Today was back to normal on the bikes, and couldn’t have been more different than yesterday’s ride. It was one of those days that put a smile on our faces from beginning to end.
We set off from the beautiful town of Vic, cycling out as everyone else was in their way in, so we quickly left the traffic behind. We found ourselves on another old road lined with Plane Trees and couldn’t help but wonder if they were a reminder of the Peninsular War, planted by Napoleon to protect the troops, as they are in France.
It was another lovely road that wound its way back and forth across the motorway. The gentle morning light and a soft, milky sun gave us the perfect start to the day.
The particular joy of this road was that all the traffic was on the fast road and we had the ribbon of tarmac to ourselves, as we cycled up into the hills, starting the climb towards coffee at Saint Hilari Sacalm. We knew that once we reached that village, the ride was then (pretty much) downhill all the way into Girona, so it gave us something to aim for.
The climbing, as we left Vic was gentle, before we dropped down again, feeling as if we’d gone down as far as we’d already climbed, which came as a bit of a surprise.
Then we came under a vast motorway bridge, spanning a little valley and started to climb again. This time it was steeper. The road wound its way up the hillside, and within a very short period of time, we were looking down on the motorway, many metres below us.
The road was empty, we literally saw nothing else as we climbed, which was such a change to yesterday’s long trek uphill in hideously busy traffic. It may have been steeper, but we had a smile on our faces, which is all that matters.
It was incredibly peaceful too, just the birdsong to keep us company. Then we arrived at the top, with a sign saying we had just ridden up the Col del Buc. So we had a Col under our belts by 9.15 am, which had to be good, just another long climb to do before coffee.
We joined another road, which still followed the motorway, but we realised that the houses had changed and had low sloped rooflines, much more akin to an Alpine style, than anything we had seen so far. Some even had smoke coming from the chimneys, a real sign that autumn is coming.
Then we climbed up to another motorway junction, before crossing onto the final climb that would take us up for coffee.
Almost as soon as we started to ride up this road, we were stopped in our tracks by the sight of a sea of mist filling the valley below us and stretching for miles into the distance.
It was like a scene from an Arthurian Legend, with a silvery sea dotted with islands of land, one even with a castle on the top. It was mesmerising
We stood for a while, watching the edges of the ‘sea’ ebb and flow, catching in the trees, before we pulled ourselves back onto the bikes and continued up to coffee.
As soon as we got going again, the climbing was a pleasure. It was a gentle gradient and we made ground uphill, passing a natural spring, where people were parked (their boots full of bottles) to fill with, what was evidently very good water.
The road would its way upwards and as we climbed, the landscape changed. We left the early autumn colours behind and found ourselves riding through Christmas Tree plantations, with trees from tiny to huge, obviously all being prepared for houses across Spain.
We passed sheep grazing in woodland, their bells jangling and they moved, especially when they ran off at the surprise of 2 cyclists passing by.
Then, almost without realising it, the climb was done and we started to drop towards the village for coffee.
We sat in the café, as the realisation sank in that the day’s climbing was done, and we just had a long downhill run into Girona. We were effectively through the most challenging of the days in the mountains and it felt really quite good. So good in fact, that we ended up having a couple of coffees and a cheese & bacon sandwich to celebrate.
Eventually, we had to continue, as we were still only just under half way to Girona, so we couldn’t rest for too long. As soon as we set off, we started to descend and what a spectacular ride it was.
A beautifully quiet road that snaked its way down the mountain following a small river that gurgled its way over boulders beside us. We started riding down through pine trees, feeling the wheels rushing below us and just enjoying the flow of the road and not turning the pedals after the last few days.
We had to stop though, just to add the layers we’d taken off as we’d climbed, as the shade and wind hill of the ride downhill was starting to make us shiver. We needn’t have worried about the descent being over too quickly, as this turned out to be about 30km of unadulterated joy.
As we dropped out of the pine trees, the autumn colours started to show in the woodland and we caught glimpses of dramatic rocks on the opposite side of the valley.
Sweeping around other bends, the view opened up and we could see the hills that we were descending through. It was absolutely stunning
I defy anyone to ride that road without a broad grin on their face … Going down anyway!
We stopped in a small village and sat on a bench, warming ourselves in the sun, before continuing on again, the road switching this way and that on its way to Girona.
Then we were down, and on a long straight road making our way to the city. We seemed to fly along the last 16km.to the outskirts, where we followed a main road in, picking up the cycle paths as we got close to the city centre.
All of a sudden, we were on the cobbled street, and then the main bridge across the river into the city centre. And what a stunning sight it was.
If you followed our ride through France last year, you may remember that I had a bit of an emotional moment when we crossed into Provence, just outside Arles. Today was the same. I know it’s not the end of the ride (we still have 3 days of pedalling to get to Sète and then the ride home from Avignon station), but this was a huge milestone in my mind.
We had cycled across the centre of Spain, through gorges, mountains, and even a ‘desert’ and had arrived at our last stop before we cross back into France. It needed to be marked.
So we found a bar, parked the bikes & had beer and patatas bravas, which were just what we needed after the last few days
Once we had managed to drop everything in the apartment that will be home for the next 2 nights (Andy managing to carry the bikes up the particularly narrow and windy stairs), we headed off to take a look at the city.
We felt immediately at home, wandered along the city walls (as if my legs needed any more climbing today)
And ambled through the narrow streets, exploring the squares..
And bridges
We have a day off here tomorrow and I have a feeling we’ll find plenty to do, before we head on again on Wednesday to ride back into France and on to Collioure
For now, I hope you enjoy the little video of today’s ride Here
As with last year’s ride, we’re having a great time and using it as an opportunity to raise some funds for our local Restos Du Coeur in Apt. So if you’re enjoying following our journey and would like to support this much-needed and well-used organisation then you can Donate using this link
Vaucluse Dreamer 