May 22 – 27

Early on in our planning for this trip we decided that we wanted to do a multi-day bike tour, a self-guided version like the one I did in 2022 in the Loire Valley.  We initially focused on something around Lisbon or Porto, but once our itinerary became set and we knew we’d be flying home from Barcelona and visiting Girona, we were able to settle on a tour in that area.  We decided to go with Cycle Catalan as they had the right route for us, the right number of days and a good enough price.  With many routes to choose from, we settled on one that worked well for us, that is Catalunya Campos, Lanes of Catalonia, featuring “5 nights’ bed & breakfast accommodation with 2 dinners, on days 1 & 2” at a cost of 1,373 Euros ($1,551) apiece.  Long story short, we would end up enjoying much of this tour while being quite frustrated with other elements of it, which we will explore in the next post or two. 

We checked out of the Airbnb and walked to the meeting point for our tour, plaza. At a plaza with surrounding restaurants back across the river.  Not knowing when our next chance for food would come, we had a snack at Cafeteria Plis Plas which kept us going until dinner.  Not long after our driver arrived and loading our luggage, we began the drive to our first night’s lodging, the Hotel La Sala de ComesLa  just outside the lakeside town on Banyoles. 

As mentioned earlier, we had some complaints about the tour, one being road conditions (one half gravel and farm road), two being misleading GPS instructions, and three being lack of promised support while on the road.  But the upsides were huge, starting with this property a converted 12^th century rectory with good service and delicious food.  We settled in and waiting for dinner, I had another one of those Alhambra 1925 Reserva’s. 

Seated for dinner would enjoy interacting with the same woman server for both of our meals.  I didn’t keep a listing of what we had and with no menu to refer to, some of the dishes shown here, while memorable, will go unnamed.  We would enjoy three full courses as well as a bottle of local red wine and looked forward to many fine and memorable meals for the rest of the trip.

The next morning would be our first day of riding and we mounted up on our Specialized touring bikes, having received them the day before and gotten properly fitted, we were soon off, heading downhill a couple of miles to Banyoles and the lake of the same name.  We would encounter a hilly course and our  bikes were perfectly set up for this type of terrain, so the climbing wasn’t a problem.  However, this is where we ran into our first quibble with the tour’s depiction of what we should expect.  They described the day as:

“Today you will cycle through the fields that surround Banyoles, along the way you will cycle through typical Catalan stone villages with Romanesque churches. Stop at one of these for coffee and cake and just take in the surroundings.”

Not once today, nor for the rest of our days on the bikes, would we run into any villages with a place to stop for coffee and cake.  Granted we did pass through charming stone villages, but they were all seemingly deserted, as if the residents had been abducted by aliens.  Here is my description of the day from my Strava post: “A hard 27 miles after two months off the bike.  Way more dirt and too much single track for my tastes but a good day nonetheless with 1,874 feet of climbing”.

Having returned to Banyoles, we made the climb back up to the hotel and relaxed, with a couple more of the Alhambra 25’s before another delicious dinner.  I had a relleno/burrito offering, dense with a mild cheese while Joanna enjoyed a mixed salad with goat cheese.  For entrees she had a mild fish while I demolished a roast beef in gravy with mashed potatoes. 

Dessert would be a Cream Catalan for me and Lava Cake and Cream for Joanna.  Normally neither of us are big eaters, but somehow, we managed to consume all the food before us.  And the next morning we encountered a buffet breakfast with bountiful choices.  We started out that morning with the downhill and then a couple of turns on shaded paved roads into lovely countryside.  And except for some sections of paved climbing, it would be a day of lots and lots of dirt roads. 

We would also begin to have issues with some of the directions through Ride with GPS.  Nothing too serious but that would come later in the next couple of days.  And again, we would not find any place to stop midride for a snack, even though it is mentioned in the brochure as: : Stop in Ofres for refreshments before crossing the river Fluvia”.  In the end we managed 24 miles with 1,762 feet of climbing.  Here is my post on Strava for that day:

“A few less miles, almost as much climbing as day one but easier as much of it was on nicely paved roads with steady grades that led to rewarding downhills.  Still too much gravel and rutted farm roads for my taste though.”

It took us a bit of time to figure out the direction to our lodging for the night, but when we did we were treated to a welcome sight, staying at El Moli de Siurana Rural Farmhouse located in the village of Siurana d’Empordà.  After checking in, we were delighted to find a very large room with coffee making equipment and a spacious and well-appointed bathroom. 

I purchased a couple of beers from the kitchen/bar area and we relaxed until dinner time, which was held in a bright and airy dining room on the other side of this large farmhouse.  This would be another nice meal, but again lack of a menu and elapsed time make it difficult to recall what we had that night.  Portion sizes were on the small side, not a bad thing and I do recall that the veal chop I had was odd, pulling meat of the bone.  Joanna’s tart with cream for dessert was a winner though.  That would end day two for us.  We’ll finish up the tour in the next post. 

Links

Cycle Catalan: https://www.cyclecatalan.com/tour/catalunya-campos-lanes-of-catalonia-short-tour/

Hotel La Sala de Comes: https://lasaladecamos.com/en/

El Moli de Siurana: https://www.elmolidesiurana.com/