Osona is the plain around Vic, a high, cool basin ringed by hills, and the Lluçanès, to its north-west, is a quiet plateau of farmhouses, woods and cornfields that few visitors ever see. It is a place to slow down, and the roads reward it.
Catalonia's reputation rests on its cooking, and Osona is where much of it comes from. The area is famous for its cured meats, including the fuet, a thin, dry sausage that goes into every picnic, and the botifarra, a fresh sausage grilled over coals. Pigs are raised in large numbers, and in winter the villages hold traditional slaughter days, when families gather to make sausages and hams. Cheese, honey and mushrooms from the hills round out the table, and a meal in a farmhouse restaurant is an experience that justifies a long ride.
The roads here are narrow and winding, with tight bends, short climbs and frequent junctions. The surface is mostly good, though some of the lanes are patched and gravelly at the edges, and tractors and cyclists are common. Views across the plain to the Pyrenees, a white line of snow on the horizon in winter, are splendid on a clear day. Autumn brings mist in the valleys, and the colours of the woods in October are superb. In summer the heat can be fierce, and the best time to ride is the early morning.
Olost and Oristà are tiny and have little more than a bar and a shop. Vic, a fine old market town of nearly forty thousand people, lies about fifteen kilometres away, and has stations, supermarkets and a cluster of good restaurants. Gurb, a village near it, has a few more facilities. The nearest large town with every service is Vic, and it is also a pleasure to visit, with a Roman temple, a cathedral decorated with murals by Josep Maria Sert and a big Saturday market. Fill up before you go, and bring layers, because the weather on the plateau can change in an hour.