Organya to la Poblà de Segur

 

Pyrenees

September 14, 2024 

Organya to la Poblà de Segur

We had a lovely stay in the bungalow at the campground in Organya. After our experience on the remote section yesterday, and heeding advice from other cyclists about traffic in and around Andorra, we decided to change plans for the remainder of the tour. Between OSM cycle maps and Gaia maps, we knew we could find quiet roads. We planned to continue west to Pantá de Sant Antoni reservoir and up to Senterada before completely diverting from the original route. I mapped out a long route, which would give us the option to find accommodation along the way, versus booking ahead with a set destination. This allows us to stop when we see something enticing or simply to change plans because some road looks interesting. I did not bring my iPad this time, but have been able to do all the mapping on my phone. If we change plans midday, I do have to stop the recording on the Garmin, download the new route and restart recording, but otherwise it's been easy enough to change plans. We do find having a gps route essential for John to be able to stop and take photos, or ride ahead and take photos, without fear of getting hopelessly separated. 

We left town on a busier road, but soon got onto a quiet climb. Our change of plans from gravel to quiet pavement did not have any effect on views. They continued to be spectacular. The climbs were still long and hard. Through out the trip,  20km long climbs were not uncommon. We rarely saw much in the way of cars. It is truly hard to go wrong in this area. 

We saw selfie stands at several of the roadside parks on cols!

I even managed to find gravel. There was a great gravel bike path beside the reservoir. 

John and I had observed that despite the abundant sunshine that we didn't see lots of solar, at least not much rooftop solar. In Tremp, we climbed up to a spot overlooking the power station and found this solar farm!

We got into La Poblà and were surprised given the size that we didn't see more hotels. Luck would have us finding one of our best of the trip, with one of the best dinners. Going back through photos, I was surprised not to find more pictures of food! But I found these!