WE EXPLORE CERDANYA BY BIKE TOGETHER WITH DXII
Cerdanya Cycling Culture and DXII join forces once again this year to discover all the charms of La Cerdanya. This second edition, held last May, had prepared for us a bicycle route through Catalonia, from the sea of Barcelona to the mountains of the Cerdanya Valley (border with France).
At 6:30 am we started this adventure in the DXII shop (QUINIENTOSDOCE), Barcelona. 21 cyclists were getting ready to spend an unforgettable day of cycling, surrounded by good atmosphere, enjoying cycling and discovering the wonderful region of La Cerdanya.
216 km, 4,166m+, 8h 37m pedalling and 10h 36m elapsed in total. A support van with mechanical assistance, 5 refreshment stops and one food stop to complete this road cycling adventure.
La Cerdanya is an area where different heritages, cultures and traditions are mixed, as it is located in Catalonia and, in addition, it has a natural border with Andorra and France. This means that this territory, characterised by its mountain vegetation, mixes its own personality with French and Andorran customs, references and "touches".
For the occasion, from the Gsport Custom department, we made a jersey for all those attending the event. A very minimal design inspired by a marble with shades of blue (for the sea of Barcelona) and brown (for the mountains of La Cerdanya - capital Puigcerdà).
The range chosen to face this day of cycling was our AERO jersey, a garment that combines smooth lycra fabric on the front and micro-perforated lycra on the back with light mesh side panels, ideal for wicking away sweat and regulating body temperature. Its lycra sleeves with inner silicone make this jersey the ideal option to guarantee comfort and fit for all body types.
Starting point, Barcelona (Mª Auxiliadora 9, 08017 Barcelona) in the Sarria neighbourhood. Shop QUINIENTOSDOCE (DXII).
Departure from Barcelona via the Collserola Cemetery (Coll de la Ventosa, 1st small gate). We cross the Vallés through Ripollet and Polinyà (an industrial area with long, flat stretches of land that must be crossed). We cross Castellar del Vallés to Sant Llorenç de Savall (here the landscape is already different, we leave behind the large towns and only find fields and small villages).
We climbed a small pass in St. Llorenç and headed towards the Bages area, crossing Monistrol de Calders, Artès and Sallent (a flat area in the inland centre of Catalonia). The next point was the surprise of the day, the road from Parts de Lluçanes to Gaià, about 9 km approximately, where the participants began to show their noses to each other.
From here we headed towards the Pyrenees, passing through the Riera de Merlés, a visual spectacle and a very steep climb of 20km at 2-3%. Once we crowned Merlés we headed to Sant Joan de Fontanya, before climbing the Coll de Sant Jaume de Borreda, a 10km climb with some ramps of over 7%.
We arrive at Sant Joan de Fontanya where we make the 3rd pit stop for lunch. Pasta with oregano and parmesan, bananas, watermelon, biscuits and sweets were on the menu. After about 40 minutes of rest we continued towards Cerdanya.
The next town was La Pobla de Lillet, a small village from where the big challenge of the day began, the Coll de la Creueta, a 21km Hors Categorie pass at 5.2% and 1,107m+. We started the climb with 160km in our legs and our legs were starting to faint.
After reaching the summit at 1.923m we started the 27km descent through the Collada de Tosas to the town of Puigcerdà (capital of the Cerdanya region).
After arrival and sharing anecdotes, shower and team dinner, a good pizza to regain strength.
More stories:
Leave a comment