I had 2 nights in an Ibis Budget room in Perpignan which felt a bit like being back at uni but with the added bonus of seeing the Pyrenees out of my window.
I wandered around the town, enjoyed the French/Spanish mix, did some work in the library and ate a crepe (wrong part of France for a crepe but it still tasted great).
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| Pyrenees view from my room |
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| City gate |
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| Northern France crepe in Southern France |
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| Perpignan houses |
I cycled straight to the coast the next morning. It was special to be back at the sea as the sun rose and to see Spain in the distance. That day I followed the coast, crossed in to Spain, climbed and descended multiple times and survived the severe winds on the steep cliff edge roads. I had been hoping for a sea swim but it was too windy and grey to feel motivated enough to get wet!
My first campsite in Spain was super friendly and helped me to feel I’d arrived with some great Spanish tunes in the bar in the evening.
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| Seeing the sea for the first time in a couple of weeks |
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| Enjoying the sea views |
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| Collioure |
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Wind warnings. It was touch and go managing to stay upright on the steep cliff hugging roads.
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| The old France/Spain border buildings |
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Spain ahead!
The next day I climbed up in to the wild Cap de Creu. Lots of cyclists on the way and beautiful wild park on all sides. I descended into Roses for a cuppa on the seafront and then headed north to the brilliant https://www.maspelegri.com/ cycling hotel. The area is incredibly beautiful, a dream for cycling and it was great to meet Fiona and Gareth, the British couple who set up and run it. The next day I embraced the gravel route in to Girona, enjoying passing through pretty Banyoles on the way.
 | | Climbing in to the Cap de Creu |
 | More Cap de Creu ascent
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 | Pausing for a cuppa in Roses
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 | Into Girona province - Pyrenees on the horizon
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 | | View from Mas Pellegri |
 | | Banyoles |
 | | Gravel route in to Girona |
I loved little pretty Girona and was lucky to have arrived during its annual festival. I took a couple of days to do some work and to look around. Enjoyed seeing live music as well tasting my first tapas and Spanish wine. Cyclists everywhere - it’s a popular destination for the proximity to mountains, coast and so many gorgeous roads to ride.
 | | Girona riverside |
 | | Tiles and tapas |
 | | My bike squeezed in to the tiniest room! |
 | The best samba I’ve seen live
 | | ‘Traditional Spanish music’ I was told. Loved seeing people get up to do a well known dance to these tunes. |
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 | | …and more people gradually joining in. This is surely going to make it in to an assembly at some point in the future. |
 | Some Spanish pop ❤️
 | | Accidentally came across a cyclist meet up - perhaps a Spanish critical mass?! |
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 | | Girona sunset |
 | | Little Girona streets |
Distance cycled in this stretch: 124 miles Total distance cycled so far: 841 miles
Books read: - This Here Flesh, Cole Arthur Riley *****
Route: very much not direct but I wanted to see the coast as well as some of the hills
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