May 20, 2014
Olot
Crossing Baixa Garrotxa
We found a different Besalu this morning when we left our hotel. Yesterday the streets and plaza were nearly empty but today the place is bustling - Tuesday is market day. There's no room in our saddlebags to stuff anything new though and I'm not much of a shopper anyway, so we weave through the excitement and cycle down the road.
Today's endpoint, Olot, is only about 15 miles away by the direct route, but we're taking the scenic route through Banyoles and Santa Pau, and then adding a loop south of Olot as an appendage at the end. The first few miles of the route to Banyoles are to the southeast into headwinds on the busyish C-66, but it has a decent shoulder and isn't too bad. In Besalu we enjoy the cycle path along the shore of its lovely lake and then turn west, catch a tailwind, and soon cross the border of the volcanic park.
The rest of the ride to Olot is beautiful - very green, increasingly hilly, almost car free - a great cycling road. The road gradually climbs to the scenic village of Santa Pau at 1500', where we poke around a bit and break for a picnic lunch in the village square, feasting on delicious bread, ham and cheese that Rachael picked up before leaving town this morning. Back on the road, we continue climbing for a few more miles until finally topping out at 2200' - almost enough to credit as a first pass of the tour - before dropping to Olot.
From Olot we turned south, into a quite stiff wind and dark skies - rain and possible thunderstorms are due in a few hours so we are racing the weather a bit. We endure a flat but frankly unpleasant 5 miles on the too busy C-152 before thankfully leaving it at Saint Esteve and bending to our apogee at Le Hostalets. The ride back to town makes it all worthwhile though - the empty rural road is a total delight, snaking through a string of pretty villages and prettier farmlands beneath green ridges and volcanic piles. We approach Olot from the southwest, not seeing it until almost inside the city limits because it is blocked on this side by one of its string of small volcanos. After checking in to our hotel, we take smug pleasure in the fact that is just beginning to sprinkle as we enter the garage.
After cleaning up a bit we go outside again for a first look at the town, pleased to find it still dry after all. We will be in Olot for three nights, so we were mainly interested in a snack to carry us through until dinner. With that behind us, we had a bit more energy in the tank and decided to climb up to the top of Montsalcopa, one of the town's volcanos. It's a short distance from the heart of town, and provides wonderful views around. At the top is a small grassy caldera, a small church, and a pair of small viewing towers.
We will be in town for three nights - tomorrow we will take a break from the bikes for a hike in the volcanic reserve on the following day we'll take a loop ride west to Ripoll before leaving town and turning north into the mountains and over to France. Tonight's meal at a mediocre trattoria was nothing to write home about though, so I won't. We'll do better research for the next two dinners on the town.
Net elevation gain: 3000' today, 16,200' total.
Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 241 miles (388 km)
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