Mane

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 ...

On perjantai. Perjantaisin pyöräilijät polkevat aamulla aikaisin Kahvisiskoille Hakaniemen torille. On perinteisen Tsygällä Tsufelle -tapahtuman aika. Tsygällä Tsufelle -aamiset alkoivat pari vuotta sitten minun olessani HePon puheenjohtaja. Sain idean Demoksien Johanna Lampiselta, joka oli Washington DC:ssä käynyt viikottaisilla aamukahveilla. Siellä ne olivat olleet eri paikoissa. Mietin hetken missä Helsingissä olisi hyvä paikka ja tajusin, että torikahvilaa ja Kahvisiskoja parempaa ei varmana ole. Torilla on kaunista aamulla auringossa istua. Kahvisiskoilla on aina aamuisin riisipuuroa, hyviä sämpylöitä ja ainoana paikkana Helsingissä pannukahvia. Oi onnea! Parhaimmillaan meitä pyöräilijöitä on ollut kahvilla 30, nyt tänään meitä oli 5. On vielä monelle liia talvista vaikka juuri tänään olikin muutama aste lämmintä ja aurinkokin alkoi 8.15 jälkeen lämmittää. Perinne jatkuu. Nykyään kahvit omakustanteisesti, koska en ole saanut aikaiseksi hankkia sponsoria. Tänään tämmöine...

The weather forecast was promising rainy Thursday. The Girona Bike Breaks Cycle Center decided not to organize its weekly shop ride. A little rain did not deter the foreigners, so there were some 16 riders waiting for the shop ride at 10am. Cal Sabater Only I and Martin from Netherlands knew the route. We decided to ride to Canet d'Adri despite the wet roads and cloud hanging low on the sides of the hills and mountains. The others followed us. We made it to the restaurant Cal Sabater. I rode with the slower riders, Martin with the faster ones. No accidents, a nice ride for everyone. After coffee, everyone but I, Matti P, and one riders with a hybrid bike decided to return to Girona and to ride up Santa Pellaia or something. We decided to ride to Sant Aniol de Finestres to see the funny and stupid turkeys, to have a cup of coffee and to enjoy quite road. The turkeys were active in the yard of the restaurant Can Tura. They are quite chatty, always responding to anyone w...

On Wednesday, Girona rides like a girl . A weekly ride leaves for four a 3-hour ride from the main post office by the Placa de Independencia. Nice and and well behaving boys and gentlemen are always welcome. Today many girls were down with flu. We were 4 boys and Anna. The weather was good enough, a bit chilly in the morning, but we had some sunshine as well. There are so many small country roads. If one knows the right routes, one never has to ride on highways. Today we choose the so called "stick farms" route. The route goes through plant nurseries and gardens near Celra. Small pines, palm trees etc are growing there waiting for someone to buy them. A large palm trees cost 4000 euros. Significant business. Monells  We rode to Pubol by Dali's castle to Monells for coffee. We were not the only cyclists riding as there were ten others having coffee in Monells. Good coffee, delicious bocadillos. Then it was time to climb over Santa Pellaia. It is a nice 9 km cl...

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...

The coffeeneuring challenge continues. Today we decided to ride to the River Terri dam and continue from there over a 600m high pass to Osor and back to Girona. Today's participants were Matti, Niko and Juha. This is how happy the ride made us. This was one of the nicest short ride so far in Girona. Of course, riding to Angles was a bit dull, but with Matti pulling the group at a brisk pace, it did not take long. The traffic was rather light as we left Girona by 12.15. The valley from the lower dam to the higher dam is very beautiful. I was also told that the view from the higher dam over to artificial lake and mountains is magnificent. My fear of heights prevented me from verifying this claim. After the dam there is a very, very steep climb. The steep part is about 2 kilometers long with 150 climbing. Avarage of 7.5%, but with sections over 15%, maybe even 20%. Very hard. Everyone managed the climb quite well, even I had no real problems. The downhill is very steep and...

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...

It was a rainy day in Girona. The weather forecast predicted sunny day in Barcelona. So, I took a train to Barcelona. I did not have anything special in mind, just to read on the train and to have a drink in Barcelona. So, what do I do when I have 5 hours to spend in Barcelona? It depends where I find myself. This time, as I came by train from Girona, I found myself in Passeig de Gracia. As its name says, it is near Gracia, a kind of bohemian neighborhood, which is full of nice bars and cafes. I walked up the hill to Gracia, took some random turns and found a shop selling foreign newspapers. Such shops are rare here. No such shop in Girona. I bought the New York Review of Books, the best literary newspaper in the world. With my paper, I then spend the afternoon reading, drinking vermouth, observing street life and just enjoying myself. The newspaper has many interesting articles on sex and teenage girls in America, economic history of the US, drone warfare. I will write ...

After a month or so active working and building up routines in Girona, my working days are now Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Thursday, I always take part in the weekly shop ride of Girona Bike Breaks - just to meet friends and see how fit I am.  My working days have a pattern. I wake up at around 7am-8am, eat some müsli, read. By 9am, I will be in El Cafe for a few cups of coffee and a small bocadillo and working. This takes at most 3 hours. El Cafe A short walk follows. More work at home. Around 2pm, lunch in either El Pati de la Viena or Campus Cafe . Depends on whether I fancy salad or fideua as the 1st course. The menus never change here. Some more work until about 5pm. Altogether maybe 6 hours of work. M aybe a short nap. Later, Cycling for 2-3 hours. Easy pace with some hill intervals maybe. Shower, some food, evening stroll. After 9pm, reading in some of the cafés in Plaça de Infependecia. Maybe a beer or a glass of vermut. On the way back ho...