Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

Valencia — 17, a northern night bike promenade from Olot to Girona

Volcanoes, labyrinths and weight-loss injections: a desperate cyclist and his struggle with excess weight!

The next day, Sunday arrived. Inspired by a successful trip, I hastily cobbled together another rough route. And while on Saturday I rode mostly south of Olot, this time I decided to push north. The track wasn't as ready-made and convenient. Part of it was also a via verde (greenway), but some sections I had to draw blindly along roads and trails.

This time I arrived early, afraid of missing the bike bus (there are no alternatives, after all), and so I even managed to grab a coffee at the bus station cafeteria. I took a pic for you of the loft vibe there, and the huge departure boards, still with segment displays rather than monitors. So vintage!

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История покушения на Франца Фердинанда

(Читатели из Киева просят расписать историю покушения на Франца Фердинанда, а кто я такая, чтобы отказывать читателям из Киева.
Тем более что саму историю можно было бы крутить под смешную музыку – если б последствия были не такие чудовищные)

Итак, организация "Млада Босна" узнала о том, что 28 июня в Сараево приезжает эрцгерцог Франц Фердинанд, наследник австро-венгерского престола.
Младобоснийцы были организацией просербской; т.е., считали, что Босния должна стать частью Сербии.
В общем, они принялись готовить покушение. Самым приличным оружием для такого дела в то время считались бомбы: младобоснийцы наклепали бомб и расставили по маршруту следования эрцгерцога аж нескольких бомбистов для верности.

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Valencia — 16, a bikebus trip to Olot

The following weekend, I took advantage of my newly acquired knowledge and hopped on a morning bikebus to the town of Olot. Luckily, there was a bikebus at ten (the first one was at 7:30, if I'm not lying). Even at ten, it was freezing outside, and I had absolutely zero desire to go anywhere on a bike. Plus, I was coming down a hill — windy. When I pulled up, I was going to pump up my tires at the bike station at the bus terminal. A bike station is this stand equipped with various wrenches, screwdrivers, and Allen keys for a bike, a pump, and a mount to make things more convenient while you're doing repairs. I didn't manage to pump up the tires after all — the driver, whom I already knew, called me over to load my bike inside. This time, I wasn't alone as a passenger. There were a few older folks nearby — a man and a woman, also with bikes. Once we all got settled and the driver started the engine, two younger chicks suddenly rolled up. At the very last moment — occupied my rightful seat, the scoundrels!

The ride took an hour, kind of boring. The scenery outside the window was fairly mildly mountainous, but, obviously, no Switzerland. When the bikebus rolled into Olot, everyone quickly scattered in different directions. The chicks took off right away, despite the chill, while the older folks went to warm their bones in the station cafeteria. I figured I wasn't that old yet — dressed a bit warmer and rode off. In the process, I realized that maybe there was no point in showing off after all. It was seriously cold, and I stopped near a bio-store and cafe to grab some coffee for energy, seeing as how things hadn't worked out with tea in the morning. Fortunately, the cafe had floor-to-ceiling glass walls, and I parked my bike right in front of my table. Locked it with my micro-lock with an alarm, and once again rejoiced at my partial foresight.

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Valencia 15A - Cycling from Olot to Girona

Olot is a city with a rich culture and history. It started around the ninth century. I don't know what was going through the builders' heads, but the city stands on a whopping four volcanoes! Montolivet, Montsacopa, Garrinada, and Bisaroques.
I definitely wouldn't envy the locals if the volcanoes ever decide to wake up, because they are right in the center. This time I didn't bother riding up a volcano; instead, I rolled along the narrow-gauge railway of the already familiar "greenway" concept towards Girona. Olot, by the way, is also famous for being home to the oldest person on Earth — Maria Branyas, who is almost 116 years old. That's based on documents, of course. If we start counting all sorts of breatharians, we'd eventually get to the biblical patriarchs. Those guys, according to the Bible, lived for hundreds of years, some pushing a thousand. Adam, for instance, lived to be 930! What if Warren Buffett didn't actually make his dough through brains and savvy, but just bought up some stocks back in the 19th century?

Be that as it may, I kept rolling along the greenway. It warmed up, and the weather turned pleasant: even a little bit of sun came out. Along the way, I came across a cute statue of a girl and some graffiti with a tricky inscription in Catalan that Google Translate couldn't handle, so I had to look for other sources. The inscription read: "We were, are, and will be the valley," and the graffiti depicted working women, ¿drawing? a rainbow. It turned out to be this feminist slogan created as part of a campaign against rural violence towards women in the mountain valley and comarca (administrative district) I was riding through.

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