Mat & Kat's big bike trip
Day 7 El Balís
We left Sitges feeling refreshed after a day off. It was a winding, rolling 15km alongside the sea, sparkling in the morning sunshine. Fairly heavy traffic but good cycling. We found two unexpected Sombras alongside the road which brought us joy, and then stopped for a coffee and a pee at Castelldefels.
From Castelldefels there were cycle lanes and eventually a track through a nature reserve ending in a pedestrian bridge that took us to the edge of Barcelona. It was quite a surreal experience cycling into Barcelona. We were last here in December, and our route took us almost past the door of the hotel we stayed at. Of course, we found a Sombra while we were passing through.
We stopped down by the port for a bocadillo and a rest, then out on a long flat section past a thing that might be an abandoned power station, and all the way along the coast out to El Masnou where we stopped in a quiet, shady park for lunch. The park was at the top of a fairly steep hill and Kat needed some persuading to go there, but it was a lovely spot and (probably) worth the effort.
From there it was a fun, flat and fast 20km to El Balís, our stop for the night. We're in a basic hostel with an incredible view of the marina and the sea. It's a glorious afternoon and I need a wash.
Today's improvement to our gear was wiring up a USB battery to my phone so that it was charging all day. The battery lasted about 70km and then my phone battery started to go down. But this is much better than previously, where I would have to charge my phone every time we stopped - my phone is good for about 70km of navigation without charging, so between them both we have enough range for every planned day of the trip. It's all gone a bit wrong if we're riding more than 140km in a day.
Love, Kat & Mat x