Day 1 (18 SEP)- Barcelona to Montserrat (60km, 2h)
The day had finally come for my long-awaited vacation. On the morning of the trip, Juan and I set off on our bikes from home at 7am for our 9 am flight that would take us to Barcelona. By the time our flight had landed in Barcelona, it was already 11am and we made our way to Plaza de Catalunya on the Aerobus, a super convenient airport shuttle bus service that went directly to the city centre at a cost of 6€ one way. As we waited to collect our motorbikes at 2pm, we enjoyed a healthy and delicious lunch at Honest Greens. The piripiri chicken that I ordered came with a side of Greens and a piece of sour dough bread. We shared a dish of sweet potato chips with radish and alioli sauce. The atmosphere was great and Juan was certainly impressed with the place.
At around 2, I left Juan at the restaurant and headed to pick up my motorbike. The bike was rented through Momoven, a Spanish match making platform for bike owners and renters. I rented a MT 03 with only 16,000 KM on it for the price of 260€ for 5 days and 750 KM included. My bike came with side buckets, which turned out to be very convenient to store some of the items that I was carrying, including my helmet.
The bike itself was an absolute joy to ride. My first tough as I climbed on the bike was that it was surprisingly low, thus I was easily able to put my foot on the ground. The engine was smooth and the bike gave no indications that it was going to stall despite riding it on the lower end of revolutions, which was big contrast to my Himalayan. The sensation that it gave was quite like the KTM race 390 but with a little bit less power. Never the less, it is still a powerful bike that can quickly reach motorway speeds in no time. The feature that I most appreciated was the comfortable riding position common of naked bikes which was essential for the 700km road trip that I had planned.
A piece of equipment that I came to value highly was the Sena intercoms that were attatched to our helmets. It allowed us to communicate in real time and made it a lot easier to navigate the city and ride together. The sound quality is perfect and connection range was sufficient.
We picked up Juan´s Harley Davidson afterwards and to say that he was excited didnt do much justice to how he felt. He was over the moon, and might have even momentarily forgotten his beloved dog Toni for a split second when he first started the motorbike. With the help of Google maps and the Sena intercoms, we made our way to Juan’s girlfriends place to pick her up. She was going to spend the evening with us and return home later at night after dinner. While we waited for Cristina to get ready, I went into a café to buy some water. The owners were Chinese so I spoke to them in Chinese and it appeared that the first time they didnt understand me. As they looked at me as if I came from a diferent planet, I asked for two bottles of water again and they repeated what I had said. I gave a nod of confirmation and even said yes in Chinese but they continued to stare at me in a weird way. It was an incredibly bizarre encounter that happened not only to me, but also to Juan. I am uncertain if these were isolated cases or if it was common occurrences in Catalunya but it gave me the impression that people in this region of Spain were cold, unfriendly, and acted in strange ways for no apparent reason. I say this more as an observation rather than criticism and this didnt influence my mood.
After picking up Cristina, we headed to our hotel that was a short distance from Montserrat. We traversed small towns and intercity roads until finally arriving at our hotel a few kilometres away from Montsserrat. It appeared to be an old farm house converted into a hotel. The rooms were clean but nothing out of the ordinary. The reason as to why I decided to stay here instead of Barcelona was three-fold. Firstly, its slightly cheaper than the city centre. Secondly, it gave us time to visit Montserrat and its surrounding area. And finally, after taking about 2 hours to travel just a few kilometres to leave the centre of Hanoi on a previous bike trip in, I imagined it to be the same in Barcelona. But I was wrong. Riding around Barcelona and leaving the city was effortless, nothing like what I had experienced in Vietnam.
We left our bags in at the hotel and headed to Montserrat. I had pretty high expectations of this place but it turned out to be quite like Mijas Pueblo, a town in the mountains close to where I live and where I had been many times. However, I did enjoy the ride up the mountain through the twisty roads as it made me realise how well the MT 03 could handle twists and turns.
It was already dark when we decided look for dinner. Juan and Cristina had the important task of searching for a decent restaurant but it turned out to be more challenging than we had expected. Many restaurants were closed by 7 pm and some had a very depressing atmosphere. After a long search, we ended up riding our bikes for a further 30 minutes to the middle of nowhere just for some decent food. For 18€, I got a generously sized steak, crockets, chips, and salad. A bargain in my opinion. Once we finished our meal, we headed back to our hotel. I could finally go to sleep after a long and busy day but Juan had to take Cristina back home which was 30km away and took him about an hour to drop her off and come back. By the time he was back, it was already 12 pm and I was fast asleep.
Day 2 (19 SEP) -Montserrat to Val de Nuria (130 km 2.5h)
We woke up to a chilly morning and a beautiful view of Montserrat. After breakfast, at around 9 am, we set off and headed to Val de Nuria. The first half of the ride was primarily intercity roads, which was a good place to test the power of the Yamaha. As we travelled further up north, we entered a natural reserve park with vibrant lush green trees that covered the park for many miles. It was an incredibly peaceful expereince slowly riding the bike through nature while conversing with Juan on the intercoms. When you are on the bike, time passes differently. Although it took us 3 hours to travel 130 km, which otherwise would have been quite a mission in the car, on the bike it felt easy. We were not longing for the trip to be over with, but instead would simply be in the moment and enjoy the wind and the road.
We arrived at Ribes de Freser at around 1 pm to take the tram to Val de Nuria. Nuria is a ski resort in winter and during the warmer season, it is a beautiful place to go hiking and indulge yourself in nature. It is located high up in the rocky mountains and the only access point is through the tram from Ribes de Freser which takes about 30 minutes. The tram journey took us between the valley and offered us spectacular views to the steep mountains, river, and dense trees. To my surprise, the hotel turned out to be the filming location of my favourite Spanish movie called the Invisible Guest (Contratiempo), a movie certainly worth watching.
For dinner, the only available food option was the buffet at the hotel which was surprisingly good. The meats were cooked very well and everything was freshly prepared. As I sat there enjoying my dinner with Juan, the atmosphere reminded me of the movie Hot Tub Time Machine. Just like the protagonists returning to a once vibrant ski resort but then finding out that time had mistreated the place badly, I also felt the same way. The hotel at Vall de Nuria was run down and tired but. In my head, I could picture what it once probably was. I could visualise all the lights and ornaments scattered around the property in celebration of the Christmas holidays. I could see the ghosts of past guests singing, laughing, and dancing in this magical place. My imagination ran wild and it almost felt as if the place was enchanted, enchanted in the most positive of ways.
Day 3 (20 SEP) -Val de Nuria to Andorra (100 km, 2h)
On this day, the weather forecast had predicted light rain, which would have been a major inconvenience for us on the bikes. Not only does it make it less comfortable, but more importantly, wet roads make riding a lot more dangerous as it decreases visibility, increases breaking distance, and increases the chances of the bike wheels slipping.
We woke up at a reasonably early time so that we could fully take advantage of our inclusive breakfast and enjoy the little time that was left at Val de Nuria. An interesting observation that Juan and I had made during breakfast was of this group of Asian looking people. Juan had told me the night before that they were South American but I insisted that they were either Chinese or Korean. It turns out that they were South American after hearing them speak in Spanish with a thick Latino accent. I didnt realise that some South Americans could looks so much like Asians.
By the time we took the tram back to Ribes de Fraiser, the clouds seemed to be clearing, which was a great relief. The temperature was cool and the air was a little bit humid, a pretty refreshing start to the day. We made our way through twisty roads and dense forest towards Andorra. The climate in this area did not correspond to the typical dry and warm Spanish weather. Instead, it was closer to the climate of Northern Europe such as the one of the British countryside. The air was humid and cold, and the greenery was wet and vibrant.
Not too far into the ride, Juan’s bike needed refuelling so we had to take a detour away from the originally planned route. We traversed a ski resort with wooden cabins and was surrounded by rocky terrain. Once again, the place had no resemblance to Spain. If I had taken a picture and shown it to you, you could have easily mistaken it for a ski resort deep in the Austrian or Swiss mountains.
The first half of the ride was very enjoyable as we could travel at our own leisurely pace and enjoy all these beautiful views, but the second half of the ride was much less fun. We quickly found out that the drivers in the north of Spain were noticeably more aggressive than what we were accustomed to and on top of that, it began to drizzle.
We eventually made it to Andorra and my first observation of the place was that it was a town build in a valley and had a young population. As soon as we arrived at our hotel to check in, I received a text message from my phone operator saying that I had spent 60€ on data roaming. It turns out that Andorra is not part of the EU and thus data usage is not included in the EU roaming scheme. Visitors should be aware and remember to turn off data roaming if they visit this country.
For lunch we had a simple meal at Fosters Hollywood and took a quick stroll around the city centre. At 6pm, we headed to the Caldea bath house which was right across our hotel. The bath house had a central pool where visitors could swim and surrounding it were stations that provided different treatments for the body. For example, the Arabic steam room was relaxing whereas the ice-cold bath was refreshing but in essence, all the station were a variation between warm baths, cold baths, and steam rooms. Once we had experienced all 7 stations, we went to the outdoors area to marvel at the views of the Andorran valley. It was a well deserved and welcomed break from the motorbikes. Although you might not feel tired on the bikes, riding will take a toll on your body and mind. Its very important to relax and take things slowly from time to time.
For dinner, we had some tacos in the centre of town which turned out to be delicious and cheap. It came with a generous quantity of meat and three different sauces which we could put on the taco. And to finish, I had a warm cinnamon bun with vanilla ice cream on top, a perfect finish to the day.
Day 4 (21 SEP)– Andorra to Barcelona (215 km, 3.5h)
Barcelona was 215km away from Andorra and we knew that a long ride awaited ahead of us. It is by far the longest distance that I had covered on a motorbike in a single day. The exit from Andorra was smooth, with no issues crossing the border between Spain and Andorra. We had the choice of either taking the motorway, which would have been 30 minutes faster, or riding through a national park with twisty roads and good views. We chose the latter. Once again, the roads were quiet and the park was covered with dense forestry. By that time, we had been riding for about 2 hours nonstop and I began to lose focus. We were traveling quite slowly but as I approached a corner, I completely miscalculated the entry point and by the time I realised, my front wheel was already on the white line marking the right boarder of the road. I froze for a moment and simply could not turn the bike. My right bucket scraped the side of the rail and I was already picturing myself on the other side of the rail but luckily, I was not going fast and managed to recover from the mistake. A lesson learnt, take breaks between rides, and try not to travel while fatigued.
We pulled up to a view point to take a break and some pictures of the interesting looking rocky mountains. I was in a very strange state of mind as I was not nervous nor shook considering that I almost crashed a few moments ago. It was as if I was in a state of trance and that my body didnt belong to me and that what was happening to me was not real. This state of mind had been happening ever since the trip, maybe I was tired or maybe I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of things that we had done in the past few days. And maybe itis because I hadn’t had my coffee that morning.
We gradually made it to our lunch spot, a place called Restaurant Susen. What stood out of this place was the views to Pedraforca from their outdoor seating area as well as its nicely cooked meats. It was a well-deserved rest and meal after about 3 hours of riding on the bike.
After a short ride on the mountain roads, we made it to the motorway and drove for about two hours more until reaching our hotel in Barcelona. We left our luggage in the hotel room, rested for a short while and headed out to explore Barcelona. Our first stop was Barceloneta beach. We had a nice evening stroll from one side of the beach to the other until Juan began to feel hunger. I had eaten so much in the past few days that I simply couldnt eat any more, so Juan enjoyed his burger by himself while I accompanied him with a sparkling water.
A Chinese friend of mine had a bar called Joy Bar in Barcelona so I decided to visit her and catch up with our lives. It was a small and cosy place close to the Sagrada Familia. We spent about an hour there chatting, playing Chinese dice games and I took one of my friends for a quick motorbike ride around the centre. Everyone is impressed on their first motorbike ride. As it was getting late, we left at around 11 to head to the Sagrada Familia and took some awesome pictures.
Day 5 (22 SEP) A full day in Barcelona
The fifth day was a full day of touring Barcelona on the bikes which I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a complete game changer when you have motorbikes to travel around a busy city such as Barcelona. More time is spent sightseeing and less time is wasted crammed and waiting for public transport.
The first thing we did was to pick up Cristina and we then headed to a desert place that Juan had been anticipating for a while. We spent most of the day eating and aimlessly exploring the city. A few worthwhile mentions were Little Viet, a superb and authentic Vietnamese restaurant and Taqueria Los Gueros, the best taco place that I have been to in my life. Another interesting place that we found was Galeries Maldà, an indoors area hidden in one of the small alleys of Las Ramblas. It is packed with small stores themed with many well-known movies such as Harry Potter or Lord of the rings and sold all sorts of merchandise. Heaven for the fans of these movies.
At night time, we rode our bikes to a view point in the mountains of Barcelona called MUHBA Turó de la Rovira. They close the main area at around 7pm so be there before that time if you wish to see the best views. The sight is simply incredible, certainly worth visiting. I would say that this was my singular favourite moment on this trip.
On our final night, we stayed at a hostel called Unite Hostel. The last time I stayed in a hostel was about 10 years ago, when I travelled Europe with the interrail pass. I was a little excited to meet new people and to reminisce those hostel days when I was young and was excited about everything but unfortunately, we returned late to the hostel and left early in the morning.
Day 6 (23 SEP) Half a day in Barcelona
On our last day in Barcelona, we had half a day to enjoy the city. Early in the morning, we rode around the port and coincidentally spotted the yacht that Sven was working on and of course, I had to take a quick snapshot of it to send it to Sven. We picked up Cristina and headed to another view point popular with motorbike riders called Mirador Sarria. The route to the view point took us on the motorway where I took multiple wrong exits as Google had mistakenly places our location on the wrong road. The bridges, tunnels, and parallel roads just on the outside of Barcelona confused Google maps and myself and as a result, what was supposed to be a 20-minute ride turned out to be an hour and a half. It was quite frustrating getting lost when we only had a few hours left in Barcelona but we were so close to Cristina’s house that we decided to go there and play with her dog which knew how to do many cool tricks. At the end the detour was not a complete waste of time.
We eventually made it to the view point, which was not as impressive as the first one, and then returned to Little Viet to have lunch. The first time there we had some delicious Bun Cha and the second time we had Bhan Mi. Later in the afternoon return our motorbikes and we had one last meal at Honest Greens before taking the bus to the airport to return home.
Conclusion
I absolutely fell in love with the MT 03, a powerful motorbike that is easy to handle and aesthetically gorgeous. My Himalayan, although physically larger than the MT 03, felt as if it had no power at all. The breaks on the Yamaha are many times better than the Himalayan and I felt so much more confident on the MT 03. We travelled about 800km in 5 days which certainly is a record for me.
The views on the trip were amazing, especially Val de Nuria, the many mountain roads and the MUHBA Turó de la Rovira view point in Barcelona. I had originally planned to travel by myself but I am glad that Juan joined my trip as it simply wouldnt have been the same without him.
I would have liked to take it slightly slower as it felt a little bit rushed. There was so much that I wanted to see and do and I feared that I would miss out if I didnt take advantage of every second of the trip. Maybe this is who I am, always trying to make the most out of the resources I have. But all in all, it was a wonderful and packed trip that I beleive both Juan and I thoroughly enjoyed.
Cost Breakdown
