Finding Bikepacking Sanctuaries (Montsec Bikepacking Loop)

Finding Bikepacking Sanctuaries (Montsec Bikepacking Loop)

The church of the cemetery, what a blessing. I pitched my tent there last night, my kitchen, my dining table. It actually starts to drizzle a little bit. Now it started raining. Well, it doesn’t stop raining, it’s a light rain but it’s enough to bother me.

It was not supposed to rain today because tomorrow and the day after tomorrow there’s gonna be a lot of rain and then it’s very difficult to be on the trails because they’re full of mud. Yuri’s too fell a lot. Let’s see, let’s see. New day, new adventure on the Montsec Bikepacking Loop

It’s really annoying. It stopped raining, it was almost sunny. I stopped, I removed my jacket, my pants. Two minutes later it starts raining again. I hate this weather. It’s not raining a lot but it’s enough to get you wet in like 20 minutes, 30 minutes. So you have to wear some protection.

I managed to climb into the cloud. I hate these days. You sweat, you’re cold, you need to put the rain gear, you need to put the jacket, take off the jacket, take off the rain gear, put on the jacket. and I can’t even see anything around.

Maybe I start to see a little bit of landscape now. This road is really beautiful. It’s a pity that last night, instead of taking videos, I took hyperlapses. Yesterday was a great day, very very good. I have been climbing for the last three kilometers.

I think I still have to climb another five kilometers. Yeah, it didn’t rain much. I think it’s mostly rain where I was. The ride is really nice but the day is miserable. I had to stop again at the church because it was raining.

And I stopped, now we are in the cloud, it’s chilly. But the road is really nice. Very, very nice. You can’t see much around, but it’s nice. Change of valley, let’s see if the weather is a bit nicer in this part of the world.

I’m looking around but I should look at the road. The weather seems nicer here It’s worse on the other side, darker. Very slippery rocks. I have to be careful not to fall. Look at this. Beautiful. Even the goats say hello. Bucolic, very bucolic. And here it didn’t rain.

I came down there, on the other side, climbed back up and now we are going down. At the bottom of this downhill, I will stop for lunch. Stop recording! I stop here for lunch because I already feel the humidity of the of the water. If I go down there, I’ll be cold.

Lunch was satisfying. Now I’m next to the water. The sun disappeared again. Looks like it wants to start raining again, I don’t know. I’m gonna take a picture. Nice tunnel. The dam is pretty high. Let’s see if you can see it. Impressive operation. That’s the river. At the reservoir.

I guess they put this because they don’t want suicidal people to have an easy job. No lights here. Okay, it’s a bit dark. Much better. Couldn’t see anything. Yeah, that’s the end of it. They must live there. Two big birds. I think they have their nest up there.

I could hear them before I saw them. Now, 4 km climbing. I need to climb this way. Although, whoever traced the Montsec Bikepacking Loop went up a little bit, on that trail it came down. I don’t know why. And that trail also ends up where this road goes. So, I don’t know why.

To be honest, the last part would have been a bitch. Jesus. Let’s keep on going. I’m on top, it’s time to put on the jacket. And descend. It’s a short descent, but still. I don’t want to get cold. 2-3 km. It is chilly. Pretty chilly. Another pig farm. You can smell them.

Very far. I always wondered, the Spanish people consuming so much pork. Where are all the pigs? But now I can tell you, a lot are here in the Montsec. This guy… Very beautiful, yet again, Montsec. Beautiful and chilly. It would be nice if it stays dry tonight.

Climbing up to this village was insane, I could have gone straight on the road but at least I have water, if I have a chance to camp I’ll camp. 5 06 about 15 minutes to sunset. Let’s see if I’m lucky tonight again to find a roof. The problem is the village is at

15 kilometers. Let’s keep on going. The day is not over yet. Even though we are past the sunset, it’s getting chilly. I’m getting a bit cold, I’ll have to wear my jacket. The sky is on fire though. There are loads of those little villages, they are 90% abandoned. Another of these Ermita.

Unfortunately it’s probably closed and no porch. Check it out if it’s open but I doubt they leave a church open. Mosques are always open. Churches nearly never. That’s that. Church is not open. Look at the sky. There is this little house here. It’s gonna be close but I wanna check.

Fucking hell, it’s open. It’s perfect. A little bit of fire to dry up the place a bit, warm it up for the night. Third second of fire. It’s meditative. Sunrise, the church, a little refugio. I’m gonna show you my home for the night.

This is where I pitch my tent, the fireplace, my dining table, chairs, everything. Very, very, very good. Wonderful views, wonderful start even this morning. It was a great night there at the little hut. I thought to stay there another night, take a day off, because today there is a weather warning.

It will start to rain a lot, there is a storm coming between this afternoon and tomorrow morning. And also I’m a bit concerned about my tendinitis. The drug I’m taking is very strong, it should have gone by now, but I still feel some pain.

So I’m wondering if I should have stayed there or not. But maybe later I’ll find a place where I can crash for the rest of the afternoon. I didn’t have enough water for staying there two days to be honest. Maybe I could have rationing a bit, I don’t know.

Let’s see how miserable I’ll be this afternoon and then I’ll tell you if it was a good call or not. Let’s enjoy the ride now, Montsec Bikepacking Loop I love it, mountains, hills, farms. I’m glad I’m going down some of these hills. Look at that chunk of rocks. It’s a massive massive rock.

Starting to get dark on that side. In 10 kilometers I will arrive to a village and I will assess the situation. Check again the weather forecast, check the weather warning and then decide what to do.

Cycling the world – Europe: 143 episode
In the fourth instalment of the Montsec Bikepacking Loop through Catalonia, Spain, join me as I wake up in Ager, nestled in the small porch of the village church, shielded from wind and rain. Despite a forecast promising no rain, the morning greets me with steady showers. After a hopeful hour’s wait, I decide to face the elements head-on, mindful of the short winter days. The rain intermittently accompanies me to the peak’s summit, where a dark and gloomy day obscures the surrounding views with a veil of clouds and mist. My descent into a new valley brings clearer skies and a brighter mood by lunch, with the sun breaking through. The journey continues across a spectacular dam into another valley, and as sunset nears, my search for a dry spot to camp proves fruitless. Darkness finds me atop a small hill, by a church and an unexpected open hut, where I light the fireplace to warm the room and pitch my tent for the night.

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