Most Inspirational Moment
I'd hesitate to use "insprational", it's a bit theological. The trip was just excellent fun. Six days of serious mountain biking. Some challenging parts, some dull parts and LOTS of fun parts. Rough fast descents, tricky tight switchbacks, rocky riverbeds and a little (too much for my preference) tarmac.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Liz is outstanding, she really made the week a success. A real live-wire - as well as riding every mile with us, she went for a run some mornings too! This girl is seriously fit! She's always on the go: arranging the group, sorting out snacks and drinks, repairing mechanical failures, changing tyres and tubes. She's friendly and down to earth. Nothing fazes her, and she's always on hand with an encouraging word (or a first aid kit if necessary).And when we hit the town at the end of the week, she arranged entertainment and massages for us too. Our special "skills week" also had former Mountain Bike champion Paul Hinton along as an instructor. He's an amazing rider who got up or down everything we challenged him to. His guidance helped bring all of us along a little.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be prepared for some on road sections. Morocco is modernising rapidly, and many of the sections of track are the only access to some mountain villages. For the convenience of the locals, these are being tarmacced, and while Exodus works hard to refresh the routes where possible, sometimes it's not - so you'll do a few miles on road on this trip. But (and I am a harsh critic) not so much that it will spoil your fun. There are enough rock gardens, singletrack and off-road descents to make this a great fun week.The hire bikes are adequate, but it's worth taking your own bike to get the most out of some of this terain. Some of the fast descents are very rough and very rocky. You can do them on a hardtail - but if you want to do it fast, you'll need a full-susser.