Atlas Mountain Race 2024 | Pushing Beyond My Limits 

Lots of memories. One of the reason I made a film was to be able to remember it. When you're very tired you tend to forget things.... Thank you

Haha yes, that's what I've liked about the other videos and photos. I have now seen what the beaches looked like 😂 how did you find the event? Thanks for watching 😊

Thank you, it was hard but rewarding. The cycling was one of the easier bits of the whole thing, it was everything else that went with it. I'm hoping to do the Dales Divide in a few weeks time.

Thank you for watching it and cheering my dot on the way round!

O man that is a shame, did you manage to get home okay or did you have to stay there a while? He loved his solar panel, it was quite cool how well it charged his phone etc.

Glad to hear you're recovering David. I was following your dot, and saw you'd had to scratch.

Congrats to you both. And thanks for sharing your journey Tom, it wets my appetite. 😅

Thank you, I'm sure you'd love it!

Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for taking the time to watch me complain my way through Morocco!

Thank you, it was an epic adventure. Legs are getting there but the hunger levels remain high 🤣

Thank you for watching it and for taking time to comment.

Thanks for the kind works 😊

Thank you, it was certainly tough. But the more I look back the less I remember about the hard bits. Which is dangerous 🤣 have you done it?

Thank you for watching the video, it was a proper adventure into the unknow!

Thank you, that made me and (mainly) my wife laugh when you shouted. Seems a while ago now, I was preparing for this event. Things are very wet in the forest at the mo, have you been getting out?

Are you going to do a follow up vid reflecting on the trip? I’ve just been commuting in the rain at the moment. Using the Castleman when it’s been dry enough. Going to start some longer distance bits ready for my first Chase the Sun later in the year. Great effort again! Chapeau

Hopefully have a follow up later this week! Getting fed up with the rain and general greyness now 🫣

Thank you, I like that!

Thank you, yeah the last section was ridiculous. Never has 40km felt so long 😂

Cheers! Those last 40 odd km felt like they took about a day on their own...

Thank you, a tad more sketchy than the New Forest - but a lot (by a long way) drier!

Cheers Ryan, maybe another ride in the Forest somewhen?

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it, makes the work to make it worthwhile!

The hike-a-bike was a weird combo. At first it was a nice change to be off the bike then it was very hot with no breeze 🥵 Pepper spray may have been good, but I've seen people have had success with whistles and alarms that just irritate and don't hurt the dogs. I'd probably chose the wrong frequency and make them even more enraged 🤣 Thanks for doing the Dot Watching. You've a pretty inspirational story, I've listed to you on the Successful Athletes Podcast.

Cheers Chris, it was a great (I think I've mentally recovered enough to say that) event - maybe one for you?

Thank you for taking the time to watch it. I hope it provided some entertainment to David and yourself x

Thank you Forest Velo. Hopefully you'll get out on an overnighter at some point 😉

I bet there's more dog chases giving Tom nightmares that never made it to camera.

Thank you very much. 20 miles is 20 miles, as long as you enjoy it! I really hadn't thought about dogs but if/when I do another event further afield I'll be doing some extra research beforehand 🐕

Thank you, have you done it? I have not done it before so can only compare to the other events and races I've done and it was by far the hardest!

Thank you for the kind words. It was a very tough event, but the scenery and the night skies were incredible. The more time that passes since the finish, the less I'm remembering the hard bits 😂 are you interested in trying the Atlas Mountain Race?

Hi - I think you did incredibly well, though for me the endurance/stamina aspect would be a bit too much I think. I have a cycling video of bikepacking across the Atlas if you’re interested - very hot even for early March. Like you I found the experience a bit of a culture shock at first until I settled into the ride. All the best..👍😊

@@solway17carlisle I will have to watch - there was so much to take in that a more relaxed bikepacking trip may have been more enjoyable. Would have been nice to not have to rush through some of the really beautiful sections and pass through many in the darkness of night.

Thank mate! A few more and maybe I'll reach level 19 🏅

Thanks David, you'll have to tell me more about those tours in a few weeks!

Thank you, Jade. Yes, lots of dogs and not the cute little spaniel kind... I think my recovery is nearly there, tiredness is subsiding and legs coming back! Maybe there is an Atlas Mountain run event for you...

😂 thanks, maybe I need to do a race near the sea to get that experience. To be honest I thought I was hallucinating when I first saw it...

Thank you, I'd agree that it was very hard! I think you had some colder weather? We got quite lucky at night as it didn't get super cold - perhaps 0 on the first day and then 3/4 degrees other days.

@@CycleXplorer did you manage to ride the sandy desert section? It was just too soft and took me well over 2 hours walking.

​@@RichardGate-UKI don't know how anyone can ride sand - looks exhausting

@@BikepackingAdventures I think this year there was damp and a 4WD had left compacted tracks.

Yes I managed to ride it, I let a lot of air out my tyres. There were still some patches where it was proper soft. Maybe the rain before did help, albeit I was there about 5 days later. It was a bit like riding in the new forest in the summer, so maybe I have some unknown skills 😂

Thank you, a few stats: 80th Place 6d 7h 49m 15s Elapsed Time 87 hours 53 mins moving time (albeit the Garmin was pausing whilst hiking and manoeuvring the bike over rocks) 1,354km (maybe a few more with the Garmin pauses) 2 Tagines 2 tubs of chocolate spread Unknown quantity of biscuits consumed....

Thank you and thanks for the idea. I've started to do a video about what went well etc and it does include a bit on my kit. I could have got away with less, oh the power of hindsight. There were quite a few places that even without any kit riding would have been very challenging or slow. The hiking does break things slightly and provides a change for the body and mind. Hopefully have the video up next week

Just one of many moans

@@CycleXplorer high quality and understandable moaning

Thank you for your kind words. I'm not sure I was totally calm when the dogs appeared when I was getting into my sleeping bag. There were points that really tested me so I was pleased to get to the end. I finished in 80th position. If I did it again I feel I could save a lot just through what I learnt. I'm thinking about doing some sort of video about what went well, what I learnt etc.

Thanks, I'll look forward to Pete and yourself doing it as a pair in 2025

Thank you for the comment. No I didn't really anticipate what the food situation would really be like. I eat quite a lot of eggs anyway so the omelettes were fine. I also took some of the sports nutrition that I normally use and some dehydrated porridges, providing me with some fuel but not nearly enough. There is a racer called Gail Brown, she's written some blogs. She takes Tupperware and orders 2 meals and saves one for later. She did this on her Atlas Mountain Race last year. Maybe should have paid more attention 😂 With these long races I find you just eat anything you fancy and a lot of rubbish. So long as it's going down and fuelling I don't think it matters. If I was somewhere more developed, say in France, it'd be much easier to get proper meals. Albeit on the Pan Celtic it was quite a struggle in Brittany. When you could get food tho it was a lot better eg pizzas, good bakeries, McDonalds!

Thank you.

Haha thanks Tim. Yes no trusting them. Got back on the biscuits this week so it didn't put me off too long!

Thank you, that was sort of my idea, tell it from the perspective of a more 'average' rider. I finished in 80th place in 6 days 8 hours. If I did it again I think I could perhaps knock off a day by knowing the course, Morocco in general, better kit choices and less faff. I saw people every day, less so towards the end. But I often bumped into people at cafes or shops. You sort of end up seeing the same people, sometimes ahead sometimes behind. I rode with people here and there but it's hard to ride at the same pace. In the remote section I rode with someone for a good few hours but he carried on when I went to bed. Sadly he didn't finish but I saw him at the end at the hotel and we had a good chat which was nice. It's so interesting hearing people's stories as everyone saw or experienced something different. I've enjoyed some of the videos where I was riding at night and not seeing the scenery.

@@CycleXplorer what bivy/tent did you use? im to doing this in 2025 and im not sure what small/portable bivy tent i should get, so that i dont have dogs on my face during the night. im thinking of the Outdoor Research Helium bivy bag

@@NabilRobiati hi. It was the helium bivy that I used. I used it with a thermarest and an alpkit sleeping bag. In general I slept with the end of it open as it was dry. One or 2 nights I slept on top of it as it was lovely and warm! I'd probably take the same again. I did see one person asleep on the floor in just a down jacket and it didn't look too much fun. If you have any other questions as you begin your prep I'm happy to help.

@@CycleXplorer thank you so much that would be awesome I have lots of questions even after all the videos I watched. Did you have 2 gps systems? How do you find food in the towns if you arrive at night are there places open? What about the dogs ? Every video I watch people complaining about dogs should I take a dog repellent ? Also, is there cell reception on most of the route ? Did you buy a local sim?

@@NabilRobiati hi. I used one gps (Garmin 530) and had to recharge it a few times. Most places were closed late at night, but not sure what time they closed or open. I'd try and make sure you have enough stuff to see you through the night/to the next resupply point. Maybe I got a bit unlucky with dogs, but if I did it again I'd read up more on how to handle an encounter - perhaps getting off my bike and shouting at it as opposed to cycling off at full speed! Some sort of dog repelling device may make you feel more comfortable but I wouldn't want to use anything that hurt the dogs. There was good cell reception, a few places where there was none but in general good coverage. I brought a SIM card at the airport when I arrived, I think that's the best way to do it and they set it up for you. Think I brought a €20 one with a load of data on it.

Thanks for watching and the questions, I have a follow-up video later this week that may answer some of them. However: 1) The lens worked really well and I'd use them again. It may have been better if the tint in the day was slightly darker for the bright sun but it saved changing lenses or glasses. 2) I used 2.25 Mezcals - I may have been slightly better with a slightly wider rear but I wasn't ever that uncomfortable. 3) People have done it on a gravel bike, I'd still prefer some suspension but you may be fine with some big tyres. It's probably personal preference albeit most people were on MTBs. I think the people that returned went from gravel bikes to hard tails to full sus over the years. 4) The route has evolved a bit over time, it was made slightly longer last year for a better finish location and this year it was the same with a couple of tweaks and weather diversions. But who knows, Nelson could decide to change it next time. 5) I used a powerbank - that will be in my video ;-) 6) This was probably my big event of the year due to costs and annual leave etc. But I have a number of UK based ones coming up over the summer albeit ranging between 500 and 1000km. Just need some of that Moroccan sunshine... What are your plans for the year?

@CycleXplorer thanks for the great reply! I appreciate the effort. OK, I'll look out for your follow up video :) I'm off to ride Tour Divide from Banff in June, but thinking about AMR next year?? I have a Ti hardtail with rigid carbon fork (Sonder) so I'm hoping that will do the trick in Morocco. I run Mezcal 2.35 or 2.6 depending on location and powerbanks rather than dynamo. Exposure lights as well. Cheers, Steve (New Zealand)

@@stephenhammond3656 Tour Divide, wow! I expect the atlas will be a quick trip compared to that! For reference the guy who won AMR was on a FS and did the Divide on a HT.

Hi. Thank you, glad you liked it. I filmed it using my GoPro Hero 10 Black and a Pro Standard mount. I also took a couple of shots/clips on my iPhone.

😂 if I were to give a general description it would be a dust biscuit. The common one was a poor quality Oreo knockoff. They all tasted pretty much the same, although maybe that's just because I had so many...

@@CycleXplorer "dust biscuit" 😃

Whoops just seen one of your other videos, how you train 😊

Hi, I didn't do any huge rides, before the race. One of my longest was a 100 mile mtb ride on the road: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fqaKl1MOblg.htmlsi=KLcfvGbdtRGQP2oz I work full-time and the UK winter (for me) doesn't lend itself to spending hours upon hours riding outside. I would much rather have 12 consistent weeks of training than a massive ride followed by the need for an extended period of recovery. Due to the work aspect I have to utilise the turbo trainer and intensity to build my fitness and supplement that with some longer rides at weekends/days off. In a way the AMR has been a bit of a winter training camp for the next events I am hoping to do! I did do a video on one of my longer weeks of winter training, which was circa 16 hours including some time in the gym: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fqaKl1MOblg.htmlsi=KLcfvGbdtRGQP2oz With these types of races there is much more to it than just riding, there is a lot of strategy involved such as knowing what to take, how to eat, when and how much to sleep etc. Most of that comes via experience and practice, I have been building this over the last few years and still learning as I go. But having a good level of fitness gives you one less thing to worry about.

Thank you. You can get the route from Komoot via the AMR website: www.atlasmountainrace.com Are you thinking of doing it?

This is something I don't really want to add up.... Probably quite a lot!

Sorry about the views of my face Ronny. They were nice buildings, maybe Google Streetview?

@@CycleXplorer have been the first time in Morocco 1997 and from then on another 8x , know the place. ;)

@@RonnyChopper-oz5jl nice, I really want to go back for a non-cycle (or less cycling) holiday type experience. Saw a lot but it was all a bit of a delirious blur!