Bikepacking Drama: My Front Brake’s Implosion

Bikepacking Drama: My Front Brake’s Implosion

Good morning. Almost sunrise I need to find the motivation to leave this sleeping bag or quilt. The sky is on fire though. The humidity down there is real, very real. Good morning guys, last night I made a little video but I don’t know why it turned out to be a time lapse.

Anyway, this was my spot to camp. I knew it was gonna be a bit drier because of the basement in concrete and it was a fairly good night. It was dry until this morning, until around six o’clock and then the temperature drops a little bit and there is a little bit of humidity.

Yeah, but see here it’s dry, inside is 99% dry and yesterday there was there was some wind coming from the north and I knew like I have to pitch my tent now. Before I made my dinner I pitched my tent and in like five minutes it was dry.

I took it out, it was all wet inside out but I pitched it, five ten minutes it was dry with the wind. Today should be good, today and tomorrow should be good and then it should be raining for a day and the temperature drops significantly but let’s enjoy

Another one or two days of nice temperatures. Leave no trace, let’s go and hit the road. It’s a beautiful day, again, yet again in Spain, a beautiful day, yet again, beautiful ride. Look at this, what a great ride, what a great day. Montsec Bikepacking Loop Another great day of riding, I feel it.

Another great day of freedom. Maybe it’s gonna be the last day but it was worth it. Look at this, I’m leaving my home for the night. What a privilege! I get homes, wonderful homes all over the world. Vagabonding, that’s the way to live. So much energy, so much energy guys.

They’re doing some works. I can feel the rosemary in the air. After this village there is another detour. I think it’s four or five kilometers. Backtracking is not in my DNA. Maybe if it was summer I would do it, but probably not. The pain in my tendon

And the wintry climate is probably just an excuse. Let’s call it as it is. Backtracking is bullshit. Vilanova della Sal. Probably they were mining salt here. Or they still do. This is a bit ridiculous. In this village there are two side tracks.

One to go up a hill here and another one on another hill. Do you want me to come back three times in the same village? No way. No fucking way. No backtracking for me. That’s it. Look at this beauty. There is no need to do side tracks. But really, it’s a bit annoying.

And what’s the point to have a bikepacking route? Every hill you see, you can take a diversion and come back. Let’s continue on this, let’s see if at some point I can bring myself… oh I forgot to dispose my trash. Let’s see if I at some point I can bring myself

to take a diverge. Beautiful, beautiful day. This part was a bit downhill, I should have worn my jacket, I got a bit cold. Very nice riding, very nice places. I love it. And you know I get into the flow, I’m following the route, I don’t like these side tracks.

Nah, let’s just go with the flow. You’re making progress, you’re enjoying the ride, it’s beautiful. I need to secure my trash before I lose it and I don’t even realize it. And we stopped. Now the trash is safe and sound till I find a place to dispose it properly. Beautiful.

They didn’t harvest the almonds on this tree. The almonds were not that great to be honest. They are bitter almonds. But four or five almonds, even if they’re bitter, it’s good. Let’s keep going. Yet again another detour. There is a cave up there. Different day, different problem.

Now the problem is that the spring that keeps the pads spread got bent. I think I’m screwed. It got so hot that the spring melted. Fuck, you know. I don’t know, look. I was really lucky there was no bonding. I think they are different metals, no bonding.

And luckily I have a spare one. I think those are not good quality. I will replace them as soon as possible. And also the rotor got damaged obviously. So, I will, you can see here. I will need to change the rotor and the pads again. But at least I saved the day.

Very lucky, very fucking lucky. I think the job is done. Let’s take it for a spin. Yeah, there is a bit of brushing, but this is what it is, the rotor is damaged now. All right, the braking situation is solved. Now if I have another problem with my brakes, I’m screwed

Because I only had one pair of spare pads. Let’s keep on going guys. At the end I lost one hour there. What a fantastic place. Back on dirt. It’s fun, it’s fun guys. Already pretty higher than the village, just a few minutes. Nice view though.

At the end of this downhill bit I will stop for lunch. It’s overdue. 13 45 Super nice views even on top of this hill. Very nice. Let’s ride to this house to see if there is a nice place to sit down and have lunch. I hope it’s abandoned.

Not much going on but I sit somewhere here. Reverse, I missed my turn off. During the break I turned off the navigation app because it was really annoying. I don’t know, it keeps beeping when you stop somewhere. And I forgot to turn it on again. And I missed my turn off.

Back on track finally. I was off the track about 2 km. Shit happens. Shit happens. Even today not many kilometers at the end but it is what it is. I lost a bit of time with the with the break. Still slimy though… Very beautiful, very very beautiful. There’s a rosemary everywhere.

This is Rosemary. So good. I need to stop here and show you the view because it’s something else. Look at the cliffs, the mountains, the rolling hill farm. Maybe here there is a better view actually. Yes, I have. This is the castle. Must be a reason why I’m the king of my castle.

Not much going on at the castle. I’m going away. Yeah, this is future me. Unfortunately for the rest of the afternoon evening I recorded time lapses, instead of a normal video. It’s a pity because it was a blissful riding into the night

And yeah, I just leave the time lapses and I hope you can still enjoy it, but the talking is gone and the night videos in the village are gone. I’m sorry.

Cycling the world – Europe: 142 episode
In the captivating third episode of the Montsec Bikepacking Loop in Catalonia, awaken with me to a breathtaking sunrise, where the sky ignites with vibrant colors, setting the stage for a blissful yet chilly morning ride. The journey takes an unexpected turn before lunch when the spring in my disc brake pads implodes, challenging me with a timely repair after dismantling the entire brake system. Undeterred, I traverse the stunning Montsec mountains, moving from dirt road to dirt road, trail to trail, immersing myself in the beauty of this rugged terrain. As night falls, I arrive in the enchanting village of Anger, cloaked in darkness but just in time to stock up on provisions. Utilizing the cover of night, I scout the outskirts for the perfect spot to stealth camp, ready to rest before another day of adventure.

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