"La colline aux cailloux", a loop around Figueres by bike to discover Catalan Spain!

It's February 2024. I've been in Catalonia for a month helping a friend renovate a house. I decide to get away from the site for a few days to discover the coast, near Figueres (23 minutes by train from Perpignan or just under six hours from Paris). As I've only been a gravel cyclist for a few weeks, I decided to test myself by choosing the most bucolic landscapes possible, to get out of my comfort zone. This trail, which loops around Figueres, is an intense, committed but magnificent journey 😍, from which I return with stars in my eyes

🛣 On the road

DAY 1 🚲 from Figueres to Puig de n'Amat 🚲

58 km

I leave Figueres after a compulsory photo in front of the Dali museum, which I already visited last year. I highly recommend it, but especially in the off-peak season, as it can get crowded!

As soon as I leave Figueres, I have a superb view of the mountains. The adventure begins by **crossing small villages **where history buffs can visit Romanesque churches and strollers can stop for coffee.

The first gravel section takes in rock formations and dolmens. Some of the gravel paths are beyond my technical ability... But no problem! I push my bike. This will be the leitmotiv of this adventure: I refuse to deprive myself of breathtaking scenery just because I'm new to gravel... I'd rather walk a little if need be. For me, it's too early to bivouac, but I notice wild arugula, prickly pear cactus, thyme... enough to season a great dinner.

After Vilamaniscle, another magnificent gravel section lies ahead, longer and more difficult. There are some unforgiving gradients and surfaces that don't roll very well. I stop to deflate my tires a little. This gives me greater comfort and traction.

I refuel at Llança, quite tired as I had to retrace my steps to find a gourd that had gone astray on a rocky descent.🥲😅

Come on Emma! I attack the second long gravel section along the GR11. The view is so beautiful that I let out a little tear, quickly dried by the wind whipping my face. I choose to take the S3 hiking trail that passes at the foot of Puig de n'Amat, where you **would have to be a pretty good mountain biker **not to carry your bike. It's tough, but I'd do it again without hesitation, and then join the slightly more rolling gravel. Well, I could have taken the S0 trail a little further south and more rolling, which goes more directly to Cadaqués, but I'm keen to explore the peninsula.

I bivouac here among aloe veras and prickly pear trees, quiet, peaceful and exhausted.

DAY 2 🚲 from Puig de n'Amat to San Pere Pescador🚲

70 km

Before Cadaques, a cliffside town with white houses and blue shutters, I do a bit of sightseeing at Cap de Creu going back and forth to rock formations and the lighthouse.

Cadaqués is a beautiful town, but not practical for cyclists. The town is lined with all **slippery little cobblestones ** on sloping streets... I wonder how long I'll last without slipping 😆. The locals on vespa have a completely different ease and surprise me around a few corners.

I stop at a bakery near the beach to refuel. I sit on the terrace. The waitress arrives with the tray and sets the table for two. Clearly it hadn't occurred to her that my hungry cyclist order could be for just one person 🤤😂.

I get back in the saddle, ready for another gravel section, with some nice climbs but this time quite rolling, which relieves me a little.

Arriving at Roses, I quickly realize that I'm attacking the **ultra-touristic **and less wild part of the Costa Brava. Campsites that look like towns, tourist bars, huge supermarkets overflowing with English and German products... I pass on my way to Empuriabrava, a sort of **modern Venice **dotted with palm trees. I find it unattractively bizarre, but it's fun to see.

It's time to find a place to sleep. It's already dark. I prefer to ride during the day, but it's hard **to estimate your daily distances **when the quality of the trails is so variable. I set up in an empty field that offers me a small indentation, like a little trench where I can set up my bivouac bag and protect myself from the wind, which otherwise, I know, will be whistling in my ears for hours.

I only have a summer sleeping bag borrowed from my friend, a survival blanket and my bivouac bag, so I hurry to change and get into my bag to avoid giving my body time to cool down. I eat two-thirds of a slice of pizza I've got left, then nibble skilfully to make a spoon shape out of it, so I can use it to eat the couscous I've planned for tonight. When you travel ultra-light, you find new resources! 😎

DAY 3 🚲 from San pere Pescador to Figueres 🚲

87 km

I head for l'Escala dreaming of churros con chocolate for breakfast. At 8am, only one place offers them: the bakery Pafi. My enthusiasm wanes when I see the waitress take a packet of churros out of the freezer. Arg! The coffee is just as bad. I really should have waited half an hour for the other bars and bakeries to open. 😫 I'd be lying if I said I hadn't nevertheless ordered a second helping of churros 🤭. After all, I need energy!

I start the third and final section of gravel a little technical through the Montgri natural park. The landscape is nothing like that of the first two days: I cross pine forests on slightly sandy tracks.

The return to Figueres is easier, although I still have a headwind. I hop from village to village, take on some nice rolling gravel tracks, and am back in town by late afternoon, where my friend is waiting with his car to take me home. He forgot to turn off his headlights yesterday and the car's battery is dead. Now that's a different kind of adventure...🤭

**## Final lap💫

**I've never felt so out of place on a three-day ride. The very wild gravel sections along the coast have something to do with it! It's a trail that favors visual experiences over comfort and simplicity. I would only recommend it to **seasoned cyclists **because between the difficult surfaces and steep gradients on the trails and in the coastal towns, it could put some off...

Practical advice ✅

Apart from a few detours that I consider essential, the trail passes through towns without meandering. I think it's best to get lost a little in the towns and villages to then find the trail again. That's how you'll discover those wonderful, unusual lanes. Beware: apps like Komoot seem **well lost **in this region and will take you the wrong way down one-way streets 😖

Catalan in two seconds 🗣

Put Catalans in your pocket by revising a little! Figueres is pronounced Figueras and Puig (hill) is pronounced Poutch. Please, it's 'si us plau', and goodbye 'adeu'. As for the rest, they won't hold it against you, as long as you keep smiling!