Biking in Marakech

We had booked a guided ride in Morocco with a company that had a great reputation and lots of cool rides to choose from. Knowing this was something the boys (and dad) would be very fired up about, we booked it for our first full day thinking that if it worked well we might book a second excursion. Our guide had a little trouble finding us in the morning so we got a slightly late start but were then driven up into the mountains and assembled our bikes. Our ride was to be mostly downhill and cascade through small villages and winding roads, ending with a traditional Moroccan lunch. The weather was a little chilly high up in the hills, but the sky was blue and everyone was fired up to be on bikes again. Riding with mountainous terrain all around was an amazing visual experience that at times required concentration when our speeds elevated due to hills. We rode near (from above) a resort that is owned by Sir Richard Branson, who our guide had ridden with in the past. Our lunch stop was by a stream where locals were going about their daily life with camels and in the distance were the snow-capped Atlas mountains - it was a beautiful view while we enjoyed some tagine, a traditional Moroccan dish cooked in clay pots. After lunch we stopped at and Argan co-op where we learned how this nut is used to produce oils that support the local community. All in all it was great day for everyone.

Biking near typical mud/adobe village

Our oldest absolutely thrilled to be on a road bike today

Family biking in the mountains outside Marrakesh overlooking Atlas Mountains

Sir Richard Branson's resort in the mountains

SJ's chariot

Beautiful view of Atlas mountains

SJ at our lunch stop in front of a creek with camels and the Atlas mountains in the background

Many tagine pots cooking feasts

Moroccan tagine - SO good!

Grinding the argan nut into oil used for beauty products and edible oil

There's no stopping these crazy boys as mom holds her breath watching them go

Our guide was impressed with the boys riding ability and invited us to participate in their team training ride the next day. This would involve getting road bikes for all the kids, which was a really big deal because they had not ridden them before and had been dying to do so. All the rentals we have done to date have not inventoried road bikes small enough for our two youngest boys to ride, causing some brotherly issues along they way. They offered us a deal to participate and pushed us, noting that the team would love it.

The plan to ride 40KM, have a snack and return home. Dad thought he understood the idea to be that we would ride the 40KM and then be driven back, because we had some afternoon plans that we wanted to accomplish, but once we arrived at our destination, very sore and tired, we learned that we had to ride back too. The first half was almost all up hill and it took everything we had to finish. We rolled into the resting point much later than the rest of the team, who were all very congratulatory to our efforts. At this point it was quite confusing what was happening next as Mom was waiting for us back in the city and cell signals were spotty at best. The boys feared that the whole day would be scrapped by the time we labored ourselves back home. Thankfully the ride home was much faster being mostly down hill and though we were about two hours later than we hoped we still had time to connect and get our plans accomplished.

The biking experience was an amazing growth opportunity for the boys. The kids got experience the difference between riding in a peloton vs riding out alone. There was quite a bit of wind that day, so the distinction could really be felt. This lead for some great conversation about life and walking with a community of believers who support us vs trying to do everything ourselves full of pride. We also got a lot of "pushes" from the other team members. They took care of us and when we would fall behind (which was often) they would come back, pick us up, and push us along. For most of the ride Dad just kept hoping that one of the boys would quit and hop in the chase van (which some of the younger team riders did do) so that he would have an excuse to do the same. But to his dismay, they all refused. They rode the whole time and Dad was not going to be the first to quite, so he kept peddling. It was 81KM when all finished and we experienced the euphoric "runners high" to an extent. Dad was so proud of the boys and their tenacity to finish. The day provided some great life-long memories and lessons that will never be forgotten, not to mention soreness for about a week.