The climb up Rocacorba is a very popular route out of Banyoles. We rolled out under brilliant sunshine around one side of the lake in Banyoles, before starting the ride up to the mast. We stripped down before the climb which generated lots of heat. Then we bundled back up for the long descent back into town along the other side of the lake. We saw so many cyclists along this very popular route. The number of cyclists almost rivaled the number of fields of red poppies.
Our first proper trip to mainland Spain came in early May (2024). Before that, we had been to the island of Majorca sometime in the previous century! We had briefly crossed from France into Spain in the Pyrenees a few years ago, but I don't think we ever saw an official sign on that ride. And for Christmas in 2017, we were hoping to do the F500 around Calpe, but a busted collarbone derailed that trip. We decided 2024 was finally our year for Spain!
John picked the first two weeks of May as his best chance for getting away from work. We'd just have to hope we had enough fitness in the early spring to avoid too much suffering on the climbs. He suggested Girona as our base.
The airport in Girona is small and only served by small carriers, so I booked aer Lingus flights from Hartford through Dublin into Barcelona. We figured we could take the train up to Girona. Unfortunately we had neglected to look at event calendars and I was quite surprised that I could not find accommodation in Girona for the full two weeks. I found a few places for a few days, but then we would have to move to another hotel, which didn't seem like fun! I searched online a bit more and found a bike hotel about 25 miles north of the city that had space for the whole time at a reasonable price. They had guided and DIY rides, so we decided it seemed like a good choice. As John likes to say, we land on our feet. Our stay at Mas Pelegri turned out to be the best choice. Fiona and Gareth are amazing hosts. The accommodation was fabulous. The meals were delicious, and the riding out the door was great.
It turned out the reason I couldn't find accommodation in Girona, was that the Traka was taking place while we were there. The Traka is the most popular gravel race in Europe, attracting thousands of riders, with multiple races of different distances throughout the week. So Girona was actually packed with cyclists!
Since we were flying through Dublin, met John's sister at the airport for breakfast. We then continued on to Barcelona, where we took the easy way and had a taxi meet us to take us to Serinya. We arrived under cloudy skies. Apparently, prior to this week, it had not rained for months. But now the rain in Spain came with a vengeance, with severe afternoon thunderstorms. The storms were so bad, that the 560km Traka event that was due to start on Wednesday was cancelled. Luckily for all the racers who'd travelled, the other events would still be held.
As a result of the recent change in weather, our hosts said we should keep an eye out for those afternoon storms and that conditions on the gravel roads were not great, with lots of washouts and mud. We decided not to risk a nap, but instead assembled our bikes and got out for a brief ride to shake out the cobwebs. We got caught by the rain shortly before we got back. We quickly cleaned up before enjoying our first of many delicious dinners at the hotel.
Over dinner, we chatted with Fiona about rides to do the next day. The other calendar we had neglected to check was Spanish holidays and May 1 was a big one. She warned us that we might not find places open.
After a solid night of sleep, we enjoyed a great breakfast and got ready for our first proper ride. We selected one of their routes out to the Volcano. I must have overheard the guided group talking about their ride. They also were doing a volcano ride, but in the opposite direction. We ended up crossing paths around halfway.
