Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Inside the Montanas Vacias: Sofiane Seheli (video)
While some people go bikepacking to share the ride with friends, others seek out adventures by themselves to experience pure solitude. In his latest video, Sofiane Seheli heads out on a solo bike tour to find the most remote and empty place in Europe for that very reason. Watch it here, plus read his reflection on riding the Montañas Vacías route in Spain…
PUBLISHED Feb 3, 2025
Spanish Lapland is a vast, remote region in Spain, covering twice the area of Belgium yet home to just seven people per square kilometer. Its sparse population makes the once burgeoning settlements in this region feel almost like ghost towns, even though many still have year-round or seasonal residents. Winding through this quiet, expansive landscape is the Montañas Vacías, a bikepacking loop designed by Ernesto Pastor from Teruel. This route offers a unique way to experience the rugged beauty of Spain’s “Lapland.” Ernesto’s vision for the route was to help bring new life to this region by making it a destination. However, some people, such as Sofiane Seheli, come to truly experience solitude of the “Empty Mountains.”
Bombtrack’s latest video was self-filmed by Sofiane as he takes on this magnificent route and reflects on what this place means to him and other riders he meets along the way. Watch it below, then scroll down for Sofiane’s written reflection on what makes places like this special.
Filmed by Sofiane Sehili; Produced by Ines Maria Müller
I’m thinking of settling down here. Surroundings are scenic. There’s no water. No electricity. No cell coverage…
I started bikepacking about 15 years ago. At the time, it was generally referred to as bike touring, and I had no idea they made GPS units for bikes. I bought a second hand mountain bike somewhere in Northern Laos and started pedaling. I was instantly hooked. I rode that bike all over Southeast Asia. It was a revelation. It changed my life. Really. However, it left me wanting something more, or should I say, something different.
Southeast Asia is a wonderful place. And after this inaugural trip, I returned several times because I love that part of the world so much. But, it’s a densely populated region. And after a while, I felt the need to see fewer people, and I started being drawn to empty places. I started dreaming about Central Asia or the Great Divide. I felt there was something for me there, in these vast landscapes devoid of people. So I went to these places, and as it turns out, I was right, there was something for me there: an almost spiritual state of peace and serenity, a feeling that’s hard to describe. An inner peace that comes with the certainty that there is absolutely no one nearby in a radius of several miles. And that just feels right to me.
To put it in context, I grew up in Paris, a mega city with a population of ten million. Noise, chaos, pollution, anonymity, absence of nature: all of the clichés associated with big city dwelling are truly there. Until I discovered cycling, all of this didn’t seem problematic. When that’s all you know, it can’t feel wrong. But once I found out that a bicycle is a supremely powerful tool that can take me away from the chaos to any place I want to go, I began to understand that there are times when the places I feel most comfortable are the ones where I’m by myself.
I think there’s a lot of cyclists who are generally not very social—and many people who go bikepacking, in particular. It doesn’t mean that we don’t like people. It just means that being with people requires a certain kind of energy. Being alone, well, is just easier.
I’m not a native English speaker. My mother tongue is French. And we only have one word for being alone: solitude. The English language has two: solitude (that it borrowed from the French) and loneliness. It actually seems appropriate to have two words. Because being alone can be a good thing, when it’s a choice (solitude), or a bad thing, when it’s something harmful that you don’t want (loneliness). I feel I’ve always experienced solitude instead of loneliness.
I have never been afraid of being alone and I’ve embraced solitude many times. And I have never found a more beautiful way to do so than by getting on my bike. My passion for riding is fed by my need for solitude. Some of my fondest memories are just me riding in a stunning landscape, and the fact that I’m the only person there just makes it even more stunning.
I’m drawn to empty places. So when I heard about the Montanas Vacias, which literally means Empty Mountains, I knew I had to go. It’s not easy to find places devoid of people in Europe. So they are something to be cherished. You need to listen to that silence like a cathedral and embrace the solitude.
Picture high elevation plateaux, remote refugios, abundant wildlife, and kilometre upon kilometre of quiet forest roads… Welcome to Spanish Lapland, as it’s been dubbed, an area in SE Spain with a population density similar to its Finnish namesake. The 700km Montañas Vacías route offers a wonderful introduction to this little travelled area, linking the Montes Universales, Sierra de Javalambre, and Sierra de Gúdar via a dense network of doubletracks and quiet paved roads. Fid the full route guide here.
Further Reading
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