Gravel cycling in Montseny mountain (Barcelona) - 1

Gravel cycling in Montseny

Montseny mountain is simply a paradise for cycling. So close to Barcelona (hardly 45 km) and you have a big range of mountains to explore and enjoy.

Being road cycling or gravel cycling, the options are endless. Let's focus today on gravel cycling. And specially in a quite popular place for locals, which is Pla de la Calma. This is a relatively flat zone at about 1100 mts height that you can reach from several places, and specially from the top of Coll Formic climb. Coll Formic is probably the best known road in Montseny (together with the climb to Santa Fe del Montseny). Your reach Coll Formic at 1145 mts height either from Palautordera (26 km ascent from C-35 road), either from Seva (shorter climb about 9 km long. The views from Pla de la Calma are amazing, specially to the Pyrenees on the north side, but also to the Mediterranean sea to the south. Of course the views to Montserrat and its rounded shapes, are also possible, not being far away.

But there are some other ways to reach Pla de la Calma. A very interesting way to reach it is from Tagamanent. This is an asphalted road, very demanding at some parts. The road leads to the etnologic park of Tagamanent and afterwards to the old Tagamanent Castle. The asphalted road ends at about 1000 mts (see profile attached) and then the path keeps going to about 1300 mts. This way you get the whole Pla de la Calma, from Tagamanent to Coll Formic, about 10 km long with stunnig views, always above 1100 mts.

A second very interesting way (probably my favourite) is a gravel path starting at Piscines del Montseny (a little before Montseny village). This is a path in quite good condition climbing for 10 km at about 9% gradient, reaching 1300 mts close to the highest point of Pla de la Calma, which is Puig Drau at 1345 mts. It is difficult to name this side of Pla de la Calma, but the best indication is to get to El Molar, an isolated house (Masia in catalan language) on the way up, about half way. In  my wet dreams, this climb could be included in a professional road cycling race (such as Volta a Catalunya or Vuelta a España), and then descent on the road via Coll Formic. That would be our "Coll delle Finestre".

But the gravel bikes allow a much higher number of new places to reach inside the Montseny mountains. One of my favourite places is Ermita de Sant Elies. This is an old church at 999 mts height. The highlight of this climb is the final 5 km stretch at about 10% in a gravel path in quite good condition. Very demanding part though. Considering the whole climb from the Refugis del Montseny, including an asphalted part at the beginning, you get 6,35 km at 10,3% average. Not bad.

On top of the plateau where the church is, you can get a little higher to the firemen observation area with amazing views over the Valles region and even over the Mediterranean sea. Fantastic place, worth a stop.

There is another nice summit you can get nearby which is Turó de la Cova, at 1100 mts height, and you can see one from the other (Sant Elies and Turó de la Cova). The condition of the path is similar to Sant Elies. The characteristic of Turó de la Cova is a bench on top of the climb, which you can sit at, together with a catalan flag. Picture compulsory there. From Turó de la Cova you can descend to Piscines del Montseny, but the path is very rough, and being on the north side it can be frozen and icy in winter.

There are many other options in the Montseny mountains. I'll keep digging, but I am sure this is a good start point. Enjoy!!

Cycling from Barcelona to Girona

Barcelona Girona gravel ride (Picture by Sergi Ros)

Cycling from Barcelona to Girona is a nice challenge, very doable in one day. Putting together the big metropolis of Barcelona with the small Girona, capital of cycling.

Once in Girona you can take the train back to Barcelona. Trains in Catalonia work very well, fast, clean, on-time, therefore in just about 1 hour you are back to Barcelona. Unfortunately, with the bikes you cannot take the high speed train (AVE), otherwise, you would be back to Barcelona in hardly 40 minutes.

Barcelona Girona by road bike 104 km, 820 mts elevation

The fastest way to do it in a road bike would be in inner and mostly flat roads. The key roads are BV 5001 (Carretera de La Roca), C-35 (road to Hostalric) and then leading to Caldes de Malavella, Sant Andreu de Salou, Fornells de la Selva and Girona.

Barcelona Girona gravel ride 125 km 1146 mts elevation

But the route we suggest today is in some gravel paths and solitaire roads. Very safe and adventurous way to get to Girona. For some parts you will take the very popular greenway 97 km long that links the Pyrenees (Olot) with the coast (Sant Feliu de Guixols). Lovely path that we take for some km on our way to Girona.

If interested in any of these rides and also in bike rental (being road or gravel) you can contact us at https://roadcycling.barcelona/bike-rental/ .
We can also provide the gpx files to upload to your gps device. 

Girona Barcelona stage in Tour de France 2009, 181 km

And now, by the way, it is good to remember that in 2009 Le Tour de France did a stage Girona Barcelona, in 181 km. This is a very good choice for die-hard cyclists, getting some of the best roads in all of Catalonia (coastal road from Sant Feliu de Guixols to Tossa de Mar), and also some nice climbs close to Barcelona (Collsacreu, La Conreria).

Multiple choices to put together by bike those 2 nice catalan cities!

The best family bike tours in Catalonia

Family vacation, lot of fun!

When planning a cycling vacation for the family things are a bit different than planning a trip with friends, aren't they?

In Catalonia we have several options if we would like to do a family cycling trip, but the most appealing is the so known Ruta del Carrilet. This route, 97 km long, follows a former train line from Olot to Sant Feliu de Guixols.

Gravel paths in Ruta del Carrilet

This route, mainly graveled, but also asphalted for some parts, is a great and safe way to discover the best cycling paths around. On top of that, the very famous Girona is half way, then it is very easy to put together a trip in 2 stages sleeping in Girona half way.

This trip, going from Olot to Sant Feliu de Guixols, slightly downhill, is very easy, perfect for beginners or small children. On the other way, from the coastal Sant Feliu de Guixols to Olot, in the vulcanic region of La Garrotxa, is slightly uphill, a bit more difficult but also doable in 1-2 stages.

Also very interesting the fact that the former train stations have been converted into hotels and restaurants. This way, we have plenty of nice options to rest for a while and have lunch just aside of the path.

Gravel bikes to rent in Barcelona

Gravel bikes to rent in Barcelona

We are sure that gravel bikes (same as ebikes!) have a great future ahead.
A gravel bike opens a wide range of paths and loops which you cannot reach with a conventional road bike.
Thicker tyres, disc breaks, those are the main differences between a road bike and a gravel bike (cyclocross bike in fact). But also having the road bike handlebar and the same kind of shifting.
We have already available some Specialized Diverge E5 Sport (model 2018) for our customers, ready to roll and ready to offer you some new experiences!