Costa Brava Cycling - Day 1

Today we started our cycle tour of the Costa Brava. We discovered that our tour was designed for hybrid bikes. The roadie in me couldn't handle it and we were able to upgrade for free, thanks Cicloturisme. Fitted out with some snazzy red bikes it was time for our introduction session where they explained the maps and how to get help if needed. This was a little difficult, as there was clearly a language barrier and our entire route today was on gravel so needed to be changed. It was suggested that we type a number of towns into our gps to avoid the major highways. So we plugged it in and had the man check it was the right route. 'Si, si,' he said. Route plugged in, road bikes fitted, cleats on and it was go time.

First indication we got that this wasn't the right route was when it pushed us onto the old railway tracks which have been converted into a gravel cycle and walkway. After 2km it was back to road, our seats and hands were very thankful after the constant jar of the gravel.

We were making good time and enjoying the ride despite the manure stench from the nearby farms when the gps tried to send us up a road that didn't exist. We eventually found a dirt track that linked up with the road and set off.

This 'road' when we found it was a dirt track complete with lots of rocks, sharp bends, gravel and soft sand. Our bikes were not suited to suited to this at all and it was slow going with a number of spills and a lot of walking.

Finally after what seemed like hours we found road again only to discover a really steep inclined for the next few kilometres. We finally reached the summit and decided to reroute our gps to ensure there was no more dirt tracks as we couldn't handle any more mountain biking. The gps sent us 90% of the way back down what we had just climbed (and I think at this point Nicole wanted to kill me). Thankfully we came across a town and found some food to refuel.

The final 15km into Sant Feliu de Guixols was mostly gentle , flat and all on tar. Thankfully it was a relatively easy finish because Nicole was sick of the saddle. After a few wrong turns looking for our hotel we finally arrived. Some showers left us feeling refreshed and we went and checked out the beautiful beach nearby.Read more