Day 2 – St. Andrews, Dundee, Stonehaven
The second day starts overcast and remains cloudy all day, but no rain and 18° C is still great cycling weather. Today I mostly follow the national cycling route #1. It is usually a bit longer, but the roads and cycling paths are quiet. St. Andrews has a huge old...
Through the Kingdom of Fife
In beautiful summer weather I cross the Firth of Forth at Queensferry over the 2 km long Forth road bridge. The three bridges spanning the bay are all impressive with the red railroad bridge being the most striking to look at. The road along the hilly coast of Fife...
Scotland!
The weather in Basel is suitably scottish, cloudy with a slight drizzle.After a pleasant two hour flight, I arrive at Edinburgh airport, where the weather is sunny and 25°C warm.I stock up on gas at the world's largest indoor climbing area in Ratho and am on my way...
Three days in Barcelona
Blue skies! The next two days I get picture-book views on the city from it's hill parks. It's hot in the sun, but the cities high buildings offer much shade and the many parks fresh air. On Sunday I walk up Montjuïc park and have a great view on the city and its port....
Down to Barcelona
A hard wind blows from the north and drives me down along the coast much quicker than expected. On the larger roads going 30 km/h is no problem and the fairly heavy traffic doesn't bother that much at this speed. Only the many traffic lights slow me down. Lloret de...
To the coast!
I start early, merely 25 km from the coast as the crow flies. I'm not a crow, though and bound by earthly roads, which wind this way and that way. I ride to Figueres, home of a Vauban fortress and the Dalí museum. However, the fortress only opens at ten, while I'm...
Col d’Ares, the last ‘big’ pass
One last time back to France to go over the Col(l) d'Ares. A long, not very steep, uphill, quick downhill and tiny mountain road back over the border to Catalonia. The sun is beating down hard today until late in the afternoon. Most of the uphill is through the woods,...
Day 11 – Eastwards
As I travel through the eastern part of the Pyrenees I find quiet, narrow valleys and small villages. The passes today are as high as those in the high Pyrenees, but the valleys aren't as deep and so I start much higher. Nevertheless there's enough up and down. While...
Coll el Cantó & La Trava
Deeper into Catalonia ... I can't help noticing that there are not many signs at all that I'm in Spain here. There are no Spanish flags, people even don't speak Spanish but Catalan, which doesn't make it easier to understand. I really hope they make their...
Port d’Envalira & Port de Cabús
The road up to the Port d'Envalira is always full, but today it seemed eben busier than usual. That's despite the weather that did not quite invite for a stroll at 2400 m. It was cloudy and around 15° C most of the time. Good cycling weather with almost no wind. The...