Pushing Through Pain (Montsec Bikepacking Loop)

Pushing Through Pain (Montsec Bikepacking Loop)

Timid sun, very very humid. Unbelievably humid last night, it’s terrible. I can barely walk. I don’t know if I can complete the route. Last night I left you when I was climbing up this village. I thought there was a hope to camp somewhere under a roof but there wasn’t.

The route comes here for this guy and then it goes back down. I hate backtracking, useless backtracking and I actually had a look at the map. There are many climbs like this on the Montsec bikepacking loop I think I will skip most of them and yeah this is where I camped.

As you can see my bike is fully wet and that gives you an idea of the humidity and you can see also the birds that there are here. There you go, ready? There is a little bit of sun, let’s hit the road. Let’s say goodbye to my buddy, ciao!

Go down to the river and follow the river. Today I don’t think I’ll make many kilometers. I want to save a little bit my tendon. Tonight I really need to stop in a place that has a roof. My tent is wet, fully wet. This is the castle. On your left.

Let’s see if I can turn around. You can see the castle. The church and the castle. Nice view. A few moments later… I called the guy and he asked me: what’s wrong? And I’m like… Yeah, if there is a chance you can let me go through. You’re blocking the road.

Anyway, we are back on the road. Montsec bikepacking loop winter edition. Yesterday’s single track along the river is on the other bank, it’s on the other side of the river. It was a bit warmer yesterday. Oh man, I keep stopping. This Montsec bikepacking loop is gonna be very tough and painful.

I hate to be cycling in physical pain. Well I guess it is what it is. The route is really nice. Very nice so far. But yeah, the nights are terrible. Very, very terrible. Definitely a route to do in a different time of the year. Do not come here in winter.

This is Alos de Balaguer, this charming little village. And the route goes through the village and up a climb about 15 km and then back down the same way. I hate backtracking, I really hate backtracking. So when I’m in such pain, why do you make me climb and

Come back from the same road? It doesn’t make any sense to me. So I will keep going, enjoy the route, but I’m not going to enjoy this climb. I can’t bring myself to backtrack 30 km. At the top there is a refugio where I could sleep tonight. But yeah, I don’t feel it.

I’m sure it would have been epic to climb up there and spend the night at the refugio, but I’m in too much pain really. What a view, what a view! A bit dull because it’s winter, but amazing. I am enjoying this climb, maybe because I know I don’t have to backtrack.

Ah, but it’s a nice climb, but it’s gentle, it’s a gentle climb and I can cope with my tendon. I go up slowly, but surely. I was sweating a little bit, so I removed the jacket and changed gloves. This climb doesn’t want to end. It’s not steep, but it’s a bit long.

It’s all good, it’s all good. Montsec bikepacking loop. On top finally. Beautiful color of the rocks. A few minutes ago it started raining, go figure, then it stopped, luckily. Me and the route have a disagreement even here, the route goes up here and goes up to that house there

Might be a refugio, I’m not sure. The route looks beautiful, I really like this valley, it’s more dry it’s not as humid as the other one because we were next to the river but yeah I don’t really feel to backtrack all this way, it’s about three kilometers, so

Three kilometers up, three kilometers down it’s too early to camp up there and so yeah I just don’t want to backtrack, I want to keep going today is like this, I never want to backtrack to be honest. This valley is so beautiful imagine being here in the summer, wow

I can feel the heat. I can’t really, I’m just feeling cold, but wouldn’t it be nice to be here when it’s hot and dry? And then I think another three, four kilometers there is a village. When you arrive at the village and there is a freezing cold fountain. Oh, that’s the best.

What do we have here? A single track. This is where it’s easy to destroy the panniers. Very nice. That’s what happens in the single tracks. Once I had waterproof panniers. After this, not anymore. Oops, this is uh no dignity. Slide down slowly but surely. No dignity. Better to be safe than sorry.

And this, I’m gonna push it. No dignity. I’m gonna do it. That’s it. This village is… Very much alive. Haven’t seen one person. One. Zero. Not even a bar, nothing. Let’s go. Maybe here. One person now, wow. Hello! Look, a Habba Habba. Someone is camping here with the MSR Habba.

It’s been there a while, I think. I stopped for lunch in the village and then I went to the bar to chill, charge my batteries a little bit and the bar had a heating system turned on. I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I was like, okay, another five minutes and then I leave,

Another five minutes and then I leave. And now it’s four o’clock and I left. I could have stayed there the whole day, but it’s time to keep going. So I loaded up on water at the village. Today I think I could camp early if there is a good chance.

Where there was the tent there, it’s a place for caravans or campers. Tents are tolerated, but still, I don’t want to camp there. It’s very humid. It would be nicer to be a little bit higher than the river. It already gets so humid. Imagine being next to the river.

You’d be miserable all night. But yet another beautiful route in Spain. This Montsec bikepacking loop seems very promising. Very, very promising. It’s really nice. Beautiful it is, the mountains mirroring in the water, you will see better in my pictures. Now it turned right. I removed my jacket because we started climbing again.

Slowly but surely now we’re going up for a while. I don’t want to be sweaty. The temperature is cooling down. I don’t want to stop when I camp and I’m all wet. I always lose a little bit of time when it’s cold to do temperature management.

Put the jacket on, take the jacket off. Put the hat on, take the hat off. Use a pair of gloves, then use another pair of gloves, then change back the gloves. Very time consuming. So it’s about 40 minutes to the sunset. I really think I can cycle another hour, hour and 20 minutes.

Let’s see where we end up. What a beautiful road to end the day. Amazing. Another great day on the Spanish dirt roads. Great riding. Great riding! There’s an abandoned house there on the right. It could be worth checking out. Maybe it’s the right place where I can spend the night.

Cycling the world – Europe: 141 episode
In this gripping second episode of the Monsect Bikepacking Loop through Catalonia, Spain, I face the raw challenges of nature head-on. Waking up at a wild camp atop Montsonis, I find my tent and bike drenched in dew, and the pain from tendinitis in my Achilles tendon is almost too much to bear. Despite the struggle, I push forward, knowing there’s no turning back. The journey tests my limits with steep climbs and rewards me with exhilarating descents into drier valleys, culminating in a much-needed break in a cosy village bar to warm up and recharge. Join me as I navigate the physical and emotional highs and lows of bikepacking, from the agony of tendinitis to the solitude of breathtaking landscapes, before setting up camp in another stunning location.

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