"Journey to the center of the earth", Girona - Olot by bike

January 2023: I escape the English winter to sunny Catalonia (Spain). After a six-hour train journey from Paris to Girona, I'm on my way to Olot, where I'll be renovating a house for a month. I take my time and take two greenways before arriving at my destination. The result is a short trip alternating rolling tracks and mountain passes.

🛣 On the road

STAGE 1 🚲 from Girona to Olot🚲

58 km

On the way to Amer (27 km)

I take a tour of Girona, a city with a wealth of architecture, where many films and series have been shot, including Game of Thrones. I abandon my initial idea of **churros con chocolate **in favor of the local specialty, xuxos: a huge doughnut filled with custard, yum 😋

My journey begins on the "Ruta del Carrilet", a greenway linking Girona, a city located in the northeast of Spain in Catalonia to Olot. The first 20 kilometers are along the road, but we have a nice view of the mountains, so I can't complain. After that, the greenway is a quiet little path.

After 24 km, a **steep winding path **surprises me: I've been sold the greenway as all things easy...🤨 Don't panic, this is in fact the one and only surprise up to Olot, and the climb is short.

Greenway signs regularly offer exits to neighboring towns, like Amer, where I stop for a quick coffee in the main square (well, let's be honest, it's not easy to pedal for long with a xuxo in your stomach! 🤪).

**### Towards Olot (31 km)

**After Amer, the route passes through wooded sections where a bivouac would be quite possible. I don't stop at every cute little town, as I'd spend all day there, and prefer to keep moving.

As we approach Olot, the view of the mountains gets better and better. I feel as if I'm driving in the middle of summer, and with good reason, as the region is suffering from a severe drought , which is making its inhabitants desperate. I notice that some drinking water fountains are closed, so I fill up my water bottles as soon as possible.

STAGE 2 🚲 Loop Olot-Ripoll-Olot🚲

75 km

Towards Ripoll (31 km)

Change of atmosphere with a** beautiful pass in sight**. On leaving Olot, the N-260a road is *very busy* and I wonder what I'm getting myself into, but I trust my lucky stars. Good decision: the road is deserted one kilometer later, leaving me to admire the scenery at every zig-zag.

The 12 km climb is, unsurprisingly, with a very constant gradient. As soon as I pass the pass, I leave the valley of the sun behind me and head for a big pile of clouds, which cool my hands nicely on the descent, which is also perfectly rolling, with wide turns just the way I like them. It really lets you enjoy the speed without fear of ending up on the side of the road.

La Ruta del ferro i del carbó (18 km)

Second greenway of the trip, same topo: very easy all the way except for a nice surprise on a **steep path **where I wonder if I'm going to fall backwards trying to move forward. Finally, given the gravel nature of the terrain, I'm glad I'm going up this little hill rather than down it the other way.

Back to Olot (26 km)

I descend from highest point of the greenway to Ogassa via the parallel road, which is beautiful 😍. Just one more small pass before my final destination. My ascent to Col de Coubet is easier than the outward journey and at least as bucolic.

I'm putting this beautiful, unhindered journey away in a corner of my memory for a bad day, when it's easy to say to yourself _"I can't do a single bike outing without having a hard time!".

Arriving in Olot in the volcanic area of Garrotxa, a lady offers me a kiwi and a persimmon picked three months ago. Not very appetizing, but I go for it 🧐. They're both delicious. The lady tells me that these are fruits that don't rot, but after some research, I'm rather tempted to explain the phenomenon by the ** high level of sulfur in the volcanic soil, as it's a powerful antifungal agent. **

This itinerary is a good mix of easy and challenging. As someone who is not a fan of greenways, which are often isolated from villages and have little visibility, I recommend the two contained in this trail. But, especially in summer, don't forget to fill up your water bottles as soon as possible, because water is only going to get scarcer!