After a heroic effort, we manage to get ourselves fed, packed and out the door by 9:15. We're in a rush this morning because after a week of sun there's rain in the forecast today, beginning in early afternoon. It doesn't look too scary - light precipitation and mild winds - but up in the mountains, you never know.
This part of the tour was a bit hard to plan for. If you're staying in lodges instead of camping, your ride ends in a village at the bottom of a pass. There aren't many of those, and they seem to be thirty or so miles apart. What to do? Double up and make a long day with about 7,000' of climbing, or a series of fairly short ones. We chose the latter, with days like today in mind - who wants to bike a hard seventy mile ride in the rain? With only thirty or so, you've got a chance to fit your ride in around the cloudbursts. Today, this feels pretty prescient.
Not too much to say about the ride itself. Just more of the same - beautiful, quiet roads, dramatic scenery; the usual we've come to take for granted here. This is such fantastic cycling country - we can't quite get over it, and how uniquely beautiful each day's ride has seemed. I'm really going to miss this country when we pass out of it in a few days.
We'll, there is one more thing to say - we had luck with the weather. It held off until we arrived in town, barely. Within a half hour of our arrival a light rain began to fall; and by late afternoon it ceased and the sun came out, in time for us to appreciate a stroll through the town.
Here's Rachael's video" for the day, featuring cliffs, tunnels and motorcycles. No zebras though - those were yesterday.
Total elevation gain: today, 4,800'; for the tour, 58,600'
Crossing the El Segre River, just north of Coll de Nargo. We've just turned off the very busy C14 onto the quiet road to Sant Llorenc. C14 continues on to Sue d'Urgell and then Andorra. Based on this morning's traffic, it's not a road I'd care to bike.
These two passed us early in the ride, so I thought we might see more of them out for a Saturday ride. Not the case though - in the next 30 miles we saw one other bicyclist, and perhaps a hundred motorcycles.
We encountered about seven rough-hewn, unlit tunnels today, all very short - well less than a hundred yards. The're cutting through narrow fins of resistant rock jutting out from the cliff face.
The view back down the pass. Coll de Nargo is out of sight at the bottom of the valley, around the corner from the nearest ridge on the left. I believe the large arched formation far in the distance just left of center is the cirque at Boixols that we passed beneath yesterday.
Somewhere near the summit - the first one, anyway. It's a taunting climb, with four false summits followed by minor descents before you finally to out for good.
At the top, and still dry! We should be fine now - we're only six miles from town, and they're all downhill. I have my doubts though - we felt a few drops just a half mile back, so maybe it's about to break out; just in time to give us a slick descent.
Our reward for our early start - the best meal of the trip. We weren't sure what we were ordering because the menu was only in Catalan, but we chose we'll. For starters, a goat cheese salad and a delicious ravioli-like pasta.
And for mains, a lean cut pork dish sided with a well constructed potato cabin; and a leg of lamb, with chips of potatoes and onions messily strewn around.
