We'd been looking forward to this ride all week, having plotted a large circuit along tracks we've seen from the crags over the years. The first part of the day did feel slightly strange though, parking in Cornudella then cycling up on the road towards Siurana. I must have driven this road literally hundreds of times (and Ali even more) but it's a whole different experience on a bike - you notice far more things and of course it's bloody hard work!
Once at the goat farm we headed off the road and into new territory, along a windy track up to a long ridge which gave stunning views in all directions, towards Montsant and Margalef on one side and the Med on the other. Well worth the slog! We then dropped down to the village of Febro, where the Siurana Valley starts and leads down to the lake. The downhill was very fast and very fun to start, but then the track disintegrated somewhat... We'd seen on the map that this would be a short section on "difficult footpath" to link our circuit, but I wasn't quite expecting to be carrying my bike down a canyon! Anyway, an interesting interlude which served as a bit of pre-lunch comedy! It was plain sailing along the valley, again covering tracks we'd seen in the past but never been bothered to walk, hurrah for bikes :-)
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| This really was the path! |
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| Trying not to slip and fall in... |
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Sandwiches and squashed pears in the sun :-)
Note: Ripe pears do not cope well with spending several hours bouncing around in a rucksack |
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| Another "Grand Design"? |
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| Contouring round the lake back to Cornudella |
