Mostly Bikes ⨯ Me

Perpignan to Beziers.

2/6/2026

A contrast in major disasters versus minor disasters. The 1999 Aude floods washed entire villages down river. The rusting husks of vehicles remain piled at the bottom of the gorges around Tautavel. To the north, burn scars. The solitary yellow cylinder is a fire hydrant. As for minor disasters, a road closure diverted traffic into the villages between Narbonne and Beziers. A quieter route through the vineyards dead ended at a marsh, forcing a longer than expected day. The weather looks good tomorrow, but Sunday has snow forecast along our route. We need to be home Monday, so we’ll grab an afternoon train along the coast tomorrow.

Banyoles to Perpignan

2/5/2026

One more time over the Coll de Manrella. Headed home into France. Lots of snow in the mountains, but the pass is clear, if muddy.

El Mont

2/3/2026

Look out from the top of Rocacorba. Find the tallest mountain without snow on it. That’s El Mont, and it’s a great climb. Unlike Rocacorba, the road is smooth, dry, and almost completely free of traffic on a sunny, 60F, February morning. Of course it wasn’t 60F at the top. It was 40F with a strong wind. I snapped some photos and layered up for the descent. Within a mile I had an ice cream headache from the cold. It didn’t last long, and after some tight switchbacks down the mountain it was a warm tailwind back to Banyoles.

Volcanos

2/1/2026

A few loops up through the Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa and down into Santa Pau for lunch.

Perpignan to Girona

1/28/2026

We rolled out of Perpignan early. I’ve done this transit before in the other direction, but overnighted in Ceret because I had plenty of time. But with all the moisture the Pyrenees have been getting, the Ceret route wasn’t feasible, the pass is likely snowed in. Instead we pointed toward the Col de Banyuls. Woof. The sustained 20%+ grades were leg breakers, but the decent on the other side was sorta worth it. We’ll be into Girona plenty early. Near the bottom of the descent, the road was a bit flooded, but passable. The next road, not so much, but a few kilometer detour sufficed. As we approached Figueres: a major construction project on the only road under an elevated train line on one side, and a river on the other. The detour would be long. Really long. Hike-a-bike got us where we needed to be, but set us back half an hour. We rolled into Girona just as the light faded. We’re only here for a couple of days to do some eating, then we’re headed to Banyoles for a bit longer. After that we’ll see where the weather goes. We’d like to ride home.