Adventure on 2-wheels, with the DS Pro Clubhouse
Cycling to historic Monserrat in Northern Spain .
We love riding bikes at DS Pro. Ultimately, it’s how we came to be – because we wanted the very best kit and so, we decided to make it ourselves! Yes, at heart we’re just people like you, riding our bikes and living a cycling lifestyle, visiting some amazing places around this breathtakingly beautiful global village. Our lead designer, Nadezhda, lives in Barcelona, on the coast of Northern Spain and close to the Spanish mountains. It’s a great place for testing out clothing designs and fabric performance… and for finding new adventures on 2-wheels!
Within a good cycling distance of this world-class city of cool vibes and a very unique culture, there’s a wealth of places to visit by bike, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Monserrat. It lies a mere 45km from Barcelona, along a series of great cycling roads that climb and twist endlessly into the beautiful Catalonia mountains. The return ride is super special too, providing you with some epic descending. Anyway, back to the monastery, and time for some useful facts.
The mountain itself is called ‘Monserrat’, and it means jagged mountain. It’s one of the legendary claimed homes of the Holy Grail – who knows! The monastery has been here since the 16th century, and its complete reconstruction began in the year 1811, after being destroyed in the Peninsular War. It’s currently home to around 80 monks from the Benedictine Order and is one of the best places in Spain for a cultural history visit, with the vast and spectacular buildings in such an amazing and quite beautiful location.
Designed for Action
For her own ride to Monserrat, Nadezhda wore our DS Pro ‘Summer Winds’ jersey, with our super chic and stylish pink bib shorts. The new DS Pro ‘Summer Winds’ jersey is as technical as it is stylish. Made from high-quality, super lightweight fabrics, it’s quick to dry if you caught in the rain; and the fabric is specifically chosen for its ability to assist air flow and moisture control, keeping you as cool as you feel, with its high level of ventilation and breathability. Small details are well catered for too, as we’ve used a high-quality Italian made silicone gripper at the waistband, adding to the fit and keeping you looking absolutely sensational. 
Finally, the zipper is tough and smooth, and neatly tucked away, and there’s the usual triple reinforced back pockets at the rear, allowing you safe storage on the ride. When worn in partnership with our stylishly short pink bibs, you’ll look and feel as special as you are 😉. Better still, on a long day climbing on the bike, into the sun-drenched mountains around Monserrat, our bibs come with a race-fit design that follows your form, a multi-layer high dense foam chamois pad, moisture-transfer 4-way stretch 8020 Lycra that keeps you stylish and super sexy too, due to the multi-panel professional shaping. The straps also sit wear they need be, as they’re designed around the female form, just for you.
Back to the ride…
Once you reach Monserrat, there’s so much to see – even from the bike, with some epic views from the piazza, overlooking the hills. You can walk around the Monastery and visit the Basilica and the Black Madonna. 
Nearby, and along the ride between Barcelona and Monserrat, you can also visit the gothic arched bridge at Monistrol, built in 1317 to help pilgrims on their journey to the monastery. Crossing the Llobregat river and joins together the 2-sides of the town and is a truly remarkable piece of history and engineering, and a great place to rest and take in the views. Once you’ve had time to take it all in, it’s back onto the bike and the ride back to the coast and Barcelona. Sweeping bends await you, with the warm wind in your face as you finish off the day rewarded with smiles for those hard climbing miles! Yes, wrapped in performance and style, and feeling feminine and filled with life and adventure, Monserrat is a great ride for you take on, as part of a cycling holiday to breathtaking Barcelona.
We’ve got lots more adventures to share with you in 2024, so keep checking in to the DS Pro cycling clubhouse – our new bogs for 2024 – and join us for a ride in style – wrapped in the best ladies cycling clothing in the world!
