Quezzane

We are on the road again after a long rest.  The road is hilly with regular climbs.  Road follow a various valleys and it feels good to be back on the bike.  Calf and foot are good, but I am still peddling with my heel.  I am trying to avoid an additional rupture of the muscle.  Trying to stretch and work the calf and achilles muscle and tendons without more damage.  Atrophy of the muscle can be as bad as the tear.  On the road we are not prepared for lunch as we find places saying they are restaurants but not serving food.  After a half dozen places along the road we find a place offering us omelets.   Then a bit more riding and we are in Quazzane.  All we have is the address of the hotel we want and the GPS is not any help as it shows only six street of the city.  But the hotel has put up signs that we follow across town to the alley it is on.  Dinner is another challenge talking a restaurant into making us Vegi Tangin.  It is the best we have had so far and the cheapest.  Just need to wash the right hand before eating. 

Quezzane

8/23/12

70 Kilometers, 4:48 Moving Time, Max Speed 55.6 k, Moving Average 14.6 k, 

 Stop Time 3:25 Overall Average Speed 8.5 k,   Start 11:00 end 20:00 Accent 667 meters.

Sunny and hot

Love & Kisses

Steve

No not the Hair

I went for a hair cut today.  Sorry Heather but I could not wait till I got back.  Communication was limited with the barber so I got mostly what I wanted, but the back might be starting a Mullet.  With two mirrors and a Leatherman tool I think I can fix it.  Then I took a bike ride to scout another possible route out of the mountain town.  In the afternoon I packed a bit and explored the town some more.  Foot and calf are doing well till evening when the ankle ended up swollen.  Still feeling good that the leg is healing as when I got to town I could only go for very short walks limping.  I still have a slight limp as the foot still does not have full range of motion, but the leg can go a good ways up and down the many stairs and steep paths of town.

Chefchaouen

8/22/12

10 Kilometers, 0:55 Moving Time, Max Speed 31.4 k, Moving Average 11.4 k, 

 Stop Time 0:48 Overall Average Speed 5.1 k,   Start 11:00 end 13:00 Accent 158 meters.

Sunny and hot

Love & Kisses

Steve

Finding that right view

I went out postcard hunting.  It is hard trying to find the right postcard for those who requested one.  There is still time to get on the list.  I wander much of the town.  Now I just need start getting them fill with crazy thoughts and posted before the next country.  Yes the leg is doing better.

Chefchaouen

8/21/12

No Riding or Pics

Sunny

Love & Kisses

Steve

Ramadan is over and time to celibrate

Ramadan is over and food is once again to be consumed in public during daylight hours.  A walk in the morning I see a young boy entering homes yelling with backup of a man with a drum.  People appear and are happy to see them and then watch them enter their neighbor’s home for another round of yelling and drumming.  The time may have change again so may be on London time.

Chefchaouen

8/20/12

No Pics or Riding

Sunny

Love & Kisses

Steve

 

Chefchaouen riding

Saw a rat outside the hotel that looked like the rat from Ratatouille.  The cat laying four feet away did not care about the critter.  We went for a bike ride today to keep in shape and scout the hills ahead.  The roads in these hills go up quite quickly and avoiding a hill climb with load bikes is nice at times.  Leg is getting better, but the foot is bruised from all the blood that drained into it.

Chefchaouen

8/19/12

8.19 Kilometers, 0:58 Moving Time, Max Speed 40.8 k, Moving Average 8.4 k, 

 Stop Time 21:42 Overall Average Speed 6.1 k,   Start 15:00 end 16:00 Accent 156 meters.

Sunny and hot

Love & Kisses

Steve

So where are the dogs

I was told by Cindy that my iPod clock was wrong this morning.  I checked and found that all our other clocks were on European time.  Morocco time is two hours earlier.  Almost a week in Morocco and just figuring out that our clocks are off.  Cindy said a while back we should not worry about time and I guess we were not worried.  Chefchaouen is vertical with steep paths or stairs running up through town.  My foot is stuck at 90 degree and is not happy about going further.  So it is short trips for food and more bed rest.  I want to be climbing that hill behind town.

Chefchaouen

8/18/12

No riding

Sunny and hot

Love & Kisses

Steve

Into the RifInto the Rif

Leg is felling a little better and I need to move.  So we head up into the Rif hoping the mountain air will be cooler.  The road is hilly and upwards.  It is slow going and very hot.  Along the way I only get three offers for kif or hashish.  Coming to the road up to Chefchaouen and I am nearly out of the 6 liters of water I carry.  The road goes up and up.  So it is low gear for the last 5k up to Chefchaouen.  Then it is into the narrow Medina alleyway to find the hotel.  The first hotel we are looking for has a room and only 3 easy steps up to push the loaded bikes into the room.  I get another offer for kif from the shop next to the hotel selling cold water.  Chefchaouen is a tourist town and food is easy to find just all the restaurants have the same menu.  After drinking 8 liters during the day I find only a little bit does not go out the pores.  I need more water in me. 

Chefchaouen

8/17/12

63.9 Kilometers, 5:07 Moving Time, Max Speed 65.3 k, Moving Average 12.5 k, 

 Stop Time 3:51 Overall Average Speed 7.1 k,   Start 12:00 end 21:00 Accent 867 meters.

Sunny and hot

Love & Kisses

Steve

Rest and recovery

Cindy goes out and finds breakfast while I keep my leg up.  I do not like being immobile.  I spend the day in bed hoping the swelling will go down and working on the blog.  In the afternoon I go down to the internet café and upload stuff to my blog.  In the evening go out for dinner just after sunset.  Restaurants are closed for Ramadan so it takes few evenings to find a good place for dinner.  We here church bells quite clearly from our hotel room from the church next door.  It is strange not to hear the call to prayer from our hotel room Islamic country.  It is a nice church and even go in one evening when we see the doors open.  Just the clock on the church seems to be off as I lie in bed and count the bell tolls.  

Tetouan

 (No Pics)

8/14-16/12

No riding and I miss it.

Love & Kisses

Steve

Tetouan

Woke up late and just remember that I might not have sent in my health insurance payment.  Leg feels like crap and is swollen.  A call to the insurance company get me no where as they are closed till morning their time.  So it is time to ride on.  Miss the turn and end up climbing over a large hill to leave town.  The border crossing is relatively easy.  The road is wide and there is bike lane.  It is Ramadan so eating and drink are not done during daylight hours.  People traveling over 14 k are aloud to eat and drink, but it is best not to do it to publicly.  Leaving the coast to Tetouan we find the road narrows and the no bike lane.  In Tetouan the roads are barricaded in places as the king is in town.  Takes a bit of work to push the bikes through the crowd and find the hotel only three blocks from the palace.  We just need to haul the bikes up three floors to the room.  I then off to an internet cafe.  I find I did not send in my check to the health insurance company, but it is easy to correct.  I feel better knowing if I need to see a doctor I am covered.  Also Googled calf tears and am not encouraged by what I read on recovery time and re injury.  Currently I am not wanting to know what a doctor would recommend as that would stop the trip for a while.  Leg has ballooned up so I go to the hotel an elevate the leg. 

Tetouan

8/13/12

49.5 Kilometers, 3::42 Moving Time, Max Speed 37.3 k, Moving Average 13.3 k, 

 Stop Time 5:45 Overall Average Speed 5.2 k,   Start 13:30 end 19:00 Accent 445 meters.

Sunny

Love & Kisses

Steve

Africa

Morocco

Straits of Gibraltar

Gibraltar - The Rock

Walking on sand and biking yesterday did not help the leg.  Swelling moved to the ankle as the fluid settled and the calf has swollen back up.  Arch on the foot is black and blue from the blood settling. Were going to move a little further down the coast but decided why not just go to Africa,  I am still just using the heal to ride with.  As long as I keep the leg moving I am find it is starting and stopping that caused the leg to stiffen up and need to restretch the leg again.  As it is Sunday there is nothing really open so no last minute shopping.  It is interesting at the ferry ticket area as there are a number of different ticket offices selling tickets on the same ferry.  We are taking the first ferry to Ceuta.  We get there with the urge to find a room so we can call it a day.  First choice did not answer there door so we end up at choice number two paying a bit more. 

Ceuta

8/12/12

40.3 Kilometers, 2:43 Moving Time, Max Speed 57.2 k, Moving Average 14.8 k, 

 Stop Time 1:52 Overall Average Speed 8:7 k,   Start 12:30 end 19:00 Accent 466 meters.

Sunny

Love & Kisses

Steve

Rest day means rest

So we are taking a rest day,.  Leg is feeling better so I ride 20 k to town.  Tried a socks but they just put more pressure on the ankle and feet.  After the ride I was done with wearing socks for a while. Back in camp I find it very hot so we take a walk down to the beach.  Life is not that bad with European one piece bikinis.  I would have set up a volley ball net for them.

Playa de Valdevequeros

8/11/12

20.3 Kilometers, 1:04 Moving Time, Max Speed 30.4 k, Moving Average 18.9 k, 

 Stop Time 1:19 Overall Average Speed 8:4 k,   Start 12:30 end 14:30 Accent 34 meters.

Sunny and hot

Love & Kisses

Steve

Playa de Valdevequeros

Calf muscle is still large, but I can stand straight up.  Going past 90 degrees is still not happening.  So I limp on. We are going for a shorter day of riding.  Some had said we should turn inland here.  I heard another say we could ride through.  A quick check of the GPS shows a route along the coast.  One 2k section turned out to be a rough dirt road up a ridge.  With loose dirt and rock there is a lot of pushing to get the bikes up the road.  Leg is not happy.  Then 10 k more and we find a campground that has shade and a little space. 

Playa de Valdevequeros

8/10/12

25.2 Kilometers, 2:38 Moving Time, Max Speed 57.2 k, Moving Average 9.5 k, 

 Stop Time 5:21, Overall Average Speed 3.1 k,   Start 12:30 end 19:30 Accent 398 meters.

Sunny and hot

Love & Kisses

Steve