Another Iconic Hill

June 1, 2022

What is it about an iconic 'name-that-thing' that sticks in our minds and keeps popping up over the years as something we need to do or see? I have no need to answer that question, but I think we can all relate to this phenomenon. These things/places/events often become part of our personal bucket list when they take on enough significance.

Today was a day that we got to experience one of those iconic places, climb called Els Àngels. For context, Girona is situated in the Ter valley roughly 100k north of Barcelona in Catalonia and sits adjacent to a large wilderness (Les Gavarres Protected Natural Area) that is a playground for hikers, runners, walkers and cyclists. It is criss-crossed by two or three roads, each with a sanctuary at the summit. The iconic ride we did today is called Els Angels, named after the Sanctuary located at the final summit.

We became aware of this ride as soon as the buzz about Girona's cycling culture became a thing. It actually started in 1997 when George Hincape realized the potential of the region and the US Postal team began setting up in Girona, to be joined by Lance Armstrong in 2000. The cycling teams and pros have been coming here ever since to train on the local roads and hills. The cycle tourists followed and nowadays there are bike stores dotting the commercial scene of Girona. Bikes are definitely 'in' and cycle tourism revenue is significant to the region.

But, back to that ride, Els Àngels. The climb begins just 2km out if the city and winds its way gently through the pine and cork oak forest for 10km. The road surface is excellent, the curves are smooth and sweeping and the grade is gentle. It's a real pleasure to toodle your way up as the birds sing, stopping occasionally to take in the view.

Looking over Quart, a community just south of Girona.

Speaking of those birds, I pulled out the Merlin app and learned that we were being serenaded by Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Blue Tit, European Goldfinch, European Robin and a Cirl Bunting.

We'd noticed the leaves on the cork trees look like tiny versions of the oak trees we have in our yard at home and it turns out that cork comes from a cork oak. Cork harvesting is regulated and it requires specialized training to learn how to do it. A tree must be at least ten years old before the first harvest and can only be harvested once every nine years after that. These trees form a large part of the forest on Els Àngels.

This is what the tree looks like after the cork is peeled away.

At the summit is a rather non descript church, named Els Àngels. There are also two large telecommunications towers loaded with equipment for beaming our data here, there and everywhere.

View north from the summit. Those highest mountains in the distance are the Pyrenees.

The ride down the other side of the mountain was fun, but it ended too soon. The first village we came to was Madremanya, so we rolled in to have a look. The streets have refurbished old cobbles which are no fun to cycle on so we just did a quick loop of town. The only person we saw was a gentleman who was combing his dog. The chunks of dog hair swirled around in the breeze and would no doubt make the birds happy.

Thes horses were knee deep in hay-heaven just ouside Madremanya.

We left Madremanya and when we cruised down the hill and looked back, we saw this view of the town.

By the time we reached Monells, we were ready for short break. Half of the tables at the only coffee shop in town were taken up by a group of riders on a 5 day Backroads tour of Empordia. Most were casual riders and were on e-bikes (and paying close to $1000 US per day!). We found a place to sit and ordered drinks, then took a quick look around this beautiful little town. Photos inside the coffee shop showed the square in 1936. It was a quagmire of mud and was a stark reminder of the standard of living in today's western world.

Yes, the water is truly potable. A real treat for hot and thirsty cyclists.

These arched streets are nice and cool on a hot day.

Roses and rock walls were meant for each other.

Once we had adequately cooled down, we moved on and found that the perfect roads just carried on and on through the farmland.

Eventually, we headed back up into the forest of the Gavarres on our way back to the Ter valley, south of Girona.

We left the Gavarres wilderness down an exhilarating and quick descent to Cassa de la Selva. For comparison, it takes about an hour to ride up 10k and just minutes to ride down.

Cassa de la Selva is a working town and we came upon a semi truck loaded with palletts of cork as we cycled through a light industrial area on the way out of town. The cork had been flattened (a process that takes months) and the pieces were fairly consistently 2" thick. We suspected this cork would be used in manufacturing flooring, but that's just a guess.

We popped out the other side of town and found another series of wonderful roads that would meander through the farmland. These farms were decidedly more, well... farmy, than the wheat fields on the other side. The aroma of silage wafted through the air. I happen to like this organic smell so long as it's not too ripe so I was inhaling it while David was exhaling it. And yes, we did come across a large barn full of dairy cows.

We had covered most of the 1000+ meters of climbing and had exhausted three bottles of water each by the time we reached Fornells. We stopped at a small cafe next to this church to get re-charged and were off again, heading north to Girona.

Fornells de la Selva, where we took a break to replenish fluids with some cold drinks.

We rode directly to Coffee Mafia for cakes and cold coffee when we arrived in Girona. This sculpture sits outside the cafe.

Inside on a leather bench, this 10yr old jack russell was having a nap. He is a regular and one of the staff told me this fella is their best customer. He never complains!

Just in case you missed it, the cakes were sprinkled with gold.

Elevation gain: 13,642metres.

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Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 852 km (529 miles)

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