By bike: Barcelona to Andorra

From the Mediterranean coast to the Pyrenees by bike. About 205 km, from sea level near Barcelona to Andorra at 1,000 m: first through the towns of the Llobregat valley, then along the Cardener and Segre rivers into the hills of Catalonia, and finally the Pyrenean valley to the small country of Andorra. Altogether about 1,700 m of climbing, mostly in the second half.

The route. Barcelona airport area – Molins de Rei – Monistrol de Montserrat – Manresa – Cardona – Oliana – Organyà – La Seu d’Urgell – Escaldes-Engordany.

On the way. Monistrol is at the foot of Montserrat, the mountain with the Benedictine monastery among the rock needles. Manresa is the capital of the Bages region. Cardona has a medieval castle above the town and a salt mountain that has been mined since antiquity. At Organyà the oldest known text in Catalan, the Homilies d’Organyà, was found. La Seu d’Urgell has a Romanesque cathedral; its bishop is also, together with the French president, a co-prince of Andorra. Escaldes-Engordany, at the end, is known for its hot-spring spa.

Good to know. Many of the roads are shared with traffic, and the Segre valley gets cold and windy: bring light layers. The music is a Catalan folk song collection.

Picture: Montserrat monastery below the serrated rocks, Orlith1, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.