It's a Mystery to Me

May 29, 2022

As I mentioned in the previous entry, we are taking turns leading the rides from Girona each day and today was David's turn. After breakfast, we lubed up with our SPF 50 sunscreen and set off north towards Lake Banyole. I didn't know where we were headed but cycling the countryside turned out to be just as beautiful as we remembered from our first visit to Girona in 2016, when we started and ended our tour here.

We first had to get through the sprawl of north Girona but it didn't take long and we were cycling through farm country. In the distance, we could see the Pyrenees. They are the faint blue mountains in the distance of this shot.

Land is being actively farmed in this region. And by the aroma, they are using organic fertilizer.

This glass tile mural greets visitors on the roundabout on entering Porqueres. That is the blue sky in the background!

Lake Banyoles far exceeded my expectations. The water was clear and a beautiful colour. Seeing the rowing sculls and the white buoys marking the rowing lanes on a good half of the lake revived memories of the 1992 Olympics and, more specifically, Silken Laumann's courageous bronze medal. She lives in Victoria and trained out of our local training center at Elk Lake. We rubbed shoulders with the Olympic rowers every Saturday morning at our favourite breakfast spot not too far from Elk Lake. We always made sure to get our order in before they arrived as they were known to devour all the grainy French toast following their morning workout!

In any case, Silken was favoured for a gold medal in the single sculls in 1992 but she was involved in a severe collision in preparation for a World Cup race, just 10 weeks prior to her event. The result was a severely torn lower leg muscle, so bad that the muscle was hanging from her ankle. Ouch!! She had several surgeries between the accident and the event, where the trauma docs stitched everything in place. Then she competed in the Olympic event at Lake Banyoles and came out through with a bronze medal. That's true grit!

Today, we watched the rowers out practising as we sat and had a coffee at a lakeside cafe.

This pup was being rewarded for his attentiveness. Every few minutes a tidbit came over the edge and he caught it in his chops.

This pup was not so successful. He got nothing but a few pats on the head.

The shoreline is dotted with reeds and lily pads in bloom, both white and pink.

There is a bike path and a quiet road all the way around the lake so we set off after coffee. Along the way, we came upon this 12th century Romanesque church, the church of Santa Maria de Porqueres.

Opposte the church was a massive pricky pear that was loaded with ripe red fruit. I had learned from a prior experience to be careful not to touch these. The little fuzzy tufts look innocent but if you touch them you might be picking thorns from your fingers for days. I took a few photos instead.

Someone long ago carved these capitals, to be admired by future generations.

From the far side of the lake, we could see the lane markers head on. Coming toward us were two novices. They were showing us onlookers how difficut it is to row in a straight line and to stay upright in a double scull. Those sculls are meant for speed and besides that, you must row in unison or else... look out! They had already crossed several lanes and were having difficulties staying upright but they did manage to hold it together.

After circling the lake, we headed back toward Girona through the undulating farmland where the most prevalent crop is wheat. The traffic on these roads is almost non-existent so although there isn't a wide shoulder, the cars that do pass us are very cautious and give us a wide berth. I think it has something to do with the rules of the road here in Spain. There are plenty of reminders like the sign below telling drivers that they must give cyclists 1.5m when passing. It seems that most drivers pay attention and comply.

This is why drivers are so cautious around us. We are not used to this special treatment when cycling at home!

Coasting downhill is the reward for every uphill. Grades were fairly gentle all day long.

Every rise provided a beautiful vista like this.

Tiny hamlets with churches built in the 12th century dot the landscape.

Once we were home from the ride, we cleaned up and went strolling Girona's old city again. I keep finding hidden gems like this balcony when I look up.

And, when you look down, which is mandatory on ancient roads like this, you find artistry in the stonework. Girona was home to a large and thriving Jewish population before they were driven out in 1492, hence the star configuration in the stonework.

These are the stairs that lead up to the Cathedral. Game of Thrones fans will recognize these.

For dinner, we chose a Breton crepe restaurant. These are actually gallettes as they are made with a whole wheat flour (buckwheat?). Delicious! We had room for dessert too so we shared ice cream with caramel fudge sauce and toasted almonds.

Elevation gain: 11,340 metres.

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Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles)
Total: 720 km (447 miles)

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