Absolutely awesome and beautiful! Will answer more later. Keep posting! :)

The one who should not be drawn.

The moment we’ve al bean waiting for!

Jaws Dropping

Very understandable, doing the same route twice when touring somehow can feel like a waste.

Stunning photo again! I opened it before I read the text and was looking for your bike in the picture for some time, since it’s a trademark ;) But now I understand. Have fun!

Man, that is a ridiculously good looking town. Sounds like a great time, how much of the montañas vacias route are you planning on doing?

A good pizza after riding a bike is one of the great pleasures in life, enjoy!!

Time to unionize, I think.

Wake up babe, a new type of dog just dropped.

A very smart decision, I think! And let’s hope not too many washboard gravel roads in your near future

McTook’s, now serving second breakfast and elevensies all-day!

Yeah I think the heel drag problem is bigger for me because I have the click-system pedals (shimano SPD), so the part on the axle of the pedal is relatively in front of the foot.

I do love products that offer a good guarantee, it ends up really paying off.

Oof, a bruised rib can hurt as hell and also really mess with sleep quality. Hope it cures quickly, get well soon!

I think relatively low mounting option for panniers could be important, lower centre of gravity is important for ride quality/comfort. Also, important for you to be able to get the panniers sufficiently to the back so your heel doesn’t clip the bag. Stuff like a good light fixing spot is a nice-to-have - at least I always turn the lights on when it rains, for safety.

If my bike had the mounting points I would have gone for something nice from tubus or a similar manufactorer, but since it doesnt I had to pay 300 euros more for a tailfin (which, as a product, is really great by the way. But prohibitively expensive)

I’mnnot sure I’ll be of much help, I have a tailfin system. I have to say, I really love their rack top bag as it’s very convenient and well made.

I tend to favour a durable and convenient system (usually unfortunately on the expensive side). When I’m not sure what features exactly I’m looking for Intend to buy the very cheapest option, and whilst using it work out what features are important to me. Then I buy the good stuff and give away/resell the cheaper system.

Do you miss front suspension?

That looks like a very nice ride

Damn that is a great place to camp. Second breakfast is always a good plan, but what about elevensies?

If the cold becomes bothersome you could consider staying on the southern coast. Girona is still one of my favourite cities in the world and the weather in the region is usually very mild.

But do prepere for some cold in the montanas vacias. Some of the refugios seem to have fireplaces though, that would be amazing!

Haha the problem was that it also wat a scrub for the carbon frame, not ideal. But it was still really awesome

I have the 2 euro fleece gloves from decathlon and combine them with the black diamond waterproof overmits, it works well for me (but they’re not the cheapest). My problem with thicker waterproof gloves is that when they do get totally wet (and they will), it takes ages to dry.

Good luck on shedding the weight in Alicante, keep the stories from the road coming :)