Selfguided Tours in Catalonia with Montefusco Cycling

Selfguided Tours in Catalonia with Montefusco Cycling

All pictures by Sergi Ros www.rosdemora.com

One of the best options to cycle in whole Europe is Catalonia.

Why should you choose Catalonia for your next cycling vacations?

Many reasons, let me list some of them:

- Obviously weather is one of the most important reasons you should come to cycle to Catalonia. Nice weather all year long. Even in winter it is not that cold. Specially recommended spring and autum!

- Quality of the asphalt. Many solitaire roads, some other busy but with good shoulder, but always a good quality asphalt!

- Education of the drivers, which means safety while cycling.

- Quality of hotels and restaurants
- Good infrastructures. Airports in Barcelona and Girona

- Lots of things to learn, history, culture.

- Vicinity of Pyrenees. This famous range of mountains, known worldwide thanks to Tour de France is just a few hours away from Barcelona (2 hours!)

 

Here you have an option Montefusco Cycling is oferring to you:

Catalonia Cycling Breakaway. 10 nights, 9 cycling stages. Nice overview of Barcelona, Girona, Costa Brava, Figueres, getting closer the Pyrenees in Olot, reaching France in Banyuls sur Mer. These are the stages:

1)      Barcelona-Tossa de Mar 95 km It is a stage to get closer the Costa Brava. Flat, quite crowded road, although riding on Sunday will be also plenty of cyclists riding beside the sea. We have introduced a different possibility. Instead of leading straight to Tossa, get a small nice hilly road in Mataró towards Arenys de Munt and Sant Pol de Mar. After that, back to the main road NII leading to Tossa.

2)      Tossa de Mar-Caldes de Malavella 50 km One of the nicest roads you can cycle in whole Catalonia is the one from Tossa de Mar to Sant Feliu de Guixols. It is time to enjoy landscape, views, weather… cycling. Once in Sant Feliu de Guixols must follow direction Santa Cristina d’Aro and afterwards to Romanyà. Finally, a crossroad leading to Llagostera will put you in the right direction to Caldes de Malavella.

3)      Caldes deMalavella-L’Escala 77 km. Few miles after the start begins the climb of the day, a beautiful, solitaire and not very steep climb named Santa Pellaia. After the descent towards La Bisbal we will cycle through not very crowded roads, and then a stop in Peretallada is worth. Old and touristic town, cars are not allowed to pass and lots of restaurants and shops welcome the tourists. After Peretallada we will continue through Torroella de Montgrí till L’Escala.

4)      L’Escala-Banyuls sur Mer 83 km Steep climb to the Monestry of San Pere de Rodes. Nice aerial views from there to Port de la Seva and Costa Brava. Afterwards, precious up-and-down road beside the sea from Llança to Banyuls sur Mer, all the time with nice views. This area maybe windy, with the so named, tramuntana wind, very strong if it blows. Another possibility would be going from Roses to Alt de Perafita and stop in Cadaqués, where genious Salvador Dalí lived. From there ride to Llança and continue the stage till Banyuls sur Mer.

5)      Banyuls sur Mer-Figueres 46 km It is really a short stage till Figueres, but a tricky one. Col de Banyuls is not that steep as Tour de Madeloc, but the last 2 km are really challenging. You will need maximum gear to get to the top and success. After some pictures at the top, you will find a nice, narrow and solitaire road, leading to the Empordà region, crossing small pretty villages. Figueres is a quite big town, really worth to visit.

Wonderful landscapes

6)      Figueres-Olot 64 km Going out from Figueres through N260 is a quick way out. Wide road leading Besalú that you will leave direction Esponellà and Banyoles. It is worth, the visit of Banyoles, the village beside the famous lake, where a lot of triathlon competitions take place. A good place to stop and enjoy the place. Afterwards there are severals climbs, not very steep, to get some height reaching finally Olot at 440 meters height.

7)      Olot-Girona 55 km. This is also a quite short stage, mostly in descent. It is a quite wide road C-63 till getting the crossroad in Sant Feliu de Pallerols to a more narrow road leading to Girona. If you like steep climb, there is a very good option from Olot and Sant Esteve de’n Bas, this is the climb to Coll de Bracons, challenging climb with nice overviews of the valley at the top. It is really worth. Afterwards it is possible to go back and follow the normal suggested stage.

Coll Formic

8)      Girona-Viladrau 60 km Beginning in Girona, at first there will be some flat kilometres, but afterwards there will be a long long climb although not very steep. Solitaire roads and mountain landscape to finish in the nice village of Viladrau.

9)      Viladrau-Barcelona 97 km Last stage, long and breathtaking, both for the distance and for the landscapes at the beginning. After the start in Viladrau, there is a flat zone till Seva. There begins the climb of the day: Coll Formic, that raises to 1145 meters. The long descent with incredible views over the Montseny mountain will lead you till Sant Esteve de Palautordera and Santa Maria de Palautordera, following direction Granollers and afterwards to Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Barcelona. 

At the beginning of each stage you will receive all the details in order to follow the route. And when you arrive at your destination hotels, you baggage will already be there.

More Information in  http://www.montefuscocycling.com/

Santa fe del Montseny

Agreement with Always Riding

We are happy to announce that we just arrived to an agreement with Always Riding, the prestigious online shop, selling stylish cycling clothes and cycling jerseys. With this agreement, customers of Montefusco Cycling will benefit of a discount when buying in Always Riding shop. www.alwaysriding.co.uk

Bike fleet 2014 already closed

Focus Cayo Evo 4.0

Top quality bikes in Montefusco Cycling

Bikes with carbon frame and Shimano 105

Compact crank and 10 gears

Our bike fleet is already closed.

Montefusco Cycling is offering you top quality bike rentals in Barcelona and whole Catalonia.
All our bikes are in carbon frame and Shimano 105. Campact crank 34x50 ans 10 gears. All of them are models 2014. We have 3 different brands:

FOCUS. Model Cayo Evo 4.0. Available in our Girona affiliated bikeshop. You can see in the pictures.
Wheels Fulcrum WH CEX 7.0

Saddle Concept EX

Tires Schwalbe Lugano

Crank 34-50, 11-28 10 speed

http://www.focus-bikes.com/es/es/bicicletas/2014/road/cayo-evo/cayo-evo-40.html

BH. Model Prisma. Available in our Barcelona affiliated bikeshop.

Wheels Rody Stylus 2014

Saddle Prolog Kappa

Tires Michelin Dynamic Sports

Crank FSA Omega 34-50, 11-25 10 speed

http://www.bhbikes.com/web/es/carretera/resistencia/prisma/prisma-105.html

ORBEA. Model B M50. Available in our Montseny affiliated bikeshop.

Wheels Orbea Alu 28” Aero

Saddle Selle Italia X1 Flow

Tires Vittoria Zaffiro 700x23

Crank FSA Omega 34-50, 12-28 10 speed

http://www.orbea.com/es-es/bicicletas/orca-b-m50/

Rent your top quality bike in whole Catalonia in Montefusco Cycling.

www.montefuscocycling.com 

Road Bike rental in Barcelona for Triathlon competitions

If you are going to participate in a duathlon or a triathlon in Barcelona, Calella or nearby, and you come from abroad, no need to send your bike by plane, avoid costs and troubles by renting your carbon road bike in Montefusco Cycling.
We will deliver a carbon road bike at your hotel and you won't have to trouble of anythinig except the competition. We can provide the bikes with the pedal system you need and if it is a flat stage we can also put some armrest to increase your aerodynamic. The best prices in road bike rental in Barcelona.

The options in Barcelona and Catalunya to race are many. You need to select one of the many options you will find.

Here we mention the most popular triathlons in Catalonia:
Garmin Barcelona Triathlon, Barcelona 5/10/2014
Triatlo de la Vila, Barcelona 13/7/2014
Half Ironman Challenge Calella 18/5/2014
Ironman Challenge Calella 5/10/2014

Discover Montseny mountain by bike

Beautiful roads and landscapes

Do you want to cycle near Barcelona, in Montseny mountain? Discover solitaire roads, challenging climbs, charming towns and lovely people.
And if you wish you can also visit Barcelona, just 1 hour away.

We offer you the chance to do it by yourself in 3 stages. We will provide all you may need: maps, tracks, the best hotel and the best prices.

Recommended Tour from april to november.

Self guided tour, 3 nights, 3 stages

Day 1 Arrival to hotel in Viladrau, bikes delivery, roadbook and briefing 3 stages.

Day 2 Coll Formic and Santa Fe del Montseny, 90 km

Day 3 Turo de l'Home, highest climb in Montseny, 25 km long 1st category climb, 70 km

Day 4 Sant Hilari Sacalm + Coll de Revell 70 km and Farewell

Would you like cycling here?

Price including 3 nights half board:

170,00 Euros per person in double room.

215,00 Euros individual room

Optional road bike rental: 90 Euros

Optional transfer from the airport of Girona

Hotel: Hotel de la Gloria 3* in Viladrau, half board

Barcelona, an unexpected cycling destination

At the top of Tibidabo

Cycling is not only to discover beautiful landscapes in the mountains or by the sea. Cycling is also curiosity, culture, gastronomy, good climate, different sites, people, cycle paths, including urban and slow cycling. A metropolis like Barcelona is a universal destination, and an especially appealing city to be discovered on a bicycle.

Barcelona is one of the most powerful brands that exist in the world of tourism today. It is no coincidence that the number of visitors grows every year, even with the crisis. 7.5 million tourists in 2012, is it not impressive? Number of hotels is increasing, more than 350 establishments, 65,000 hotel beds. Figures that do not stop...

However, the message we receive from Barcelona by bike is contradictory. In one hand it is a bike friendly city, miles and miles of bike path, a system of bicycle public transportation as the so named “Bicing”, a mostly plain city by the sea... On the other hand, it is an urban conglomeration that scares anyone. One and a half million inhabitants, nearly four counting the metropolitan area, many cars, traffic, risks...

Is there something more appealing that wandering in bicycle in Barcelona Maritime front from Sant Adrià del Besòs until Hotel Vela, passing through the area of the Forum, the Vila Olimpica area and Barceloneta? Few things are comparable to this experience, so there are thousands of people who every day make that journey on cheap bikes, urban bikes, electric bikes, mountain bikes, Dutch bikes, and even in ours, in road bikes. The purpose is to enjoy the breeze marina, the views, the smell of the sea, the environment of the beach that is breathed in that area throughout the year. Yes, definitely Barcelona is also a high level destination for cyclists. Maybe not in the sense that we are used to, winter cycling stages in warm areas by the sea, to train hard, but in a broader, more touristic, more global sense.

On the other hand Barcelona is a city closely tied to the professional cycling world for many years. We do not need to mention the most known Barcelona event, the 1992 Olympics, whose cyclist road race was not held in Barcelona but in Vilafranca del Penedès, with the victory of the unfortunated Fabio Casartelli.

Esprint del mundial 1973

No need to talk about the Olympics, but need to talk about the World Cycling Championship that took place in Barcelona years 1973 (such a podium: Gimondi, Maertens, Ocaña, with Merckx in fourth) and 1984 (with Claude Criquielion victory, in another grueling race ahead of Corti and Bauer). Both in Montjuic mountain, where it was held also the Escalada a  Montjuïc, a kind of criterium that closed the cycling season between 1965 and 2007. A nice race in the steep slopes of Montjuic Castle, with the fans supporting their cyclist idols very closely. Eddy Merckx used to win also there…

Barcelona was also end of stage at the Tour de France in 2009, how to forget that? The rain marred the day, but the citizen participation was again rated ten. The stage came from Girona and the finish was at the Olimpic Stadium. Victory was for Hushovd ahead of spaniards Freire and Rojas. Reminiscent of the passage of the Tour in Barcelona is the current ciclosportive Barcelona-Andorra, consolidated year after year, on the same route that Tour followed in 2009, and organized by ASO.

Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys

Montjuïc is a mountain married to the sports: Olympic Stadium, Palau Sant Jordi, Olympic Museum, Picornell swimming pools (that ones with impressive views of the jumpers and Barcelona in the background). And beyond sports Montjuic has so many things to see, the MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya), the Palau Nacional o Poble Espanyol. Hundred per cent touristic.

I do not refuse to talk about cycling in Barcelona without mentioning the most remarkable mountain in the city: the Tibidabo. Anyone who has started to ride on a road bike and lives in Barcelona, has Tibidabo as his initial destination and the place to test himself. It is the mountain visible from all over the city, with its church illuminated at night, offering an incredible and beautiful show. The amusement park next to the summital church closes a perfect circle that brings children to the mountain from the early childhood.

What about climate in Barcelona? In this wonderful city cycling can be practiced all year long. Even in the most raw winter days, Barcelona cyclists lead north via NII by the coast direction Costa Brava, and lead south direction Sitges, searching the shores of Garraf. Weekends of all the year, the main roads going out of the city are packed with cyclists.

We can’t do a reference to the touristic Barcelona not mentioning cuisine. The quality and variety of the restoration in Barcelona is beyond doubt, and is itself a powerful claim. And for us, bike lovers, it is an ideal complement. We can find the best Mediterranean cuisine here.

Bikelane in river Besos

The attractions of Barcelona are so many... One more. Another luxury that has this city is the river Besòs, once degraded and evil-smelling area, has become a fantastic River Park which is home to large areas of great lawn with a paved bike path of more than 5 km, which reaches Montcada. There is a lot of people walking, skating, running, biking... A luxury huge area where sport is the main protagonist. In addition, you can practice safely because motor vehicles do not have access.

How is it possible? So far talking about Barcelona as a touristic destination and still have not spoken the Sagrada Familia, the Casa Batlló, La Pedrera, Parque Güell, the Cathedral, Borne, La Boqueria, the Liceu, Las Ramblas, Camp Nou... The list cannot be closed. All these attractions can be discovered much better upon a bike, rather tan driving (impossible!), walking or by public transport.

With all the pieces that we have named so far, and many more it  is possible to compose a fantastic puzzle, and assemble a route that allows to give a full review to the city in about 70 kilometers. In those 70 km there is space more than enough for tourism but also for the physical requirement, Montjuïc ramps asks the cyclist for his best, and the ascent to the Tibidabo, although not too hard, is also very demanding. Enjoy magnificent aerial views once above is the reward to the suffering.

But if you go to Barcelona, it would be a pity not visiting some interesting places nearby (from de cyclist point of view). First one is Montserrat, the holy mountain for Catalan people, one of the greatest touristic attractions of the country. And also a real challenge to climb up there. Did you know that climbing there to rengrace the black Virgin of Montserrat (La Moreneta) is a classic among the catalan people? Do you want to pray for anyone or anything? Then you are in the right place. The views of the mountain are spectacular! Surrounding the mountain you can see different shapes, the mountain changes. An incredible experience.

Cycling in Penedes

Another interesting area is Penedes. The comparison with the italian Tuscany is too obvious. The problem would be to know which one is the nicest area to ride your bike. Vineyards, solitaire roads, mild weather, soft climbs... Is there a paradise for cyclists? It should be not far from there. Visiting the factories of wine, the well known catalan cava, and remembering the old saga Falcon Crest... All in all, just minutes way from Barcelona!

Last but not least. Montseny mountain is really close to Barcelona. You can reach it from the big city in hardly 70 km. The  highest elevation of Montseny is Turo de l'Home, at 1700 meters. One of the steepest roads in whole Catalonia, a real challenge for strong cyclists. But no need to climb up to the top. You can reach Coll Formic or Santa Fe del Montseny. Solitaire roads climbing the mountain in which you can enjoy incredible landscapes, specially in autumn.

Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city that awaits you all year long to ride the bike and also to learn so many interesting things. A city that is worth visiting. No doubt!