Surprise Wine Tasting (Montsec Bikepacking Loop)

Surprise Wine Tasting (Montsec Bikepacking Loop)

Buenos dias. Good morning. The water reservoir is down there. As you can see by the humidity cloud. What do I say? Higher, higher than water. When you see people camping next to water to take an Instagram picture, I’m like, why? Why? It’s not worth it.

This is where I end up at the end last night, at the Polideportivo. When I arrived in the village, there were two neighbors walking the dog. And I asked them if there was a roof and they were like, no, there’s no fucking roof.

So then I told them, yeah, I’ll camp at the square next to the church. Yeah, that’s good. And then when I was cooking my tortellini, the lady came back and she said, oh, I was having a chat with one of the neighbors.

And she mentioned that there is a roof in the village. It’s the Polideportivo. I was like, yeah, I’ll finish my dinner and I’ll check it out. I came here. Perfect. Perfect. Except there was someone working in the fields very close by with a tractor until 2 a.m. Polideportivo means multi sports.

See, you can play football, you can play basketball, you can play volleyball. The sun is warming up the place a little bit. Which is very pleasant. Breakfast is ready, I boiled some water for the thermos. So I made some tea. This is very, very good tea from Mercadona. It’s cinnamon and apple.

It’s 8.56 am If that’s a school, I don’t know what time the kids get to school in Spain. That’s it, leaving the Polideportivo. Good stay. I should have stayed 15 minutes less, because now I’m in the I’m in the fog. The humidity is getting higher. I think I have to climb

Three, four kilometers. And I’m going out the other valley. Since I left Benabarre, I’ve been lucky. Three nights in a row. Nice and dry. Hiding in the fog is not very fun. You can’t see much around. It’s coldish. Yeah. Not a big fan of the fog.

But I think today is going to be a great day anyway. I’m now above the fog, but it’s coming. It’s coming for me. It’s 11 30 Here, the road is still in the shade. There is still frost in the road. But more importantly, there is still fog in the valley, which

Makes me think that it doesn’t go away. I thought it was a bit of humidity. But now it’s thick, dense fog, so it’s going to be foggy the whole day. Now I finish the climb here. I start to go down the valley in the city of Tremp.

The houses in this area are very beautiful. The stonework. Very, very nice. Look at this. Look at this house. So beautiful. Very, very wonderful, but this is the way. Phew! Unbelievable! So nice! Let me take some pictures. That is really nice riding.

There is a bit of rock here, before it was a bit muddy. Small but very steep climb. Beautiful colours. Let’s keep on going, it’d be nice to get to Tremp before 2 00 What a beautiful ride, Montsec Bikepacking Loop. Every other kilometer I’m about to get stuck in mud, but

Such a wonderful place. Look at that, Tremp without fog. Let’s enjoy the descent into Tremp. It would be nice if I don’t get stuck in mud before getting to Tremp. It’s quite muddy here. All right, leave in Tremp. I went to Dia, I got some food, I will leave town and

If I find a spot that is a bit warm in the sun I stop and I have a bit of food. But here it’s a bit chilly. Maybe if I can get to climb a bit it’s warmer. I stopped and I had food, I leaned my bike against a

Tree and I put my foot on a dog shit. Must be my lucky day, very lucky. I really like this side of the mountain, it’s not muddy, it’s wet but it’s more sandy. Look at the views, amazing, amazing. Actually leave in Tremp I forgot to load up on water.

My priority was food, I went to Dia, I got three pieces of bread, two donuts and some jamon serrato. The cheapest jamon serrano they had was one euro. I made myself a bocadillo, the jamon is not the best but what can you pretend for one euro.

And I got some sobaos, I don’t know why but they have a weird taste. I still ate them though. This would have been a good spot to camp. No roof but there is the cement, the basement. Anyway I think if I don’t see a house where there are

Some people and I can ask water the first opportunity should be in about 11 kilometers. Climbing up there is a small village Let’s see how’s the train, but I think I should be able to get there by day;s end. Very peaceful and wet single track. Next to the water, of course it’s wet.

I need to be careful because if I slide down I finish almost in the water. the colors of winter. It’s very difficult to find single tracks in these established routes. But this is a fun single track. Oh no, clay, clay. No bueno, no bueno. A stick in my wheel.

Luckily I wasn’t pedaling, otherwise my back derailleur would have snapped probably. Oops, fucking hell This is the problem. Sometimes you don’t really see an obstacle, the pannier gets caught and it pushes you down the other side That’s why I say no dignity. Better to be safe than sorry.

I don’t know if I trust this, this piece of wood. It has seen better days. It’s very slippery this fucking trail. But fun, very fun. Very very enjoyable. Getting to the top. Down there I turn right, start climbing up. Yeah, it seems like just there, but it was a steep climb.

Another three kilometers climbing and it goes on a bit. One hour to sunset. I don’t know why I’m struggling with this climb, but I feel tired. So humid around here. Hopefully we get to a better place for the night. Let’s go down a bit. With all the struggle to climb up.

Much slower than I forecasted. Still very humid and still climbing. 30 minutes to sunset it’s already getting quite chilly this humidity man If I can get to the other valley, hopefully things improve. There the sun going into hiding behind the trees. Less than 20 minutes to sunset. Still I’m climbing.

I think I’m finally on top. Let’s see. I start to go down the other valley. There’s an antenna. Finally. I need to stop and cover myself. Otherwise I get really cold. I’m just gonna see what’s here first. There’s an antenna. Yeah, there is an antenna. But no roof. No basement either.

Tonight is gonna be a bit miserable. Probably. Unless I get very, very lucky. But I doubt it. It’s gonna be quite humid. Let’s see what happens. Beautiful views, even in this valley. Wow, let’s take a picture of this. This is where I thought I could find water.

Let’s see if there is someone around. Looks like they’re being closed. There’s not smoke from the chimney. This place is closed down. There’s nobody here. See if I find water here. Maybe a place to camp as well. They’re not very lively, these villages. There might be one or half a person living here.

Let’s see. I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m very lucky, even tonight. I was given this room. It’s a community room. I was talking to some Dutch people that live in this village. And I asked if I could pitch my tent in the little square here.

And we were talking a little bit and they told me that there is this room available. And this is the room of the community. And I could sleep here. Perfect. So lucky. Yurun is Dutch. And you live in Spain. And you’re a winemaker, yeah? And this is the wine you make?

Yeah, the winery is called Sauvella. And this is one of the wines I make. It’s a young wine. It didn’t go through the barrel. So it’s a blend of three grape varieties. It’s mainly Sumoll, a red Sumoll, which is a Catalan grape. I cannot write it on the label, but there’s also some

Nebbiolo grape in here. It’s not allowed in Europe. But okay, this is what we grow here in the fields. How long have you got your winery here? Since 2004. And we mainly make red oak aged blends. And it’s all natural wine, by the way.

So we don’t like to add things to the wine and we don’t like to extract things from it. You leave it as it is. Yeah, we don’t filter. And we don’t like to add additives to it that change the taste. Nice. So you gave me a place to stay, like snacks and wine.

Thank you so much. I’m very grateful.

Cycling the world – Europe: 147 episode
Embark on the eighth episode of the Montsec Bikepacking Loop in Catalonia, Spain, where each day unfolds with new challenges and heartwarming encounters. Waking up under the roof of the polideportivo in Guardia de Noguera, I enjoyed a peaceful night in my tent, shielded from the humidity. As I pack up camp and prepare breakfast, a thick layer of fog envelops the valley, setting a mystical scene for the morning. The day’s journey begins with a climb out of the fog, revealing clear skies as I descend back into the valley and through the village of Tramp. Faced with the day’s final ascent, I find it to be much longer and steeper than anticipated. Reaching the summit at sunset, I descend into the village below, searching for a spot to pitch my tent. However, the few welcoming inhabitants offer me the use of a community room for celebrations to spend the night warm, dry, and even equipped with a small bathroom. A delightful surprise comes from a Dutch couple living in the village, owners of the Sauvella winery and wine bar, who bring me snacks and a bottle of their wine, adding a perfect touch to my dinner. The winery, Sauvella, offers tastings in their village wine bar ( https://www.sauvella.com/ ), introducing me to the local flavours and the generosity of the community.

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