11 May 2023, Ifrane, 28.02km
Bed & Breakfast (homestay) R486 [DH255]

Our fellow guest, Kieran from the UK, is spending two weeks in Ifrane because at 1500m elevation it is known as a good place to do altitude training for long-distance running. He is passionate about running and about coffee. He works for a charity that trains unemployed people in all things coffee, telling us there is a shortage of knowledgeable people in this field.
Our 30km ride here was not easy, it being predominantly uphill and requiring intermittent walking. We climbed to Azrou, then through it and over hills past cherry salesmem, into the Ifrane National Park, home to the Atlas cedar and rare Barbary macaques.
Then found ourselves in a different world, passing a golf course and airport before a drop into Ifrane, an Alpine town in Morocco!
"The modern town of Ifrane was established by the French in 1928... due to its Alpine climate. Ifrane was conceived as a "hill station" so that Europeans could find relief from the summer heat..."
We are staying in a room in a private home with a shared bathroom and kind family.