Girona Collections

A collection of routes from my time in girona

It’s no surprises most of these routes will be mostly off-road, this stems both from my love of off-road riding these days, to the fact that around Girona, the best riding is to be had by looking beyond the tarmac. I have tried to put a note in the description as to what to expect, but if unsure just message.

Click here to head to Ride with GPS and see the collection

The Spirit of Les Gavarres

The summation of 100 hours exploring

This is a tough route taking in nearly all Les Gavarres has to offer. I pieced this together when I was training for the Highland Trail 550. It’s got some smooth gravel roads, some pushing and some rocky downhills. I rode it on my hardtail or full sus. Enjoy!

You can read more and see a video of the route here

Escape the City

From London to Pett Levels, and sadly back

A long and reasonably tough route, I ended up with 4,000m elevation over the distance. With no single big climb, it comes in the form of short grippy ascents. There are a few leg stingers along the way, but locating them would spoil your fun! The lanes out and back are idyllic, with a few less friendly but unavoidable roads, overall the route is very good. Judges bakery in Hastings makes for a perfect mid ride stop, the sandwiches are incredible. Take your purchases back up the hill, sorry, to Pett Levels and enjoy a picnic on the beach. Just don’t set off too full, you might see it again as you climb sharply from the sea front. Enjoy.

Touring Italy

Rome to florence

I first toured this route in August 2018 with my best friend, Guy. I’d heard about the Italy Divide, which covers this section in the race. The roads on this route are quiet, easy-going gravel roads, with the added bonus of exceptional scenery in the beautiful rolling countryside of Italy.

I loved it so much that I decided to come back in May 2019 to race the Italy Divide (Disclaimer: The Italy Divide was not all easy-going gravel roads!).

Memories of Transcontinental No: 5

monte grappa

I started this climb from Bassano del Grappa, a city steeped in history. I first did this climb in Transcontinental No: 5 in 2017, and I just loved it for many reasons: the beautiful scenery, the never-ending twisting roads with hairpin bends, and the stunning views over the Po Valley. I returned after Transcontinental to be able to appreciate all of these things without the pressure of the race, and to visit the military war memorial monument, with the time to let it sink in.

Three sides of Stelvio

gran stelvio

While staying in Livigno training for Transcontinental 2017, with the benefit of altitude, I climbed Stelvio a few times, each time the idea of completing all three sides in one ride grew. Once I have an idea, I must do it. Stelvio is an iconic climb carved into the mountains with incredible switch backs, riding all three sides in one go was a real treat, a good challenge!