It has been raining in the night and the dust on the bikes has been spatter patterned by the rain. We have 360km to cover today, part of an 800km ride to Batna, with wind and rain forecast, the latter infrequent in this part of the world. The temperature has dropped by some 15 degrees Celsius making for a cool start.

We ride up the hill southwards with our last look back at the “Pentapolis” as the five cities are called. Past the first police checkpoint, the red and white barriers you saw on the dual highway in the last video are actually bolted into the road! The wind has whipped the sand across the highway in places and we see our first “sand plow”. Looks just like a snowplow. This and other front loaders have the job of removing dunes off the highway where they moved to the road in the overnight storm. Until now we had only seen the rocky side of the Sahara, now we are seeing the more “traditional” view of the landscape. I should note that if anyone reading this blog is expecting those amazing photos of motorcyclists crossing huge dunes and rocky outcrops you are reading the wrong blog. The 2slowspeeds are tarmac bunnies, venturing onto hard dirt from time to time but happy to leave the tough stuff to those better suited to that pursuit.

Littering! This is a topic that we have been wrestling with since our first day in Algeria. It is everywhere, sides of the roads, in towns, over hillsides and even out in the Sahara. We were initially overwhelmed by the sheer volume; plastic bags, bottles, cans, garbage bags everywhere. It impacts the visual landscape in such a manner that one cannot ignore it. At Tipaza the small beach was littered with waste, with more just floating in the water, washed in from elsewhere.

Why? That is what we asked ourselves but wanted more information before we made comment. Domestic waste volumes have grown significantly over the last twenty years and apparently waste processing has not kept up. Rubbish bins appear to be non-existent and if the people have no way to dispose of rubbish the inevitable happens and it becomes the norm to just throw it away, which is what has happened here. We have asked some of the people we have met their views which range from a shrug of the shoulders to discussions around people feeling entitled.

What to do? I will leave that to those wiser and more knowledgeable than myself. We see anti littering roadside signs, some young people collecting rubbish, some cleaner areas including the new town of Tafilelt where you get fined if you litter. The green shoots are there, they just need nurturing.

The traffic dance we described in a previous blog has, in our minds become a little clearer. We are starting to understand the steps and hopefully fit in better with the local drivers. In some ways I think the driving patterns here show similarities to how I envision driverless vehicles will operate. Not so much inflexible the traffic rules and signs we have today, but a real time adaption to circumstance. Those developing self driving vehicle software could look here and in Vietnam to see how drivers effectively work together to keep traffic moving more efficiently.

As a footnote however all the damaged armco barriers on the main roads and a car yard full of rolled vehicles means that country driving should not be used as a self driving model.

We may have mentioned road humps in towns and villages previously, but when you get back to back towns and villages on a road, you get literally dozens and dozens of the humps. Is this where suspension manufacturers come for field testing? Seems like you are endlessly changing gear and although it does enable us to get past trucks and cars with ease, a few less would be appreciated. We now check roads for the number of towns and villages before making a route decision.

I have been very impressed by the electricity transmission and distribution network. Wherever we go multiple power-lines stride alongside the roads connected large gas fired generation with impressive substations. There seems to be a high level of redundancy. We have seen little evidence of commercial solar or wind power, the latter would probably suffer from damage caused by the fine Sahara sand. Roof top solar has not really been in-evidence either.

With the forecast wet weather we had decided the longer route via Ouargla with more traffic if we had a problem. At our lunch stop outside Ouargla a police patrol wishes to photograph us next to their vehicle. We cannot photograph them, but we seem to have a good relationship with the police. They even waved at the next checkpoint where we were stopped for some 25 minutes while our documents were checked, probably with a cup of coffee by the officer involved.

We did get the forecast rain. The hotel manager in Touggourt tells us that it normally only rains once or twice a year. We got the 3rd day.

Touggourt overnight and possibly someone checking out our bikes for nefarious purposes. We find evidence, probably from a cat burglar, so we will need to remain vigilant.

We decide to head north via El Oued and our decision is justified by beautiful sand dunes and palms grouped like oases. Some challenges today after yesterday’s heavy wind and rain with either vast puddles of water or sand across the road. At one point we just rode straight through unlike the locals. Further down the road, men are using a submersible pump to drain the “puddle”. I have been warned.

Up past the salt flats and as we get closer to Biskra we start to see the southern side of the Atlas mountains come into view. After so many days of relatively flat landscapes we enjoy the change.

As we leave Biskra, in the morning rush hour, Anne’s day almost starts with a bang, sandwiched between two cars coming from opposite directions on a large roundabout and only just managing to stay upright and avoid both vehicles. I saw how close it was, and while the drivers apologised for their errors, it was about as close as you want to be as a rider. Anne was badly shaken but chose to ride on. Anne is a tough one.

We had decided to take another Michelin map green scenic route, a little less sure after our first attempt, but the N31 is everything you could wish a motorcycling road to be. Amazing vistas, sweeping bends, little traffic and a tentative UNESCO site at Ghoufi to stop at and enjoy views of Ghoufi canyon and dwellings built by Nemidian Amazighs 2,500 years ago.

Onward up the valley, getting greener as we go. A pleasant lunch in Arris, with those interminable humps. We crossed a pass at 1805 m / 5,921 ft as the temperature drops below 20 degrees we gently descend towards Batna where will spend a couple of nights to go and see the Roman ruins at Timgad.

A last little challenge for the day after a wonderful ride.

– Anthony & Anne