The chill time in Barcelona was definitely worth it, and I got back on the road with new vim. Here is the next instalment of my adventure for your reading (and clicking!) pleasure…

Tuesday 11/02/2020 — Day 27

Getting up was hard, especially after I had fallen into the habit of late nights with the guys. I got moving and had a minor panic with the lift… almost got all my bags stuck in it! That was a scary moment of “what do I do now?!” Thankfully it stopped trying to move and let me fix the position of it. Then I left my helmet in the building until someone let me in to grab it. Looks like it was my scatter brain day.!

Anyway, I had a long day planned of 100km and thankfully it turned out to be good riding in nice cool cool weather.

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Stopped at a castle for lunch and it was amazing to explore it all. From what I gathered it was significant in the Spanish Civil War. I liked having a noisy and a good lunch with a cup of tea. Finishing up a good chunk of the poor quality / inefficient fuel I had accidentally bought earlier.

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I made really good time to Girona and arriving 1730 ish. I am staying with a Warmshowers host Jan who wasn’t available to let me in till 8pm so I decided to chill in a cafe, finishing the last blog post on Barcelona, and writing up my paper journal.

Turns out Jan lives on the 7th floor :O so we had a good time getting the bike and all my stuff into the lifts to get it up there. Then a shower and a lovely dinner and chats with Jan about life cycling and everything else. I then headed to bed to sleep ready for more pedalling.

Wednesday 12/02/2020 — Day 28

Today started with fresh bread! It was awesome. Not so awesome was the arrival of my first period on the road… and boy did it strike with vengeance 🙁 I had nausea, cramps and hip joint pains which all combined to make cycling a less then stellar experience. Oh and and top of that it was raining which never helps me feel happy. But I got moving and made sure to go through old Girona to see some of it.

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So the plan was for a short day ride but then…

This meant some re-routing and additional pedalling to try and find away round. Thankfully I got to another crossing point and all was ok.

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It was then onwards to Figueres! Grey riding but not bad and I slowly started to feel a little better. I decided to rent an apartment in Figueres for the night as the hostel was closed and I did not want to deal with a hotel and going out again. So this gave me my own space and I could chill out drink loads of tea, and thankfully wasn’t outrageously expensive. I couldn’t get in till 4pm so ended up having lunch on the street.

Once in the apartment with the bike, it was time for couch, Netflix and hot water bottle (well, actually my stainless steel water canister wrapped in a buff). Then I cooked lentils, watched a movie, and went to bed feeling more normal.

Thursday 13/02/2020 — Day 29

Visiting the Dalí Theatre-Museum today!! A treat from Malin and Paul on my adventure. This meant I got a chilled start in the morning as it opened at 1030. The hotel that ran the apartments as well looked after my bike for me and I got to explore 😀

The whole place had been designed and influenced by Salvador Dalí himself, with a number of pieces made to work in the spaces that are there. It was the town’s dld theatre which had suffered bomb damage in the Spanish Civil War and I loved the re-purposing of the space.

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Some of the work that most stood out to me was by another artist on display there, Antoni Pitxot. I liked the layering to his work and the way the people appeared from the rocks.

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The other part of the museum I could visit was a display of the jewellery Dali had designed and made. I liked this as it was different and as I had read Dali saying he did not see himself being bound to one media, like the artists of old.

Once I had spent about 3 hours in the museum exploring and seen it all, I went to explore around town including in the church.

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As the day was sunny I found a park bench and sat down to have my lunch before getting some pedalling done 😀

The other thing I was planning to achieve today was cycling into FRANCE!! Riding towards the border was not the best riding I have done so far, a lot was a long a main road (boo) and the bits which weren’t busy were on gravel tracks that were hard to ride. Also adding to my emotional discomfort there were a lot of prostitutes on the road (and guys stopping) which meant I did not feel completely comfortable as a solo female rider. Probably all in my head as I definitely do not look that appealing in my cycling gear, but was still a little unsettling…

Mixed emotions on finishing riding in my first country 😀 Happy to do it but still overwhelmed about how far to go. I chickened out of wild camping again and I am in a campsite (annoyed at myself but keep trying). Showered, journal updated, fed, and time for sleep. It feels cold today, but it can’t be as bad as the mountains.

Friday 14/02/2020 — Day 30

Valintines day and Ian got my sneaky gift (thanks for the help Erica!)

Tent was damp from condensation and the sun took ages to come up so didn’t really get dry. Packed it away and played with the gears on the bike to try and solve the noise that I am hearing. Not sure it’s an improvement… still making a lot of noise. I am going to try and get it looked at on the next rest day.

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Riding all day was on and off the Eurovelo 8 route today which was smooth and easy riding. The worst part was the headwind which slowed me down, so I didn’t make the distance I wanted.

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It also seems that today was the day of meeting people:

• Met a cool dude that was riding a cargo bike. He joined me for a bit of my ride so we could chat. He isn’t touring at the moment but does a lot.
• Next was an Aussie based couple who have been touring since last summer riding down from Norway to Spain. We were going in opposite directions so swapped loads of information including wild camping spots
• Last I met a pair of Spanish lads that were riding Eurovelo 8 from Valencia to at least Milan. Sat down and had second lunch with them discussing touring and how we have been finding it

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I really enjoyed meeting all the different people. Taking the advice of the Aussie couple I looked for a good wild camping spot where they suggested and found and awesome one. Tucked well away from the road in what looked like an old olive Grove.

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Felt very happy in my spot and although the night was cold there were loads of stars which was nice to look at while dinner cooked.

Saturday 15/02/2020 — Day 31

So this makes it a month away from home!! I had woken up a bit in the night from the cold but it wasn’t too bad. I was also slightly slow getting up. The tent was very wet again, so I tried to dry it a bit but with out much success… but overall successful wild camping wooo! 🙂

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The wind had gone away and the riding was fun. The route took me on more tracks than road at the start which wasn’t bad at first… it then became more like sandy mud and started to clog up the tyres. This was followed by a rocky track that was really hard to ride on, so I ended up walking stretches of it…

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Eventually I reached Port-la-Nouvelle, in time for their Saturday Market. I got some spices (sold in unhelpfully large quantities) and some sweet snacks for second breakfast before eating them at the harbour. Water was a little bit of a concern, I had got very used to water fountains being literally everywhere in Spain, and was struggling a little to find them in France. But I found a working on down the road next to the canal and filled up there.

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The next stage of the ride was very cool, I was between the sea and the canal so kinda like riding on water. Lovely sunshine, yummy noms consumed and body behaving… it was a fab day 🙂

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I still was fighting a bit of a head wind but nothing too bad, and I made the 80km I wanted to. I think I passed the Spanish lads having a siesta as well, but didn’t stop for a chat.

I had planned to camp along the Canal du Midi and was on the look out for places I could stop as all the camp sites I had checked in the area were closed (it seems most sensible people don’t want to camp until at least April, and most of the holiday places are therefore well and truly shut). As I was hunting I spotted some other cycle tourists and went to say hi. A French couple had found a really good spot, but I wasn’t planning on joining them as too many people make it more obvious and easier to find. But they suggested we stop together, so I had some company for the night.

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Wasn’t a huge amount of chatting with the French guys, but it was nice to have some company. I also got a really early night for me which was good. Plan was for Montpellier tomorrow and a warm shower host for my day off. Hope the night is less cold and tomorrow less wet…

Sunday 16/02/2020 — Day 32

So either the night was warmer or I subconsciously took comfort that others were around, but I had a solid night’s sleep and got moving a little earlier! I was actually on the road before 9am! It had rained in the night and was damp that morning, so the tent outer and ground sheet had to go away wet. But I did get the inner down and packed away dry inside/under the protection of the flysheet which is one of the goals in life… another wild camping success 🙂

The first stretch of the canal path was really muddy! So ended up walking and having to clean the tyres out a number of times. It did get nicer again and I was enjoying riding for a while until I had my first fall of the trip! 🙁 In the hud and the bike just went sideways… at least it was a soft landing, except for one of my knees that whet down on the handle bar end.

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I walked for a little bit to get rid of the shakes from suddenly hurting myself. Then back on the horse as they say and got riding. I can definitely feel the need for a rest day. My body is feeling out of sorts, with aches in odd paces and things like my wrists are starting to hurt earlier after each break. I think I need to change the handle bar position but it is not an easy change for me as I am already at the top of the stem.

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Again had one of those moment that make even the grey days fun! I had managed to wiggle my way onto a track between towns and what did I see but Flamingos! I totally did not expect that! Not as pink as you might imagine, but I think some of them are juveniles.

I was very glad to get to Montpellier and my host’s flat. It was a wet day so I was damp and muddy but quickly solved all of that with shower, tea and food. It was lovely to chat with Vivette about all sorts. I am looking forward to a day off the bike tomorrow, chilling, and exploring the city.

Footnote — had a nice day chilling and exploring in Montpellier today, but this post is getting way too long already and it’s late! Unfortunately most of the shops were closed today, so plan tomorrow is to try and find a bike shop open first thing and then hit the road once again…