BalkanExpress
Guru
- Location
- Brussels
10 minutes to go before the start of la pedals de clip.
I am staring intently at the mechanic, he is staring intently at my freewheel.
I have no Catalan and only a little Spanish but his message is clear, well clear enough, you have lost one of these (points at locknut) and I don't have a spare.
Feeling a little sick I say "perhaps bag" and run to the car. There's no lock nut but there is a shaped washer, with a bit of fiddling the wheel is working. It may last a kilometre, it may last all day but at least I can set off.
It had all been going great until that moment. Bike bag hired and packed; bike caught by baggage handlers just as it was about to fall out of the loading bay; bag, and family fitted into hire car; family happy with the pool and wifi as I prepared to have fun in the hills above Barcelona. I had even managed to sort out a small problem with the freewheel, or so I had thought.
Once, I got going it all went great again, sunny but not blazing hot, picturesque countryside, a few fellow Brits to chat to on the route, loads of lovely bikes to look at, one big climb and a then plenty of rolling countryside and a feed station at a winery, and a wheel that carried on working who could ask for more?
In fact it was so good I am already preparing the family to come back next year. This is not a hard core ride, the long route is only 72 km with all but one km on paved roads, the climb is around 500m of ascent and not outrageously steep, although the downhill has its moments, if,like me, you descent like a sack of spuds. it is however, a very very pleasant experience where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, although each of the parts the parts: friendly people, good weather, smooth tarmac, chilled white wine and tasty ham are pretty good.
I'm lucky in that I could take the family to Spain for the week and fit the ride in as part of our holiday, But, if you can grab a cheap flight and a B+B and with the rental of a vintage bike at €50 it may come to not much more than a weekend at Eroica Britannia.
Photos to follow in the gallery
I am staring intently at the mechanic, he is staring intently at my freewheel.
I have no Catalan and only a little Spanish but his message is clear, well clear enough, you have lost one of these (points at locknut) and I don't have a spare.
Feeling a little sick I say "perhaps bag" and run to the car. There's no lock nut but there is a shaped washer, with a bit of fiddling the wheel is working. It may last a kilometre, it may last all day but at least I can set off.
It had all been going great until that moment. Bike bag hired and packed; bike caught by baggage handlers just as it was about to fall out of the loading bay; bag, and family fitted into hire car; family happy with the pool and wifi as I prepared to have fun in the hills above Barcelona. I had even managed to sort out a small problem with the freewheel, or so I had thought.
Once, I got going it all went great again, sunny but not blazing hot, picturesque countryside, a few fellow Brits to chat to on the route, loads of lovely bikes to look at, one big climb and a then plenty of rolling countryside and a feed station at a winery, and a wheel that carried on working who could ask for more?
In fact it was so good I am already preparing the family to come back next year. This is not a hard core ride, the long route is only 72 km with all but one km on paved roads, the climb is around 500m of ascent and not outrageously steep, although the downhill has its moments, if,like me, you descent like a sack of spuds. it is however, a very very pleasant experience where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, although each of the parts the parts: friendly people, good weather, smooth tarmac, chilled white wine and tasty ham are pretty good.
I'm lucky in that I could take the family to Spain for the week and fit the ride in as part of our holiday, But, if you can grab a cheap flight and a B+B and with the rental of a vintage bike at €50 it may come to not much more than a weekend at Eroica Britannia.
Photos to follow in the gallery
