Today began where it left off last night - with a conversation over breakfast with Peter, our new British friend. Peter is an interesting man, with more than a passing interest in bicycles. He and his wife took a commercial cycling tour in the Chilean Lake District years ago, and he recently drove the support van for a group of cyclists riding the stages of the Tour de Yorkshire. Rachael and I have been begun tentatively planning our own tour of England next summer, and we exchanged addresses with Peter so we can kept in touch and possibly meet up then.
Today’s ride is another really short stage. At just 23 miles, we made plans for arriving in Sant Feliu in the early afternoon and having lunch at a cafe there before taking a walk. Our room won’t be ready until after 4, so we expect to have a decent amount of time to look around.
As usual though, nothing really quite goes to plan. We make very slow progress at first, and by noon have only covered ten miles for a blistering average of 6.5 mph. This is likely a new record for us. We’re held back by a mix of terrain and road conditions. The coastline from Begur to Llafranc is very rugged, and the roads near it are very convoluted and steep. We spend all of our time either descending slowly or grinding out short but excruciating climbs, sometimes on foot. Our route is always very quiet, but also very irregular: normal pavement is followed by dirt and sand is followed by crumbing asphalt. We don’t really start making substantial progress until we descend into Llafranc and leave the rugged cape behind us.
A last look back up at Begur. It’s a steep haul, no matter which approach you take.
After our steep drop from Begur, we have an even steeper climb out the other side to cross the ridge between us and Tamariu. Excellent cross training, so of course we’re pleased.
Tamariu. We came this way for nostalgic reasons, because we stayed overnight here in 1996 on our first pass through the region. I remember this visit well, for two reasons: the climb and descent were awful, and it was my first and last experience dining on cuttlefish. I have no plans for a repeat. And seeing Tamariu twice is enough also.
We have seen yellow ribbons everywhere in Spanish Catalonia - on buildings, spray painted on the pavement; but this is the most concentrated display. They’re a symbol protesting the continued imprisonment of the leaders of last year’s independence movement, and have become very controversial.
A series of beaches separated by low headlands lies ahead of us. The first two, visible here, are Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell. Beyond are Palamós and today’s endpoint, Sant Feliu de Guixols.
A much easier, tamer option for biking south from Begur would have been the flat inland route through Palafrugell, viewed here from the coast road north of Llafranc.
The back half of the ride is more normal and generally on pavement, and we spend the rest of the day cycling through one nearly empty resort after another. We start keeping up a reasonable pace, but we’ve taken too long up to now to plan on completing the whole ride before lunch. Arriving at Palamós a bit after one, we stop into a cafe for a quick meal before continuing on.
We come across another rough patch for a half mile. Dirt, sand, narrow, hard to keep to the middle. Oak trees with holly-like leaves threaten on both sides. Scary.
We arrive at our inn a bit after three thirty. Not too bad, and we still have daylight left for a bit of a walk. It’s not practical for both of us to take it though, because no one is at the inn when we arrive and we are expected between four and five. I need a bit of credit with Rachael for a number of reasons, so I volunteer to wait around for our hosts while she walks off on her own. I sit on a bench outside for about an hour reading a book until they finally arrive a bit before five. Rachael returns from her walk about an hour later, and then we walk down the beach for dinner at a nice Italian place.
It’s the end of the road! Neither of us can quite believe that after over three months on the road we’ll bike into Girona tomorrow afternoon, the last stop on the tour. We’ll be there for six nights, taking day rides, getting our bikes serviced, taking the train to Barcelona, and preparing for our flight out of here.
In Sant Feliu de Guixols, waiting for the hosts to arrive. I sat outside for nearly an hour, while Rachael went for a hike. Not a bad wait - pleasantly warm, with the continuous screeching of monk parakeets coming from the palms overhead.serving as background music.
Today's ride: 23 miles (37 km) Total: 3,332 miles (5,362 km)
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Steve Miller/GrampiesNnooooooo! Don't end your tour yet. We are all having too much fun. Unless, of course, there is another on the near horizon. Reply to this comment 5 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesWe’d be happy to keep going ourselves, and just keep moving south along the coast. The Schengen police won’t have it though, so I guess we’ll have to move on. Hopefully something will come up worth talking about. Reply to this comment 5 years ago
