Coffeeneuring ride #4: To Banyoles and Mieres

A good (coffeeneuring) ride has the following characteristics:

• riding with friends who a just a little faster than you
• sunshine, or at the very least no rain
• some new roads 
• strong legs
• great coffee
• long and fast enough

Today we had a great ride. We were four: Anna, Howard, Sebastian and I. It was not raining, sun was shining intermittently, Anna led us to new roads (new to me, that is), coffee was hot and strong both in Banyoles and in Girona. I also felt strong, and could easily follow the others up any hills and even very steep ramps. 77km, 3hours. 

Cortado and clara

First we rode to Banyoles following the usual route via Cornellà del Terri, up the Pujas dels Cavallers and from there over some rolling hills to Banyoles. Rolling hills mean 5-6% for 700 meters. In Finland, we would call such a ascent a major climb.

The weather is turning towards autumn here in Girona. In Banyoles, it was only 15C and overcast. We could still have coffee outside, but decided not to linger for long.

Anna told that she knows a nice loop via Mieres back to Banyoles. There would be a hill to climb, nothing major. So, there we rode. The hill turned out to be one of the very narrow and steep farming paths, about 2 meters wide and partly paved with concrete. Concrete means very steep ascent. The climb is about 1.6 kilometers long with 160 meters vertical. It is nice to ride as it consists of 100 meter long steep (up to 20%) ramps with some 5-8% flatter sections. Perfect for Tabata intervals!

I found the climb quite fun. It was hard but not overly so. I could use my strength to attack the steepest parts and recover after them. Nice. 

A nice ride. Afterwards I had a cortado and two pints of clara in Royal Cafe. 

The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17106701