Sant Hilari de Sacalm is one of the towns that has won my heart, and why not, take the first bicycle trip to a beautiful place. And here, I tell you my story.
Go to Sant Hilari de Sacalm.
For my first trip, a companion joined me. It would be much “simpler” if any incident occurred. We decided to leave from Ripollet, a place that seemed suitable for our objective, with a distance of 80 km from the destination.
With the necessary motivation.
When we left, the first thing we realized was that we had extra clothes. I have a habit of wearing shorts, and before leaving the small town, I had already switched to shorts.
Secondly, we decided not to “organize” the trip and find the path that Google Maps would give us. We started with a relatively “boring” section, which consisted of going through city after city, for example going from Ripollet to Montcada.
We started to take really interesting paths.
Once, past boring cities, we find a stretch that surrounds the river and we pass through really fun parks. Agile, full of trees but very close to the city. We began to enjoy ourselves like dwarfs until we finally ended up on a path without shade and all track.
There, the sun appears and the morning began to ruin us. And precisely, some children on bicycles challenged us to give maximum speed while racing. All this, wasting enormous energy and a human reunion that we have lost as much as we have. All this, until you go from Mollet del Vallés to Roca del Vallés.
The path continued along a rather hot path, tracks that became slow and our novice legs began to weaken after the sprints we had completed. But there was no reason to stop.
Return to civilization.
Finally, we lead to a polygon. A bit strange, where we find horse training, and groups of rather curious people. We are amazed by all the life and activities that we find in each pedal stroke.
We went in search of sources, making necessary stops to recover the water that evaporated with each ray of sunlight. And well, 2 and a half liters doesn’t seem like so much anymore when it’s hot.
Arriving at AP7.
The night has come. And with the night, it was time to cross rivers and forests on “foot”, while we pushed the bicycle and the bushes grabbed us. With a vision rather limited by the little light that an almost stopped dynamo could generate, we took the road parallel to the Mediterranean highway.
During that stretch, it was quick and easy. Very easy to navigate and without worrying about cars or people. Everything was shot, never better said. Motivation was in the air, improvement continued… and the night became darker and darker. Luckily, clear.
A new town.
We arrived at Sant Celoni, and I will remember it because there I was able to refill my water bottles. It was no longer hot, but it was necessary to have water to overcome the challenge that still lay before us.
There, near the fountain, some children stopped playing to see “who we were.” Additionally, a couple approached us to talk to us about their children and ask us about our trip. One more moment, totally human. A feeling, often forgotten today.
A new challenge.
We continued the trip along secondary roads where a scooter with a couple was traveling. We found a tunnel with graffiti, and curiously, we found a half-hidden spray paint. There, we made history by sharing the mural that already existed.
The trip continued and the most complicated section was approaching. And we arrived at Hostalric. In this place, we met a new route companion, with an electric bicycle, who kindly accompanied us to guide us to what he considered the best route to climb to Sant Hilari de Sacalm.
Once we were on the road, after crossing the town, the challenge arrived: our destination was closer than ever and, at the same time, the most critical moment.
A magical sky taken to the limit.
The night covered us. The stars were incredible. Fear took over of being attacked by some wild beast. The dangerous night traffic, the loss of battery in the lights, the physical and psychological exhaustion.
In short: the worst moment of the entire journey arrived. We arrived at Breda, without much problem, but after that town the climb became epic. And Arbúcies was a goal to beat.
The arrival to paradise.
After great suffering, we arrived at Sant Hilari at 5 in the morning. We didn’t think much, we set up our tents and slept… if you can call it that. No more than 2 hours passed when my partner could no longer sleep.
We got up and picked up everything. We hadn’t rested, but we had made it. Now, the entire climb was a descent… a descent of more than 30 minutes.
Return to Ripollet.
The return was much easier. It was a descent… a 20 kilometer descent. About 30 minutes without having to pedal, with a satisfied spirit of having overcome our first challenge.
It is true that there was some moment of “weakness” to return by train, but with determination we finished the entire route by bicycle. With about 180 km traveled in total.
Finally, with a mixture of satisfaction and exhaustion, we returned to Ripollet, having completed an exciting round-trip cycle tour to Sant Hilari de Sacalm. The experience left us with unforgettable memories and the certainty that, despite the challenges, every pedal stroke was worth it.