It's funny how a simple WhatsApp message with a crazy idea can end up turning into an adventure. That was precisely the reason why Pol and I decided to go to Benidorm to attend the 2024 Cyclocross World Cup on gravel bikes instead of by car, plane, or train. I think we both agreed that it would be much more exciting this way, don't you think?
Day 1 - From Barcelona to Reus
There's nothing like the first day of an adventure, right? Ours started a bit later than planned because Pol had the motorcycle license test that same morning. However, as it was the first day, and we were completely motivated, we didn't mind at all. We pressed the start button on our respective cycling computers at 2:53 PM on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, heading to our first stop: Reus, Tarragona.
The first part of the route was quite enjoyable. It was still daylight, the gravel tracks were excellent and the conversations were very interesting. Around kilometer 30, in Begues, we made a quick stop for some caffeine to fuel our bodies and prepare for what – unbeknownst to us – lay ahead. The two tracks we took to cross the Garraf Park until connecting with the Foix Park were a true spectacle, highly recommended. After that stretch, night fell, and the real challenge began.
I remembered, from my early mountain biking days, that the Parc del Foix wasn't very gravel-friendly, to put it mildly. Indeed, I wasn't mistaken: We covered about 12 km at an average speed of 10.7 km/h. I suppose you can imagine the challenging terrain: slopes exceeding 17%, loose rocks, roots... and, of course, at night with our bikes loaded with bikepacking bags. Oh, and we also got a bit lost at some point :). Recommendation: If you ever decide to do this route, take the road around Pantà del Foix. You'll save yourself a completely unnecessary section with a gravel bike.
Getting out of that stretch was a real relief. After that, we continued linking secondary roads and manageable gravel paths until we reached l'Arboç, where we stopped for dinner to regain strength for the final stretch to our overnight destination. After finishing, we covered about 20 km following the original plan, and at a crossroads connecting a dirt road with a paved one, Pol and I came to a mutual agreement without much discussion: Replan the itinerary and take the fastest and most direct route. At that point, we were exhausted and just wanted to get there, take a shower, and stretch out in bed.
Despite that, we still pedaled for another 2 hours, covering about 40 km on secondary roads and paved paths. We arrived in Reus around midnight, searched for the nearest open supermarket, and grabbed the first things we found: a couple of juices each, a box of Donuts and a pack of Oreos. We were drained – and indeed, the guys who served us probably thought the same, as they gave us a couple of croissants for free. After that, we found the location of the room where we were going to spend the night, took a shower, and headed straight to bed. As soon as we stretched out, it started pouring rain. I remember quickly commenting with Pol about how lucky we were to avoid the rain, and then we fell deeply asleep.
Day 2 - From Reus to Castellón
Honestly, when the alarm went off, I didn't want to get up. We had barely slept for 6 hours, and I assure you it didn't seem nearly enough after the demanding route of the previous day. Moreover, the day dawned cold and wet, and our butts were more affected than we would have liked. But these little things are part of the game, and since we had to be in Benidorm by 4 p.m. on Friday, we had no choice but to get dressed, get on the bike and pedal.
We were lucky to find a good bakery 100 meters from where we slept, so we ate as much as we could and went to find a pharmacy to buy vaseline. Note: Don't do as we did and forget something as important on these types of trips – where you spend many hours sitting on the bike – as chamois cream. To prevent the same from happening to you, I encourage you to take a look at my list of "Bikepacking Essentials".
I have to admit that once we got on the bike, our mood changed completely. The route helped a lot with that, as we covered truly amazing – and varied – roads, paths and tracks. The first long stop was in Amposta at around kilometer 90. Honestly, we thought that by that time we would have covered more than half of the distance to Castellón: Nothing could be further from the truth. So, once we accepted that – again – we were going to ride several hours at night, we decided to sit in a restaurant, order a combo plate and take it easy.
We set off with 120km remaining and "only" 500m of elevation gain. Easy, right? You can't imagine how agonizing it was. For those who don't know, from the Delta area onwards, the wind is usually a common occurrence. And as it couldn't be otherwise, we had it head-on for the rest of the day. Additionally – as we were told when we arrived in Benidorm – there was a windstorm that day that brought gusts of wind between 60 and 80 km/h. Very amusing, as I mentioned.
We reached Castellón around 9 p.m. and we had some issues with the hotel reservation. While Pol tried to solve that, I looked for a Japanese buffet to have dinner. When we finally got into the room, we showered and walked to the restaurant with the last bit of energy we had left. I'm not lying when I say we ate so much that one of the waiters forbade us from ordering more dishes. I mention this to give you an idea of the amount of energy we consumed that day. After finishing, we returned to the hotel and fell asleep instantly.
Day 3 - From Castellón to Ontinyent
We slept like two exhausted little kids after a whole day of play. Despite being grateful for getting a couple more hours of rest than the day before, after +350 km in two days, they didn't seem nearly enough. Despite that, we stretched, repacked our things into the bags, got dressed and went in search of a place to have breakfast and fuel our bodies for another long day.
We found a typical bakery in the Valencian Community, ordered food for 4 people, and paid for 2. It's amazing how – those of us living in big cities – are used to paying exorbitant prices for everything, but well, that's not the topic for this post. After finishing, we cycled a few kilometers and stopped for coffee in the next village we found. Pol had to take a work call, and I took the opportunity to respond to a few emails. Like everything else, our lifestyle has its ups and downs, but certainly, this is one of the things I like: being able to work anywhere and anytime, as long as I have access to an electronic device (phone or computer) and an internet connection.
That day was an uphill battle for me. I guess it was a combination of things: one of the buckles of the saddlebag broke and we had to fix it with cable ties; my left knee started hurting (I had an injury some time ago); but above all, I was paying for the tremendous effort of the previous day battling against the wind. I have to thank Pol for dragging me to Valencia, where we were going to stop for lunch. I suppose this is one of the foundations of Bikepacking: "Today for you, tomorrow for me." As I said, we stopped to eat in the city. Nothing fancy, we found a supermarket and bought a couple of ready-made dishes – our stomachs were not up for much partying either.
After finishing, Pol realized that his front wheel was flat, and we couldn't get the tubeless fluid to seal the hole completely. Before leaving the city, we made the decision to go get a tube. As the saying goes: "Better safe than sorry." On the way to the store, I entered a curve on a bike lane a bit too fast and crashed. Nothing serious, but perfect to add to the already quite eventful day we had. After what seemed like an eternity (crossing Valencia felt long), we reached a Decathlon, inflated the tire with a floor pump, and bought what was necessary to ensure we could get to Benidorm without many mishaps.
A couple of towns later, I asked Pol to stop at a pharmacy: the knee pain was killing me. I called my sister, who is a nurse, and she recommended that I take an Ibuprofen for inflammation. Done and done, from that moment on, I revived. At that point, we went straight and covered about 60km with hardly any stops until Xàtiva, where we would stop for dinner before starting the ascent to Ontinyent, the village of my grandparents, where we were going to spend the night. There in Xàtiva, we dined like kings at Restaurante Moncho, and – surprisingly – our spirits were quite high despite still having 40 km and 600 m of positive elevation gain to ride at night. I guess we were already used to all that at that point in the journey.
After a couple of hours cycling on paths with no light other than what we had on our bikes, we saw the sign for Ontinyent. As I mentioned, it's the village where my grandparents grew up, and where my sister and I spent a large part of our summers and Christmases in our childhood. Also, I hadn't been down there for about 5 years, for one reason or another. Can you imagine how excited I was to get there by bike, right? We climbed to the apartment and everything transported me to my childhood years; everything was the same, everything smelled the same. It was a comforting situation; it was like being at home.
Day 4 - From Ontinyent to Benidorm
Last day of our journey. A seemingly easy day: "Only" 80km to Benidorm.
As it had become routine, we woke up, packed our things, got dressed and went down for breakfast. The day was starting off quite overcast, but we didn't give it much importance. We had been monitoring the rain on the weather radar for a few days, and it seemed like we were going to escape it.
We entered the nearest café to my grandparents' apartment that we found and each devoured three sandwiches. I suppose by now it's unnecessary to tell you that people were amazed every time we walked into a place dressed as cyclists and ate as if we had been lost in the desert for three days. Right after finishing, we paid and left. And of course, surprise! It was starting to rain. "Ah, it's just a few drops", I told Pol.
At the 25 km mark, after cresting and descending the first climb of the day – beautiful, by the way – we had to urgently stop in Muro de Alcoy: We were soaked. (Tip: If it's raining a lot and cold, buy cleaning gloves to put on top and protect your hands from the cold in order to maintain brake feel. They are cheap and effective). We found a café and sat for a while to try to warm up. When we realized that wasn't going to happen sitting there and apparently, the rain was stopping, we decided to gather courage to continue.
The first few minutes were horrible, but – fortunately – we started climbing directly and as it had indeed stopped raining, we quickly warmed up. We cycled 15km to Penàguila, stopped for a quick sandwich in a typical bar of these villages to prepare for the ascent of the longest pass of the entire route: Tudons. (Note: For those from outside, especially. In these places in Spain – which may not seem like it at first glance – is where you usually eat the best).
From Penàguila, we had about 8km of pass at an average of 7.5%. Luckily, reaching km 2, a group of road cyclists caught up with us, and – with their permission – we enjoyed riding in their wheel. Once we reached the top, Pol and my faces were different. We had 30km to Benidorm and practically all of them were downhill: You can't imagine how much we enjoyed that descent.
We arrived at the Benidorm Plaza Hotel just before 4 pm. We checked in, left the bikes in their specific parking area (one of the best I've seen, honestly) and went up to the room to shower and rest for half an hour before starting the activities that Visit Benidorm had prepared for us for the Cyclocross World Cup weekend. But that's a topic for another blog, which you can find by following this link.
So, here concludes our little adventure to kick off the year. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, want more details or simply want to say hello.
Thanks once again to Visit Benidorm for inviting us to be part of this wonderful experience. We hope to have the opportunity to see you again soon.
And finally, if you want to be the first to know about the upcoming ones, don't hesitate to subscribe to my newsletter below. I assure you the year has just begun and there are exciting journeys on the horizon.