A roller coaster of a ride – in a sidecar

On a wind-in-her-hair trip out of Marrakech, Lizzie Frainier experiences the true grit of the Atlas Mountains

I’m a wimp when it comes to roller coasters. I simply cannot get on board with the idea that tearing along a narrow track at breakneck speed is fun. I’ve tried, and I’ve cried. Not to be repeated. It was amusing to me then, when a friend described our journey through the Atlas Mountains as akin to riding a roller coaster. In a way, she was right. We had set out from Marrakech that morning, a convoy of three vintage Ural motorcycles with attached sidecars, winding like a seemingly interconnected train as we chugged up steep inclines, swung around voluptuous mountainside curves and shot down bumpy dirt paths. At last, a thrilling ride I could get on board with.

Each bike was driven by a knowledgeable guide from Insiders Marrakech, with one guest riding pillion and another in the sidecar.

The point being that if I was entrusted with exploring on my own, not only would I inevitably get lost, but I’d shoot past secret spots without ever knowing better. Our itinerary had been designed with the help of Royal Mansour, the luxury Marrakech hotel in which we were staying, to include authentic experiences that remained respectful of the communities we would visit.

We rode out of Marrakech just after dawn to the honking of horns and the whirring of engines; the already crowded streets were a blur of colours, but soon we were out on the long road to the mountains with empty expanses of arid land either side, bar occasional flat-roofed buildings and shops selling stacks of terracotta pots.

My guide, Safoine, kept the speed at a good pace, meaning the thrill factor was definitely there, but I never felt unsafe. A big fan of Wallace and Gromit, I had opted to ride in the sidecar, Gromit-style. The added

Thomas shared so many stories about Moroccan culture and traditions, and drove us through the desert to end up in an amazing landscape