Cold and Pain in Catalonia (Montsec Bikepacking Loop)

Cold and Pain in Catalonia (Montsec Bikepacking Loop)

Back on the road. That is Ponts. This is my bike. This is me and this is the bikepacking route I’m gonna do now. It’s the Montsec bikepacking loop. It’s that time of the year, almost winter, so the days are short. Short days, yeah. Humid, cold, in one word miserable, but let’s

See if we can have some fun. Officially Montsec bikepacking loop. Let’s see how nice it is. I hope it’s gonna be nice because I’m gonna be miserable due to the weather condition. Should be fun anyway. I’m testing a new app. It has the same voice of Komoot and it’s even more annoying.

So I think it’s gonna be short-lived. You can see Ponts a little better. The start is beautiful but so humid, very humid. I’m already feeling pretty cold and it’s still like one hour to the sunset. The moon is almost full, I’m already a few

Meters top of the valley, in the hope that there is a kind of roofing area like a porch or something and I can pitch my tent underneath there. If you have a roof, you shelter the tent from the humidity, so when you wake up and everything is dry.

Man, the moon is incredible, always, look at these colors, wow. Yes, I decided I’m gonna camp here under this roof. I think it’s the best option for tonight. I have a chair to cook. Yeah, I’m gonna clean up a little bit the floor now. And that’s it. Buenos dias! Good morning!

It’s great that it’s not raining, but it’s not a very very good morning. Very humid. A little frozen. It’s time to make some breakfast, wait for the sun to show up. I’m gonna make some breakfast and hit the road. Look at that, very humid and foggy. The roof didn’t work too well.

It was too humid. It would have been a very dry night if there was a wall there and possibly here. Three walls or at least two. All right, let’s start the day. It’s 10 30. It’s a bit late to be honest, but wow, it’s cold.

I think today I will have to switch to full winter and don’t mind these sounds. It’s the new app. It’s terrible. I need to find a way to disable these sounds. But hey, it’s a beautiful morning even though it’s humid as fuck. It’s cold as fuck, but it’s not raining.

Imagine if it was raining. It’s freezing. So cold, so cold. Man, it’s cold. I’m starting with a downhill. So cold. Freezing. I should have put my hard shell on. A bit of climbing to warm up. But yeah, I need to change my base layer. Long sleeve underwear for winter.

My winter cycling pants as well. Let’s embrace winter. The route is really nice. The first few kilometers of the Monsec bikepacking loop they are really nice. I wish I was here at a different time of the year, a bit warmer. It’s getting warmer, warmer and warmer, which is pretty good.

We’re blessed for the sun for most part of the day. See some views of the Monsec bikepacking loop. Monsec is the name of this group of mountains. I wonder what’s the etymology of Monsec. My wild guess would be dry mountains. Hopefully it’s not gonna rain. Approaching the village of Alentorn.

It’s Sunday so everything is closed but I have plenty of food. I stock up on food at Mercadona. I do not know where I’m going, If I’m being honest. I’m not the only one looking for a little bit of sun. Nice and charming village, little stop for water.

This is also an incredible route in the summer. Still beautiful in the winter. The struggle is real. I haven’t cycled too much in the last period. Now the temperature is nice. It’s still very cold for my taste, but I can work with this. This is the first real climb I’m doing on the

Montsec bikepacking loop. Nothing too crazy, but the first part I struggled a lot. It will take me another one or two days to get into the rhythm. I feel like my Achilles heel tendon is starting to get a bit inflamed. And that’s the last thing I want. I’m on a tight shadow.

I have to finish the route relatively soon. I think I’m on top, at least of this here. Amazing views. Now let’s enjoy a little bit of downhill. If I enjoy it a bit more, I’ll put on my jacket. Otherwise I freeze. Man, the smell in this village. Holy moly.

I passed a house, I think they cooked rabbit. Oh, it smells so good. And now I passed another house, I think they cooked bell peppers with potatoes. Where am I going? Beautiful house, man. Look at the stonework. Beautiful. This is actually where I’m going. Beautiful house. From 1920. Beautiful.

We need to turn right. I think I will stop soon. I’ll try to squeeze another 30 minutes, cycle until 2 and then take my lunch break. Look at that cave. Getting tired. Another climb done. What a view. What a view guys. A bit too green for my taste, but still nice. When I

When I Hikers. Walkers. My tendon starts to hurt very badly. So I’m not sure if I should take a pill of Oprazem. It’s a gastro protector. And then tonight, or later on, take some Meloxicam or something like that. It’s a very strong anti-inflammatory. Wow, look at this. Look at this.

I’d say this is a good place to have a lunch break. That’s it, I think it’s time for the hard stuff, Omeprazole. I took it a few minutes ago, so I will wait maybe like 15-20 minutes, maybe eat something, and then I have the meloxicam.

Here is where it hurts a lot, a lot, and it can only get worse because you keep cycling it. The reason why it started to hurt is because I changed the saddle. This is the old saddle, but I changed the saddle when I left Barcelona.

Luckily I brought the old saddle with me because I knew it was gonna be maybe a problem. I was hoping not, but it was a problem. It was a little too high, I think I should have lowered a little bit more the seatpost.

And so yeah, it gave me a few problems the first day Immediately, 35 kilometers after Barcelona, I had to switch saddles. I started to feel that my knees were getting inflamed and yeah, now this hurts like hell. And it started this morning. Both these pills come from Morocco.

I bought them in Marrakech when I had the epicondylitis. I’m pretty hungry, but I want to eat like 30 minutes after I took the Omeprazole Already the pain of cycling on these dirt climbs with a fully loaded bike, and then you add on top a real pain somewhere in your body. It’s terrible.

Very, very bad. Beautiful, beautiful valley. Nice place for the lunch break, but now let’s go. That was a nice lunch break. I took my pill. Look at this beauty, look at this beauty. Just beautiful. Now it’s the time of the day, 3 20pm, the sun starts to go down and it gets

Colder and colder by the minute. Today should be a bit colder. Last night two degrees and with the humidity it feels even more cold. Yes, we are going down. Okay, I missed my turn. I still have to get used to the turn-by-turn voice navigation of this new app.

So I think I should go down here. I’m gonna double check. Yep, this is where I have to go. Back in the sun for like five minutes. It burned down a few years ago, the whole mountain. Test results It’s a bit depressing. The day is already over almost. It’s 4 45 pm.

There is no time to do anything in a day so short. I can’t even stop to take pictures. The sun is gone. It’s hidden behind this here now. The trail joins a river that is in this valley. And it goes around with the river for a long time.

It’s gonna be a very humid night if I’m stuck next to the river. Unless I find like a little house or a building. I wonder if that’s a nice spot to camp for the night Probably not. No fucking way. What about this fucking rock? I’m also getting a bit tired. I’m in pain.

Fucking hell. And there are hidden holes. The trail is very nice, but the pain is real. Holy moly, if I’m in pain now. It would be nice to stop somewhere and camp. But this is not the place to camp. It would be even more miserable if I camp in a place like this.

Super humid, no sun in the morning. Oops, see when I cannot balance with my right leg I make mistakes. Beautiful, beautiful trail. If it was earlier in the day, I would have enjoyed even more. Let’s see if I can smash my head. I think it’s almost over, this single track. Yeah

It is over. Look at the moon. It’s a bit late, but no worries, I have a light. It’s getting late and I think the trail goes up that mountain but I’m not sure.

Cycling the world – Europe: 140 episode
Journey with me through the raw elements of Catalonia in this first episode of the Montsec Bikepacking Loop. Starting in the quaint village of Ponts, near Barcelona, I face the harsh realities of winter bikepacking – the biting cold, the enveloping fog, and the unrelenting pain. Witness how I navigate through these challenges, from seeking refuge in an old farmhouse to combat the chilly nights, to dealing with the unexpected agony of a stiff saddle and a throbbing Achilles heel. Despite the adversities, the stunning landscapes of Catalonia provide a backdrop that makes every pedal stroke worth the struggle. This isn’t just a bike ride; it’s a battle against the elements and a true test of resilience and determination.

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