Pyrenees

September 12, 2024

Bagä To Tuixent

Our planned route out of Bagä started out with some single track and headed straight up. We climbed over 3000 feet in the first 10 miles, first on some chunky trail, but thankfully after the initial gnarly bits, we reached what is just the typical gravel road here. I've long complained about the term gravel being used around us, for everything from smooth hard pack dirt to gnarly mountain bike worthy stuff, and everything in between. I think it does a disservice to riders, who may be put off ever doing anything unpaved if they get into truly gnarly stuff, or may discourage folks from riding when it is truly hardback smooth dirt. Well gravel is gravel here! If you've been looking at the videos on a screen larger than your phone, you can clearly see why I spent the trip wishing I had fatter tires and lower gears, and ocassionally even wanted a battery and motor. The video may not convey the steepness, but you can certainly hear me breathing pretty hard.

We rode up into the Parc Natural del Cadi Moixero mountains. The scenery was amazing. As was the weather. The forecast kept indicating rain a day or two out, but so far bluebird skies prevailed. One of the surprising things for me was seeing cars on these roads, not four wheel drive vehicles, but just regular cars on what we clear to me was a four wheel drive road. We also saw hikers, mountain bikers and horse riders.

This would be another short day, in terms of distance covered. As we rolled into Tuixent, I suggested we check for lodging. We found an auberge that worked out great. We then met some folks while walking around town, who had relocated from Barcelona. One had worked at the bar associated with the auberge, and we headed back there for drinks. This couple spoke excellent English and acted as translator for the other cyclist who was staying there. We had a wonderful dinner and our host made us sandwiches for lunch the next day

The planned route

What we actually did

The video

We had a lovely roadside lunch. I was exhausted from all the climbing in such a short distance and again proposed a paved alternate to the route. It didn't eliminate any climbing, but the smooth road was a bit easier for the legs and lungs.