In search of Pedraforca, a mystic mountain

There are a lot of legends about this Mountain, they call it “the damned mountain”. The most popular legend tells that once upon a time there was a Castle in the middle of the mountain, where some Moor people made a Pact with the Devil himself. The fury of God fall upon them, and during the battle between an angel’s army and the devil the top of the mountain was broken into two pieces.

Anyway, we decide to ride the roads this magic place because of the great landscapes, the nature and the stunning views of the roads that the Natural Park of Cadi-Moixeró offers.

We get up early in the morning, we put our bikes in the Van and start the engine of a dream day between mountains, crazy gradients, forests, lakes, small towns and a lot of km.

We arrive in Cercs early, we had a quick coffee to wake up and we take the road that from Cercs bring us to Coll de Fumanya, what a breakfast! 10 km with gradients of 10-13% riding close to the towns of St. Corneli and Fígols in a quiet secondary road where we meet no cars and an incredible Clean fresh air. Yes, it was tough but the smile on our faces was so big and the feeling priceless.

A quick stop at the top of Coll Fumanya, totally worth it! Because nature, the views we find were awesome.

A quick stop at the top of Coll Fumanya, totally worth it! Because nature, the views we find were awesome.

Clip the pedals! And we put ourselves in a fast downhill towards the infamous Coll de Pradell, it was us and a dream road between huge pines and a blue sky, screaming and having fun like kids.

We arrive at feet of the Giant. 5 km of hell was waiting for us. Coll de Pradell it’s a must and probably one of the hardest climbs we ever made, the heat of July made it even more difficult, every meter of the climb is hard, start from 15-18%, at halfway there’s a small lake and you see a vertical line of asphalt, that makes any cyclist want to cry (22%). The road brings you till the old and spectacular train mine, that gives a western movie touch to the scenery.

On the top of Coll de Pradell we had a proper pit stop on the shadow of 3 big trees, well deserved! In front of us the majesty and Mystic Pedraforca, a great blue sky, the best reward, a feeling we will never forget. Pain is temporary the glory of a moment lasts forever.

Down Down Down! Coll de Pradell was conquered, and now we’re heading to Gósol, a small town in the middle of Berguedà, where Pablo Picasso was living during some years and where he painted some masterpieces.

The road was smooth and incredibly fast, we’ve been playing with the curves of the downhill, what a pleasure!

Arrived in Gósol we put our faces in a fountain of fresh water, the heat was terrible and we start to feel tired. We step into the only place that was open like war pigs, hungry and thirsty, there was an old man that in the first time looks upset for our visit, but he makes us the best cheese sandwich we had in our lives.

Picasso says: “Gósol was amazing, there in the middle of nothing, above the clouds and the fresh air, between nice people, most of them contrabanders, we probably find what is happiness”.

We refill energy and have some rest, we were ready for the last 40 km going back to Cercs, we ride thru great places that look like the Great Canyon and thru some galleries caved in the mountain, the perfect end of a perfect day.