Morocco

The wind comes off the Sahara warm and dry. Ahead lies sand. Behind you, the High Atlas fades. Your tyres bite into gravel and you keep pedalling. This is Morocco, and this is our ride.

I'm Sean Conway. I've swum, cycled and run the length of Britain, stacking world-first challenges over weeks and months. Now I want you here, on the bike, in the dust and the light of southern Morocco. You'll join a team for seven days of gravel riding, and I'll be riding it with you.

We start in Marrakech, with a walk through the old Medina. Then we climb. Day two crosses the Tizi n'Tichka Pass and drops into the valley of a thousand kasbahs. Some days are long. You'll ride 60 to 75 km, climb over a thousand metres, then lose more on the way down. It is hard. That is the point.

You'll ride through canyons and dry riverbeds. You'll pass nomads who still live in caves and goat-hair tents. You'll cross a volcanic range once used by caravans running to Marrakech. One day we stop to make tea with a Berber family and sit a while. On the extended days, we push on to the golden dunes of Erg Lihoudi, with sandboarding, a fire, and music under the stars.

Picture it now. The last light on the dunes. Sand still warm from the day. Your legs tired, your mind quiet, the desert sky wide open above you.