Le Petit Dakar, as in the old times

The first edition of Le Petit Dakar ended last October 16 in Tantan in southern Morocco. Le Petit Dakar is not a competition, it's an adventure trip that crosses the Western Sahara, the real desert. Follow the tracks of the old African Paris Dakar rally who share itineraries, toughness and desire to excel. These blended ingredients have resulted in a trip that all participants can hardly forget.

Twelve bikes and riders of all Spanish geography came to this call to adventure on October 11 in Tafnidilt where he started and finished this first edition of Le Petit Dakar. At noon on Sunday 11 participants came to Tafnidilt and download bikes off the trailers, tire changes and leave them ready to start the tour the next morning. Both BMW, Judith´s and Josep´s, had crossed Spain and came rolling to the start of this adventure with over two thousand kilometers on its wheels. 

After a link on asphalt about 70 kilometers, at Mseied began the first stage of Le Petit Dakar 2015, a circular route that ended in a camp in the same Mseied. The start of the stage pointed the hardness of the itinerary with first kilometers of sand on the riverbed that took us to a difficult stony track winding among the cliffs of Djebel Ouarkziz, the natural border of the Sahara. The stage crossed from north to south fringe of Western Sahara because of the independence of Morocco, Spain ceded to him in 1958. First stop, the first CP, was located in the old Spanish military post of Amote, controlling a pass in Ouarkziz Djbel mountain, that would later be used by the Moroccan army in its war against the Polisario Front. We took advantage to refuel, lunch and repairing a crack caused by the defense in the crankcase of Judith´s BMW F800GS in a beat at low speed. Moreover vertebrae broken only three months ago, they said it´was enough and she had to move to drive a 4x4. 

The day's itinerary was still off track by a complicated area with even a trial passes that took us to the Boirat, a small town by a river, dry course. From there the organization decided to take a shorter alternative as the difficulty of the course had caused some delay but still it came at night to camp. About 30 kilometers from the camp and almost stopped, Paco who had problems with the lighting of the LC4 Adventure, falls off the bike with the bad luck that this fell on his leg causing a fracture and had to be evacuated to the hospital of Tantan where he was excellently treated and later transferred to Agadir and Spain. 

Due to some mechanical problems that could not be solved on the night before the start of the second stage was delayed. The organization then decided to alter plans for another time leaving the camp in Hausa and keeping in Mseied. About noon ended repairs, the atmosphere in the camp was awesome with all dumps in tune the damaged bikes. There was no time for much longer and stage was reduced to a tour of a rather stony path leading to the river Aouinet Asguer where participants enjoyed the spectacle of the landscape surrounding some shelters where you can see cave paintings illustrating the Sahara It was not always a desert.

Again, the organization was forced to improvise a route to the third stage of Wednesday, September 14 to compensate for the delay of the previous days. The stones were still keeping company with the participants. The first CP was established in the old Spanish fort Tarf the Gueba fairly well preserved despite its age along with other auxiliary constructions as a bread oven. Technical and twisty stage through the mountainous northern areas of Western Sahara was liked by participants. The route was littered with remnants of the history of the region as pre-Islamic burial mounds over 300 years the "berm" of the war between Morocco and the Polisario Front. A few hundred kilometers from the end of the stage in the bed of Oued Chebbi a stone thrown by the rear wheel inadvertently for one of the participants hit the oil cooler of Josep´s BMW R1200GS causing a cumbersome oil leak. The bike was towed to the camp where he finished removing the radiator and cleaned. You had to let it dry and decided to weld and assemble in the morning. The WR400 Daniel was also making war with the carburetion and electricity.

With new arrears fourth stage was reduced but also the spirit of solidarity of the group that not allowed to leave anyone behind, make all be busy helping with repairs. We drove up Akhfennir by tarmac and some decided to stay there helping with WR400 or lunch at the hotel and establishing communication with the outside world via WiFi, and the rest went to "play" the dunes of Oued Khenifis and the close sebja.

In the fifth and final stage again predominate stone of the coastal zone of the Sahara but the spaces were open and the atmosphere, awesome. Among stoned beautiful desolation participants they met one of the many rivers that have crossed, but that had water and do permanently, a sight to behold. Technical tracks and off-piste for pastureland always with an open horizon and for not to leave dissappointed the stage, it ended with a delicious stretch of sand on a river. We were only a few kilometers to get back to Tafnidilt, where we left the hotel and our cars and trailers.

Participants in this first edition of Le Petit Dakar enjoyed a real ordeal in the desert insurmountable without the camaraderie and collaboration of this group of drivers who have shared five days through the tracks of the Dakar and the story of the desert that hides many secrets. As Emilio commented, Yamaha XT660, ending the two integers it has been a challenge overcomed with satisfaction. Le Petit Dakar is a journey of discovery as the old ones, you ´ll never know if you are goingto reach the hotel at six to shower and have dinner at eight, but be sure you always will have your dinner. The real desert is so and we want adventure. Where you find food or water, eat or drink, you do not know what may come next. The organization has demonstrated its adaptability and improvisation to the problems that have arisen. This trip has left a real "biker group" willing to share many more kilometers and adventure together.

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