Mane

Back in January I was still planning a bicycle ride, a tour, from Travemünde to Girona. The idea was to take a ferry to Germany, then spend one month cycling across Europe to Girona, Spain, in order to participate the Girona Gran Fondo , a week of cycling fun. After the Fondo, I was dreaming of spending some time with S in some nice hotel before cycling back to Travemünde. Well, the came the covid-19, the pandemia, and now I must stay in Finland. The Fondo has been cancelled, most hotels are closed and one cannot cross national borders. Bummer! So, I have decided to do a virtual ride to Girona instead. According to RideWithGPS.com the shortest route is about 1850 kilometers : Hamburg -Marburg - Frankfurt - Heidelberg - Strasbourg - Basel - Lyon - Montpellier - Perpignan - Girona. If I cycled 6 days a week, for 4 weeks, it would be 78 km a day.  Something I should easily manage.  I will ride in Uusimaa, Finland. Every morning I will plan a route, select a hotel, find a n...

I am back in Girona. It has been a long and cold winter and spring in Helsinki (with trips to Berlin and Stockholm, but anyhow), more than seven months since I was here. I have missed Girona, my friends here and cycling in warm weather up and down hills. By the coast.  I took the train from Arenys de Mar to Girona. The train rides up the coast, very nice view there and many small villages with their squares and cafes etc. Actually, one should take the coastal R1-train instead the direct R11-train from Barcelona to Girona. Girona center By the coast it was 5C cooler than here in Girona. It has been a warm day, up to 32C. It makes one sweat and lazy. I picked up my rental bicycle from Bike Breaks, met Saskia and Jubbe, walked up the Anton's and Michaela's, they are very kind and let me say at their home for my trip. They have 17 rooms, so there is just enough room for us three... A short walk, just to see the old town, meet a few more friends (Mike, Birgit and ...

Well, after 2 races and two shop rides, and before the 125km (1900m climbing) Gran Fondo, I decided to call it a rest day. My legs are a bit sore from yesterday's Nocturne and my resting hearth rate is up. So, resting. What to do then in Girona when on is not cycling and when it is sunny and +30 centigrade? My favourite activities are drinking coffee in Campus Cafe and drinking beer in B-12. There are other nice things to do as well. A pint of Catalan craft beer We had a lazy walk to a park next to the archeological museum. It a nice, cozy place with a pond full of frogs. The frogs are very loud in the night, now they only talked a little. There are beautiful dragon flies as well. Of course, there are many sights to see here as well. There are the Cathedral, the Arabic baths, many other old (like 500 years or more) houses and churches and staircases etc. But I have seen most of them during my earlier visits, so no sightseeing today. Girona cathedral Soon, time f...

A short note before going to bed. Just because I am still too full of adrenalin. Today at Girona Gran Fondo we had the Nocturne ride. The concept is both simple and evil. 10 laps of 2.5 km, with a timed section of some 200 meters with 45 meters of climbing. On pave, or cobblestones. And as they say, that is not all. The time section begins at the Place de Catedhral, which means that one has to climb up a 14% uphill before the timed section. Easy does it, but then one has to speed up very fast, in 3 meters, before the timed section begins with a grade of 8.5%. It continues, turns left 90 degrees, then 20 to 30 meters 8-9%, then another 90 degree turn and the 20 meters 17% wall. With many people cheering, shouting, music blasting. Only way is to pedal full gas. Then, a a flattish section of some 100 meters. And then its over, only to begin again after some 2 kilometers. Ok, that is the route. What does it feel? Fun, terrible, terrifying. First few laps are easy, one tries to find t...

I have a dilemma. I would both like to ride a lot and save some energy/strength for tomorrow's Nocturne. Nocturne is a criterium in Girona's old town, 10 laps of 2.5 kilometers, of which only 200 meters is timed. These 200 meters are hard: up to 15% uphill on cobbles! So, what to do? To join an easy shop ride to Banyoles or to join a medium one over some small mountains. I chose the easy one, mostly because all other Finns chose it as well and because Anna needed someone to watch the back of the group. Of course, after looking the skinny riders joining the medium ride, I knew that I would again be dropped at every longer/steeper climb. An easy ride it would be then. The ride would be Girona-flat, which means uphills less than 1km and mostly less than 7%. Not exactly flat, but as flat as it gets here in Girona. We were a group of at least 17 riders; of many nationalities from Autralia via Canada to Finland and Britain.  Everyone was in a good and relaxed mood. I was please...

The first official event of 2015 Girona Gran Fondo was the time trial up Els Angels. It is 10.4 km, with some 400 meters climbing. There are some flat and downhill sections, so one must take care pacing. One should have some extra energy to ride very fast on those easier sections. Representing HePo abroad That is the theory, at least. I tried and did not quite make it. But let me start from the beginning. Since I and Sirkku registered to the Gran Fondo very early, we got small participant numbers. Mine is 7 and Sirkku's 8. I was second to start the time trial, Sirkku was third. Waiting My goal was to ride at my threshold (both power and hearth rate) and to finish in less than 40 minutes. In order not to fail, I began easily, not pushing at all in the first few kilometres. I then reached some steeper sections and just could not resist pushing a bit. Hopefully not too much, so I could carry on almost at my threshold. First rider to go The downhill section were v...

Yesterday evening, my friend Anna Rinne, who knows everyone here in Girona and who knows what is happening, told me that there will be a shop ride today. At 10 am, which is the usual time, but which was kind of early for me. I decide to make my best to wake up early. I made it to the ride. I was delighted to meet my friends Saskia, Dave, Josep, Jolien and many others. Like Neil Martin, who calls me Matt Finish, which everyone finds funny. I do as well. I arrived at the shop at 9.30, installed my Vector S pedals, tool bag and other necessities. It took only 15 minutes, so I had 15 minutes for applying sun screen and chatting. The shop ride took its normal, easier route up the slopes of Rocacorba. There are several steep uphill sections, up to 12%, before the coffee break. The faster riders dropped me, they always do. But I did not give up. Rather I just kept on spinning my pedals and keeping power just below my threshold. I made it to the cafe not too much later than the faster gu...

We are back in Girona. For me, this is the 4th time in less 20 months, for Sirkku 3rd time in 14th months. We like this small Catalan town. We like to compactness of the old, medieval part, being able to walk everywhere in 15 minutes or less. We like to lack of noise as there is almost no motor traffic in the old part. We like to cafes, restaurants, bars, all with their local clientele. And of course, we like, almost love cycling around here. The roads are well paved, with enough - but not too many or too steep hills. Car drivers respect cyclists, one feels safe here. Of course, having made many friends here makes this the most pleasant place to visit. One feels welcome, like being where one belongs. So, we arrived today by train from Barcelona. The train station is a 10 minute walk from the old town, and 15 minutes from our vacation home. We walked as taxis cannot really drive here. And we are fit enough to walk and drag our luggage up the steep alleys. La Terra - my favouri...

Taking a train from Barcelona to Girona may be quite confusing and stressful. Not that the train ride itself would be anything but ordinary and comfortable. It is the Barcelona Sants train station that confuses me every time. So, let me tell how to buy tickets and how to board the right train. Waiting. The train was 20 minutes late. +33C.  First, you may want to check Renfe's website for timetables. The website is east to use and provides accurate information. Then, take a subway to Sants. Follow the red R-signs to the station hall. You maybe have to carry your luggage up several fights of stairs. There may be elevators, but I have not found them ever. In the station hall, go directly to counters 1 - 7. There they usually sell tickets for the regional trains to Girona (terminus Portbou). The ticket costs about 11 euros; the train ride to Girona take 77 minutesYou may also buy tickets fro rapido (express) trains from counters 11 or so. 30+ euros for 38 minutes ride. D...