Mane

The Girona Bike Breaks weekly Shop Ride - the best thing to do on Thursdays. Again today there was a nice group of cyclists from many countries: Catalunya, Netherlands, Mexico, UK, Brazil, Finland at least. The weather was perfect. 23C, clear skies, wind only on the way back to Girona (wind always blows up the valley in the afternoon). We rode 70km or so. Up and down. Slow and fast. I am always the last one to ride up any longer hill. But I do not mind as I get very good exercise riding up hills close to my limit. The group at the Bike Shop. The route was both the usual and not. We rode up to Canet d'Adri, had coffee and then decided to ride to Sant Aniol de Finistres - or most of us anyway. Some continued over the mountain to Les Planes d'Hostoles and from there back to Girona. The road from Hostoles to Girona is a highway and not very pleasant to ride.  A Canet d'Adri So, we went to Sant Aniol. It is lovely little village at the very end...

When I meet other cyclists in Girona, they often ask me about my favourite rides. Here is a list of some of my favourite rides in Girona. This is still a draft version. I will add new routes as I ride them myself. I will also write longer descriptions later. And I will fix the many grammatical and other mistakes there are. Please do not mind them too much now. See and join the Girona Rides Facebook group for more information. Both sides of Els Àngles: 40km, 900 meters climbing Santuari dels Àngels sit on the top of a 470 meter high hill. The bottom of the climb is only 4 kilometers away from Girona, which makes the climb very popular. The climb from Girona is about 11km long, so average grade is only 4%. Since there are some downhill and flat sections, most climbing is about 6%. A nice climb. The Girona Gran Fondo Hill Race takes place on this climb.  The other side from Madremanya is much steeper with an average of closer to 8% with sections over 10%. The road surfac...

Riding the exactly same familiar routes becomes very soon very boring. At least I need to see new places, feel the joy of minor adventures, get lost and find my way again. Today was such a day. I was a bit tired, my legs were sore from the previous rides. I decided to take it easy, ride mostly flat roads, at a very easy pave. I also decided to avoid any dense car traffic as much as possible. So, I took the southern cycling route out Girona. It is the route everyone uses when riding towards Llagostera, Santa Grau and Tossa de Mar. The roads are quiet, almost deserted outside the city of Girona. First 4 kilometers have some traffic, then next to none. The road more or less follows the railway towards Barcelona, so there are no major climbs. Usually we ride the GIV-6742 to the GIV-6741 road (see map below), but now I turned east from Sant Andreu Salou. The road sign told that the road would lead me to Cassà de la Selva, which it did. But some 2 kilometers of the road are unpaved. Not ...

When one lives alone, cooking becomes a chore. Cooking for oneself feels like wasting time. Having a lunch in a restaurant is also an opportunity to have a break, to see other people and to have a short walk. In Girona, most cafés and restaurants are open for lunch. Lunch usually has three courses: starter, main course and some dessert. One drink is usually part of the set price. Prices vary from 9 euros to 13 euros. Each restaurant and cafe has its own lunch menu. The menu seems to be the same every day. This is quite practical, for when I want to have fideua, I know that Campus cafe serves fideua for lunch. If I want to have couscous with salmon, I know I need to go to El Pati de la Viena. And so on. My favourite places for lunch are: Campus Cafe , where I always have fideua and fried salmon.  El Pati de la Viena , where I usually have tortilla and couscous with salmon and a glass of red vine. El Sol , where I usually have rice with ham and bacalao. Campus Cafe...

Back in 2010 we were riding in Göttingen. There is a decent hill just next to the city. We did not ride up the hill, because we were tired. But I got an idea, a dream: would it not be nice to have a 400 meters high hill on the way to the office. And on the way back. Since that, I have been dreaming about such a hill. Now here is Girona I have such a hill. Not that I need to ride it just to get the office, but since the hill is there, I might as well ride it. It is the Els Angels climb. It is not hard, it is not overly long. It is about 11km long and 480 meters climbing. From the other side, from Madremanya, it is a bit steeper, 5 km and 320 meters. And since it is part of the Girona Gran Fondo , it is good to practice for the 2017 Hill Climb . Here is a video of the climb . So, because the hill is there and I am kind of fit and it is not raining, I might as well go and ride it up. Maybe both sides. The route .

Sometimes I need to have some exercise but I do not feel like cycling. Maybe my legs are tired, maybe the bike is not OK or maybe I just want to walk in the forest. Today was such a day. Valle de Sant Daniel is a forest area in Gavarres , the mountain range next to Girona. There are countless paths crossing the peaks and valleys. One of them is Calle Dels Angels and it goes from the archeological museum all the way up the the Els Angels monastery. It only takes 10 minutes to walk from my home to the forest, quite away from all the bustle of the town. I walked 5 km up the mountain. It is quite a steep path, the total climb was more than 300 meters, so on avarage the grade is 6%, which is nice. Not too hard, not too easy. There are some very steep short sections, up to 20% or more. Not many. The path is rather busy in the evening. The local people go to the forest to ride their mountain bikes and to walk and even to run. And it is not surprising, for the views are wor...

For a long time I have been doing a lot of my work away from the office. It all began while I was working for Sofigate. Their office is in Otaniemi and I moved to Roihuvuori. My commute would have been an hour by bike and even more by metro and bus. And the office was terrible! So, I did most of my work in cafes, libraries and in the cigar club. And it all went quite OK. Now, after almost three years at Codento, I got the chance to try to do my work from Girona, 2500 km from our office as the crow flies. It is not possible for me to pop in the office and meet someone face-to-face. All communication must take place over some media. I am becoming quite adept at using Google Hangouts, Whatsapp, Facetime, Slack, GoToMeeting and even traditional email. Not the office, but a good place to think I have learnt something during my 1.5 months in Girona. Let me tell about how working away from the office has changed my way of working. My working day is not anymore some number of conse...

This is one of my favourite rides in Girona. It is long enough, but not too long. It has some climbs, but too many (2) and they are not that steep. The views are just about perfect over mountains and the Mediterranean. Tossa de Mar has decent cafes, fascinating blue bay with sail boats and swimming. A beach. The route in ridewithgps.com . What else could one ask for? Well, there is public water fountain and a toilet in Llagostera 25 km from Girona and right before the main climb. Llagostera is worth a visit. Tossa de Mar is even more worth a visit. Between Girona and Llagostera the road crosses some beautiful rolling terrain. One can really put in some power and enjoy fast ride. Some advice though. From Girona to Llagostera one can either take the small roads as we did today or one ride directly on a highway. Both are Ok. The highway is a bit easier to follow. The small roads are in terrible condition, so one should really pay attention.  The climb to Sant Grau ...