Cycling Getaway: Chapter 4, Girona

Instantánea de una de las vistas más características de Girona, capital europea de la bicicleta.

Girona is the European cycling capital. In the last 10 years the city has become the favorite training destination for professional cyclists. Several teams hold their training camps in the area and even world-class athletes such as Wout Van Aert, Alison Jackson, Kasia Niewiadoma, Sam Gaze, Jan Frodeno, Vincent Luis or Georgia Taylor Brown have chosen the Catalan city as their temporary or regular place of residence.

Girona has everything. Mountains, plains, quiet roads, endless dirt tracks, coast, charming villages, good gastronomy and all the services you may need. In this "Getaway Girona", we propose you the 3 best "road" and "gravel" routes to enjoy Girona on your bike.

Trails and gravel tracks located in the province of Girona ideal for practicing this new cycling modality.

Road

"3 Peaks"

The 3 most famous peaks of Girona: Rocacorba, Mare de Déu del Mont and els Ángels. You can do them in the same day if you are looking for a challenging challenge or separately if you prefer to enjoy the climbs with "more calm".

- Rocacorba: The hardest climb in Girona. With 10 km at an average of 8%, on a narrow and winding road through a lush forest. After the first 3km of "warm-up" at 5%, the hardest part begins at the "Pujarnol" sign, where we do not go below 9% on average in any section and we find slopes of up to 15%. Although 2km from the summit there is a short break of 500m to catch our breath, the last km is again more than 10% on average. The views once crowned compensate the great effort.

- Mare de Déu del Mont: Its more than 17km of ascent make this pass the other "colossus" of Girona. With two very different parts, we start with 8km of very gentle slopes until the asphalt changes, the road narrows, and we find 10km at more than 8% on average with "walls" of 20% until crowning. At 2km from the top the vegetation disappears and we find a spectacular rocky landscape.

- Els Angels: Much less hard than the other two, but due to its location less than 1km from the city of Girona is undoubtedly the most frequented by cyclists. Its gentle slopes are ideal to climb quietly. On the Girona side we have 10 km at 4% average with many breaks during the climb, but from the Madremanya side the climb is shorter and steady, with 6km at 6% average gradient. Once crowned, we can have a drink on the terrace of the Sanctuary overlooking the city.

Les Serres - Susqueda - Sant Hilari Sacalm

Leaving from Girona, we will cross the magical road of the Vall del Llémena, 30km winding with steep climbs through the forests of the Garrotxa that will take us to Amer, where we will take the detour to the Pantà de Susqueda.

The Pantà de Susqueda is one of the largest artificial reservoirs in Catalonia, its impressive dam, which we can cross by bike, deserves a stop for a photo.

We will leave the reservoir towards Osor by the ascent of Mare de Déu del Coll, with 3km very hard that link with the famous port of Sant Hilari Sacalm. A climb of 23km of very long stretches at an average of 3% crowning at more than 1000m altitude.

Once crowned, we will go down the slope of Santa Coloma de Farners to return to Girona.

St Grau, St feliu, Romanyà, la Ganga

After leaving Girona towards Llagostera and crowning the Alt de Sant Grau, we reach the most famous road of the Costa Brava: The GI-682 (Tossa - Sant Feliu). 20km parallel to the sea with constant slides and breathtaking views.

Arrived at Sant Feliu, we return to Girona by two other famous linked ports: Alt de Romanya and La Ganga, with gentle slopes and views of Les Gavarres that lead us to the Baix Empordà, where we will arrive in Girona between beautiful roads and villages reminiscent of Tuscany.

Gravel

Gavarres

Leaving from Girona through the Barri Vell, we will soon reach the Gavarres nature reserve. A conglomerate of mountains that is undoubtedly the amusement park of the gravel and MTBikers of Girona. In this demanding route, we will crown the most famous mountain passes of the area such as Sant Miquel, Els Àngels or Montnegre. A very demanding but beautiful route of about 100km with a lot of elevation gain.

Empordà

Leaving towards the west of Girona, we will enter the endless tracks with almost no traffic in the Empordà, a region full of medieval villages that take us back to another era. This mostly flat route is ideal to disconnect on your bike riding through the gravel paradise and take the opportunity to cool off and refresh yourself on the beach of l'Escala.

Banyoles Loop

Leaving Girona from the west, we will take a very wide track to go towards the region of Pla de l'Estany. In this area we will be linking roads with rural landscapes to reach the impressive Estany de Banyoles, where we can stop for a coffee at the foot of the lake in "Els Banys Vells". We will return to Girona through the area of Camós, surrounding the mountain of Rocacorba.

Café

La Comuna: An ideal location to meet up with your friends before a route because of its quick exit to the outskirts of the city. Specialty coffee, exquisite brunch and cycling atmosphere.

Espresso Mafia: Located in the center of the city, it is a very appetizing place to have a good specialty coffee in the heart of Girona's Barri Vell.

La Fábrica: While Girona is now full of "cycling friendly" coffee shops, La Fábrica was the first. Its location in the center of the Barri Vell and its brunch options make it a perfect place for your post-rides.

Restaurants

Hors Categorie Girona: A place designed for cyclists. With a modern and quality cuisine and a place 100% set in cycling. Ideal for a good burger after your ride.

Normal (Roca): The new restaurant of the Roca brothers, a more "normal" concept as its name suggests, designed for people looking to enjoy the Roca experience but in a less formal and more economical environment.

Bartali Pizza Co: A very authentic pizzeria with proximity products in the heart of Girona.

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