{"id":1322,"date":"2023-09-13T09:37:06","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T09:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/honzajede.cz\/?p=1322"},"modified":"2024-01-10T12:34:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T12:34:51","slug":"bikepacking-europe-2023-spain-andorra-france-italy-switzerland-austria-germany-cz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/honzajede.cz\/en\/bikepacking-en\/bikepacking-europe-2023-spain-andorra-france-italy-switzerland-austria-germany-cz\/","title":{"rendered":"Bikepacking Europe 2023 | Spain, Andorra, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, CZ"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is autumn 2022 and after successfully embracing the Czech Republic<\/a>, I am thinking about where to go next year. The goal is to add kilometers and go (perhaps at least partially) abroad. I have set the ideal theoretical distance to 2,000 km and it would be good to use air transport in one direction. Personally, I find it better to start the journey at the farthest point and ride towards home. I look forward to going home, and the often difficult planning of transport back home with an uncertain departure date is no longer required.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]I start researching flights from Prague and after a while I find the connection Prague – Barcelona from the airline Vueling, with which it is easy to buy bike transport. I was only in Spain as a child, the Pyrenees have attracted me for a long time, the rough distance is around 2 thousand kilometers… It looks really good. I let it go through my head for a few more days and finally it’s clear. I am going to Spain at the end of May.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”822″ onclick=”link_image”][vc_empty_space height=”10″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]

The Journey to Spain And the First Day of the Expedition<\/span><\/h2>[vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]In the early hours of the morning, my friend Jarda picks me up and we leave for Prague to the airport. The journey by car and by plane went without complications and I was at the airport in Barcelona around 2 p.m. I assemble my bike and I start to pedal around 4 p.m. What was not planned well enough from the beginning was the departure from the airport. I was planning to leave from another terminal. After about an hour I get to my route and set off. Originally, I had planned to end the first day in Barcelona and not leave until the second day. Unfortunately, even though I had booked accommodation through Booking.com since March, 3 days before departure I received an email that my accommodation was canceled (note for fictitious reasons). So at the last minute I decided to continue along the route and book accommodation in the town of Aiguafreda, which is about 80 km from the airport.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]The worst hours of the expedition will not be long in coming. The path is not as easy as it seemed on the map. Sometimes I have to improvise and take it over the red hiking trails. Unfortunately for me, the Spanish red trails are more like a via ferrata than a hiking trail, it’s dark and it’s raining. Some sections were already on the edge. However, after imagining and accepting various scenarios, among which was the option that my bike would fall off a rock (still a better bike than me), I would go pick it up the next morning and figure out a way back home, everything was much better. Simply, if you mentally prepare yourself for a worse scenario, you can handle a lot. In addition to the psyche, I also struggle with the muscles on my body. I get severe leg cramps that run all the way down my calf and thigh. The body resigns itself to the current situation and it’s hard. Sometime around 11.30 p.m I get to Aiguafreda and after a bit of haggling the guesthouse owner finally opens the door and gives me the keys to my room. Phew, that was the start.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”]
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The Pyrenees and the Alps will test that<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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+- it worked out :-)<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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Last Photo in CZ<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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Visiting the lounge before departure<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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The bike is in Spain<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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First kilometers in Barcelona<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]

Spain and Andorra<\/span><\/h2>[vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]I like Spain. At every corner there are houses made of stones, which at first glance look as if they have stood here for hundreds of years. Tourism is at zero at this time. The locals look at me in surprise, as if they think I must be lost somewhere. Nobody speaks English, but I must add that everyone is very nice and polite. I really like this. I arrive at the Cad\u00ed-Moixer\u00f3 Natural Park, where there are already quite decent mountains – I was moving at an altitude of around 2,000 m. This park is really tough on loaded gravel bike. In the best case, the cycle path leads on gravel roads, in the worst, it leads through places where there may have been a path in the past. But now there is no trace of it. Add to that quite changeable weather, it’s just challenging. Anyway, when I start to doubt my quest, I say something along the lines of, “You wanted it? You’re supposed to have it. Go for it.” And in the end, no hill seems that big.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]