Ultra Death - No Rain in Spain on this Plain!

In the knowledge that a link to this blog is now appearing on the RBL website, I felt the need to prove that I am taking the P2P seriously. With this in mind I am pleased to report that I have just returned from a two week training camp in northern Spain. Following in the footsteps of the US Postal Service cycling team who based themselves in Girona, I chose Pals as a base, 27 miles due east of Girona. OK, so I was at a camp but before I am rumbled by anyone else, this camp had a swimming pool and was in easy striking distance of the beach!

Without wanting to put my disciplined training schedule behind plan for the sake of spending time with my wife and kids on holiday, I did take my bike with me to continue training. Over the two weeks, I cycled 127 miles over 5 rides, the longest being 52 miles. For this I chose the hottest day – and the hottest part of it. Something about mad dogs and Englishmen!!

We were staying on the Baix Emporda (the “lower” Emporda) which differentiates itself from the Alt Emporda (“high” Emporda) as the Baix Emporda is predominantly a plain whilst the Alt Emporda sits in the foothills of the Pyrenees and is therefore much more mountainous. That said the Baix Emporda does have its fair share of hills. In the north there is the Toroella massif which is dominated by a fantastic hill upon which sits the Montgri castle. No guessing what this hill is likened to. I sniggered when I first saw it as a 6 year old, and I didn’t need to tell my kids of this when they first saw it 3 years ago. Consequently, we have always referred to it as “The Boob”.

Close to us and more to the south, the landscape is dominated by the Begur massif. I cycled up this and the coves around this part of the coast represent images upon which the Costa Brava gained its name in 1908. Costa Brava literally means Rugged Coast and this is the area where one has endless postcard beaches with turquoise waters to choose from. The beach in this photo is Sa Riera and is viewed from about two thirds of the way up the massif. When I reached the top, I did bottle it, opting to go back the way I came as I knew going over the other side would mean a second steep climb no matter which direction I was headed.

Much of my cycling was across the Pals rice fields which, whilst beautiful and relatively slow going given the nature of the tracks, was not challenging as it was so flat. Nonetheless, despite knowing the area really well from numerous previous visits to this part of Spain, this was the first time I had explored the area in such detail as the bike took me to places either not accessible by car or, so far off the beaten track that one would not think necessarily to drive to. Also, travelling alone and at a slower pace meant I could stop when I wanted and take detours as and when I pleased.

Crossing the rice fields took me to the Gola de Ter, the mouth of the Riu Ter. This is a beautiful lazy river which rises in the Pyrenees and flows through Toroella before discharging into the Med 4 miles to the east, just south of the resort of Estartit. In the background are the Isles Medes which became the first offshore nature reserve in the country. Before now we have visited the islands on a glass bottomed boat – an incredible experience.

From here I headed back towards Toroella, a beautiful medieval town, which sits at the foot of Toroella de Montgri, the castle on the massif. It take about 90 mins to walk to this castle and unsurprisingly the view from the top is magnificent – in all directions. Indeed, albeit not very visible in these photos, the Pyrenees are only about 40-50 miles away and therefore clearly visible to the naked eye. Needless to say, I kept well away from these!

Heading west of Toroella, I happened upon this beautiful medieval footbridge in Gualta. The worn stones are clearly visible.

Further illustrating the richness of this beautiful part of Catalonia, 3 miles further on, located on a small “hump” on the plain is the village of Llabia. Llabia is on a small spur road, one way in, one way out. The village afforded stunning views over the plain. This view looks out towards La Bisbal de l’Emporda, world famous for its ceramics.

The primary objective on my 52 mile ride was Pubol. Pubol is just east of Girona and was home to Salvador Dali and is wife Gala. It was here at the 11^th century Castell Dali y Gala that following the death of his wife, Dali almost died himself in 1984 when an electrical fault in his bedroom led to a fire that almost killed the bedridden Dali.

Whilst I did not visit the castle on this occasion as I had done so on a previous visit in 2007, I did stop at the café just outside the castle for an ice cream and glass of ortxata (a milky drink made with chufas – tiger nuts) and played with a couple of young kittens.

On leaving Pubol, I headed for Monells, yet another beautiful medieval village just a few miles away. I was beginning to wonder what the fuss was about when just before deciding to leave the place, I headed down a no through road and passing underneath an arch at the end of the road, I happened on this beautiful village square. I stopped for a quick photograph before wending my way back towards Pals.

On the way back I took a detour through yet another beautiful village (there is an endless supply of these beautiful villages in the area) with the intriguing name of Ultramort. I can only view a literal translation of this to mean Extreme (or Ultra) Death. I quick photograph of the village sign and tentative gander at the centre of the village, I decided not to overstay my welcome in case I meet with some ultra experience from which I may not recover!

The climate lends itself to fruit farming and away from the rice fields, there were many orchards lining the roads. The stacks of Girona or Costa Brava crates of apples left a lasting image in my mind.

The route home took me through the medieval villages of Palau Sator and Peretellada. Peretellada steals the thunder of the other medieval villages of the area and is firmly on the tourist trail. These photos hopefully do justice to the village where every turn warrants a postcard view.

Amongst all of these beautiful villages and stunning scenery, what I did not visit on this occasion (having done so in previous years), was a ruined ancient Iberian settlement, the largest and most important in the whole of Spain. This further demonstartes that aside from the stunning beaches (whether it be the pine clad coves that gives the Costa Brava its name or the long sandy beaches upon which the resorts are built), this area is littered with medieval villages, ruined settlements (there is also the largest Spain based Greek and Roman ruined cities of Empuries / Empurion just 10 miles up the coast) and of course the stunning scenery, much of which has the Pyrenees as a backdrop.

Other than ascending the Begur massif, I felt the real new element to my training was the stretches I cycled on the main roads which, being long, straight and exposed, meant long periods exposed to headwinds.

Training-wise, this was a productive couple of weeks in an area which I know really well and have always loved. Having the bike with me enabled me to discover even more new places, ones that I may never had discovered if it hadn’t have been for the bike.

I suspect there will be one more ride at the weekend and then the waiting and training will be over! Destiny beckons but will hope that ultramort will not feature in that destiny!

Just to cap it all, the route back home took us up the A16 from Paris. Whilst it was about 0300 on Monday morning, I was conscious of the fact that this autoroute runs roughly parallel to the P2P. I wish I could say it was flat as a pancake - but I can't! Rather I could say that, but it would be a lie!