Cataluyna is a magical place, the sounds, the smells and the fairy-tale views. The forest is dense and alive, the roads made from a crisp gravel and stone, and wildlife timid yet very much present. In October the usual summer heat has dissipated and begins to be replaced by the much milder winter conditions, to ride here in the summer can be harrowing during the midday, but in the fall it’s often very pleasant. Mountains being mountains, the weather can go from bluebird, to thundering hellscape in what often feels like minutes. This time around we all got lucky and any rain was short lived and weak, and the heat as well.