"The 6-kilometre ride from the cape to Cadaqués is a classic for enthusiasts of the wild and windy. The thin, grey thread of tarmac seems a feeble and marginal intrusion into this savage landscape of rock, cliff and scrub."

Sixteen years after first moving to Catalonia, Richard Guise finally finds time to slow down and explore the back roads by bicycle. With over 400 kilometres of sparkling Mediterranean shoreline and an interior dominated by the Pyrenees, it's a spectacular journey from wind-blown headlands to the glitzy costas, and from bustling Barcelona to remote hillsides where only grazing goats and chirruping cicadas disturb the tranquillity.

Dipping into the unique history of this fiercely independent nation-within- a-nation, he uncovers many of its cultural peculiarities, such as why the sardana dance is not as easy as it looks and what to do in a bugaderia. Stumbling upon nudist beaches, ancient Iberian sites and revolutionary road-sweepers, this slow cyclist revels in authentic Catalonia.