I set up my bivvy and topped up with another hour of sleep.
“There followed a few more days of riding across arid countryside interspersed with the occasional village where, if you arrived in daylight, you were able to get water and food. The choice for food wasn’t huge but omelettes and nous-nous (half coffee, half milk) coffee was my default request. It wasn’t always available, so Coke and wafer biscuits were my fall-back option.”
Woolnough said his only mechanical problem was due to poor rim tape which had perforated.
“It was self-induced through improper pre-race preparation. I was able to pop the tyre off and redo the tape before inflating the tyre with my hand pump.
“This was done while at the top of a spectacular climb with views that went on forever. Not the worst place to repair a bike.”
He said the highlights of the race for him were the interactions with the local population.
“I’ve already mentioned the home stay in Afra. There was a second incident on the last day that stood out. Around midday I was tired and battling to stay awake.
“The race notes indicated that resupply might be possible close to where I was. I saw some children accompanied by a man coming out of a building. I stopped to ask if there was a cafe nearby. He responded by inviting me in, where I got to share his lunch with him and his colleague.
“The meal that is most typically Moroccan is a tajine which I would describe as a chucky stew. These two men teach Arabic and French to the local children. As part payment for their lessons they bring water with them each time, which gets emptied into a bucket. They explained that there is no water where they live.
“To round off my meal they made me Moroccan tea and gave me some fruit. The generosity of these people is humbling.
“They were able to converse in English and we discussed subjects as diverse as the USA under Trump to the tensions in the Middle East. We even touched on the role of language in education and how often preconceptions of other people and cultures are inaccurate.”
