Saturday, January 26, 2008

Across The Montseny [St. Celoni-Vic trip]

Yamaha RD 350



Couple of weeks ago I decided to explore the Montseny Natural Park. Its a fantastic natural reserve in Catalunya, shrouded by stunning mountains with loads of entwined curvy roads with plenty of green fields and beautiful forests.

Here we go!



First stop


The route was to drive from the Maresme in the coast to St. Celoni and then cross the natural Park through El Brull, then Seva and finally go to Vic on the other side where I was supposed to meet a friend.


Break on through to the other side..of Montseny

Maresme at the bottom

Top view

Considering the sort of narrow curvy roads you get in The Montseny, I thought my beloved Yamaha RD 350 was the perfect partner and the right gear for the trip, so early on Saturday morning I filled the deposit, got a liter of Racing Motul 800 oil [Yes you need to mix that with petrol on a two stroker!] and departed from St. Pol in the coast towards St. Celoni crossing first the small villages of St. Iscle de Vallalta and Vallgorguina.




The roads were a bit humid on some parts, mainly because there is barely no sun in Montseny north face and also lots of trees, so I had to be a bit careful. I have changed recently the pistons so my intention wasn't to go to fast really.
The main thing was to enjoy the views and trip!




As soon as I was getting closer to the mountains I could see some snow spots on top. It was a bit chill day but I was well prepared. You have to if you drive motorbikes in winter, even here in Spain.


Snow on top

I stopped for a smoke or two and got some photos. I could see some old catalan traditional houses all along the way [Masias]. I really envy this people living there.

Reaching the top


Around noon I reached the top of Coll Fornic. I could see nearby Turo de l`Home and Les Agudes mountains which are the highest ones in El Montseny.


El Brull village on the way to Vic

Then on the other side of the montain there was El Brull a tiny village with a catholic church. The funny thing was that the road went through the middle of the old construction which I thought was a bit daft [To say the least really] .





El Brull local council. I think we are missing a flag there he he ..

I could see Vic already on the far distance so as I was getting closer and driving down already I decided to pull over again. Then is when I saw this bloke with skying with some sort of rollers I never saw before. He was going upwards! and he had quiet a long way still. I thought was pretty cool.


Wicked

Good luck!

View from a Hill

Bit further down got in Seva. I was closer to my destination. Seva is one of the last towns you get in Montseny and is home of a famous catalan Moto GP rider of the 90s Alex Crivillé [and after my trip I understand why!] The old good days of the 500cc two strokers.

Seva entrance

And finally around tea time I arrived to Vic so I headed for the main square [Plaça Major] and after ringing my friend I waited for her in the nearest bar to get a well deserved beer.
Another sterling job of my Yamaha RD 350!

Vic main square


2 comments:

Himanshu Bhandari said...

cheers bro!!!

Anonymous said...

Hola Pedro,

Buena ruta motera la del Montseny. Justo la semana pasada hice la misma ruta pero al revés: desde Seva a Sant Celoni. Con tramos de muy espesa niebla (en El Brullm, sobretodo) y suelo mojado y, en Coll Formic, a 1115 metros por encima del mar, un solazo increíble. Toda la carretera era para mi. Imagínate, una delicia.

Mítica esa RD...

Una V.