Where the Segre comes down from the Pyrenees towards the plains of Lleida, it squeezes through a gap at Oliana, held back by a dam and a reservoir that fills the valley above. On the slopes nearby, Roc del Rumbau, also called the Roca dels Moros, the Moors' rock, is a shelter with prehistoric paintings, one of the Catalan sites of the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The name is a common one in Catalonia and Spain: local people often attributed anything ancient and mysterious to the Moors.
This is the pre-Pyrenees, a land of limestone ridges, deep gorges and pine-covered hills, with the high peaks visible to the north on clear days. The Segre valley has been a route between the Pyrenees and the plains for thousands of years, and the villages along it have Romanesque churches, castles and old stone houses.
Coll de Nargó, eleven kilometres upstream, has a beautiful Romanesque church, Sant Climent, with a tall bell tower, and the hills around the village are known for fossil dinosaur eggs, found in large numbers in the rocks of the area. A small museum explains the finds. Further north, the road passes through the gorge of Tresponts and reaches La Seu d'Urgell, with its cathedral, and Andorra.
The riding is excellent. The C-14 follows the Segre valley, with curves, tunnels and views of the reservoir and the mountains. Side roads climb into the hills, with tight bends, steep gradients and little traffic. The roads towards Solsona and the Cardener valley, and over the Coll de Bóixols towards Tremp, are among the best in Catalonia. Watch for cyclists, rockfalls and occasional ice in winter.
Oliana, three kilometres away, has a filling station and a couple of shops, and Solsona, twenty-two kilometres away, is a historic town with a cathedral and an old quarter. Up here the kitchen turns mountain: trinxat, a fried cake of cabbage and potato, and the cured meats and cheeses of the Pyrenees. A coffee in a village square, with the mountains around you, is a pleasant break from the curves.