{"id":2840,"date":"2024-05-19T11:19:39","date_gmt":"2024-05-19T11:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madbikerides.com\/?p=2840"},"modified":"2024-05-19T11:21:02","modified_gmt":"2024-05-19T11:21:02","slug":"29-beni-mellal-to-el-kelaa-des-sraghana-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madbikerides.com\/?p=2840","title":{"rendered":"29. Beni Mellal to El Kelaa des Sraghana and beyond!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A distance record-breaking day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had spent a good wee while studying the map last night. El Kelaa was the supposed destination\u2026but it looked like an accommodation desert (to say nothing of a beer desert!). Three hotels showed up on Google maps\u2026.but the reviews were from bad\u2026to truly disgusting! (\u2026but are reviews correct?). A downside of the absence of tourists certainly!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had the idea at the same time: if we got up really early\u2026..we might just make it the 197km to Marrakech in a day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So\u2026.we decided to give it a go\u2026to be reviewed when we arrived at El Kelaa\u2026.so we were on the road shortly after 6.30am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A dead straight\u2026.very tedious\u2026dead flat\u2026.road to nowhere\u2026it felt! And after just 25km\u2026I was not sure I could handle another 70km of this\u2026let alone another 170km!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And then the wind got up. On the nose! Like cycling uphill for hours and hours\u2026.with no downhill relief!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our breakfast cafe was closed\u2026..but we found a shop instead! So no coffee until El Kelaa at the 112km mark\u2026.surely a record!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we gave it a shot\u2026in 25km, 24km, 22km, 21km, 20km stints to arrive at El Kalaa shortly after midday!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The landscape had changed radically after about 70km\u2026..and we really felt like we had found the desert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But the wind persisted. Faces reddened. Legs tired. (\u2026but – note – we were still wearing jackets until the 90km mark!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And by the time we pulled into El Kelaa\u2026I really was not sure I could manage the balance 85km or so!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recharged though\u2026.and Iain eventually found us some food. (Again we were sitting in the middle of 6 restaurants. All busy with tea and coffee drinkers. But no food in sight!! A bit weird really!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026no\u2026I was done in! The wind had got the better of me. (\u2026unusually! Haha!). Yesterday we had cycled further\u2026but half of that was downhill!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we decided to bite the bullet and go and check in to the town\u2019s finest hotel. Thankfully\u2026I checked it out first!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It really was the grimmest accommodation I have ever seen. Cell-like, metal door, saggy single bed, windowless, dirty, dark rooms. With grimy shared toilets and showers. Not one power point to charge anything. About 5 Euros a room. Which was about 100Euros too much\u2026for me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The knackered body suddenly found some hidden energy! We had to move on!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A frantic search of Booking\u2026.found a remote B&B about 45kms away. We booked it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12 times the price! Double what we have been paying everywhere else! So we had high expectations!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a tough 45kms! 45 more than the body could comfortably cope with\u2026Exhausted. Thirsty.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2026but we made it! Exhausted. Thirsty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water? \u201cDo you perchance have a cold beer?\u201d\u2026.& our hopes – that expensive tourist places do serve beer – were dashed. Our first beer-less evening for yonks!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No internet either. No aircon. No hot water. And the old adage that the most expensive options are invariably the worst\u2026seemed to be true once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the rooms were lovely! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And I would have paid a fortune to avoid a night in the El Kelaa hotel!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then dinner! What a feast! A tureen of lentil soup, potatoes, salads\u2026l<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And this was just for starters!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To be joined by an enormous Tagine. Could have fed eight\u2026easily! \u201cCould have fed an African village\u201d\u2026haha\u2026.we were in one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And hidden inside the lattice bottle\u2026was not the oil we were expecting\u2026but a bottle of Coke!! We so nearly missed it! Not beer! But a nice touch!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was all so good\u2026\u2026except the inevitable guilt of leaving most of the food uneaten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mint tea to finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not such a bad place after all!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A huge day though\u2026..and tired bodies & sore bottoms & very full bellies were tucked up in bed long before 9.30!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A distance record-breaking day! We had spent a good wee while studying the map last night. El Kelaa was the supposed destination\u2026but it looked like an accommodation desert (to say…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collioure-to-marrakech-2024"],"yoast_head":"\n29. 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