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no chance I was doing that as I ' d definitely end up with something broken on day one of riding, and I really was looking forward to the rest of the trip in the dry. Sadly a stone or something in the mud decided to jam itself in my front sprocket, lifting the chain off and shunting it up in to the side casing.
Fortunately, Jack being a dab hand at sorting shit like this in his trail guide role, was on it straight away. Despite the less than optimal workshop conditions( a slight understatement) he got the issue sorted as me and Helen tried to lever out some of the thick mud around the chain and wheel. Yippee, the bike was good to go. I made the decision to call it quits for the day, as did the others... besides, Moroccan ' Tacos ' were calling. Also, the bikes would definitely be needing a proper wash.
With the sun back and trails dry, we were ready for another ride, which was much more successful. The forecast was for the more usual Moroccan winter sunshine, and we had all managed not to drink too much the previous night... a good start. Jack led the way and it was just awesome riding. One of the first real challenges was a steepish, bumpy downhill to a riverbed right down in the valley. Also having got down, we ' d then need to get up the other side.
My brain was having a bit of a moment, and couldn ' t deal with the drop over the edge of the road down the loose bank, despite multiple self-pep-talks. Everyone else got down relatively quickly, but with the brain in hesitation mode I killed the engine, put it in gear and clutched the bike down the first bit before getting back on. The rest of the trail down to the river bed was definitely a good challenge, and I part rode, part clutched the rest of the way down. It was then a short ride along the
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