Zurich to Barcelona, 2014: A Day in Girona

Ahead of schedule, perfect weather and a fancy hotel that’s not very costly. Why not stay another day in Girona? We both really like this town and decided to relax for anther day. We decided to go for a morning ride in the relative cool, then wander around town some more in the afternoon (after our siesta).

I found a good route on MapMyRide that said it was a favorite of the local pros (it mentioned that it was a certain Texan’s favorite training ride, but I’m not going there…). We dumped to coordinates into the Garmin and headed out early. After about 5 km on busy roads which were not too busy at our un-Spanish early departure time, we turned off and started heading up. And up. And up. We climbed about 3,000 feet in short order on tiny roads and saw, as I recall, 1 car. It was quiet and still and perfect, though the 11% grade was a leg waker-upper. But with Das Bike naked with no bags it was a piece of cake.

The only car we saw all day

At the summit: a prayer for the descent?

I was channeling my best Alberto Contador when reality struck: a guy from Garmin flew by us like we were standing still. Ok, we were close to standing still but he spoiled my fun! Then the guy from Sky pro cycling flew by trying to catch the Garmin guy. Sheesh! Have these guys no mercy?

Anyway, it was a super fun ride and it was great to ride without the burden of a month’s worth of stuff and camping gear. We did meet a super nice French family atop the climb – from near Lyon, the parents and twin girls maybe 15 or so in age riding together from their home to Barcelona, then on the train back home. We had a nice talk and they gave us good tips on finding places to stay for cheap.

Back to the hotel, we explored the old city some more. Here’s a collection of photos of this wonderful city.

View from our Hotel Balcony

(The Catalan's are very active in seeking independence from Spain and are very proud of their heritage and independence. Spainish Spring?)

This house makes us miss Tonye. Check out the tile roof!

The city from the river.

And a few shots of the cool Hotel Historic in Girona, and our room (before all of our crap was festooned around it). The Hotel has only 8 rooms on 4 floors. It is worth a stay if you're in the neighborhood.