Traka Recon – Girona Gravel
Riding Days
5
Number of Nights
4
Total Distance
460 km
Total Climbing
4,000 metres
Difficulty
3/5
At a Glance
Girona already has an excellent reputation for great cycling and attracts world tour pros and passionate cyclists from all across the world. What has until now been one of the best kept secrets is how vast and spectacular the gravel riding is in the region. Helping to launch the gravel riding in Girona to a world renowned level is the event called the 'Traka'. This has become in a very short space of time one of the most popular gravel events in Europe. This trip is a Recon for the Traka 360 or for anyone who wants to explore Girona Gravel to the full.
Traka takes place every May and now welcomes several thousand riders to ride, race or simply enjoy the different distances which make up the Traka event. You can choose from the 100km, 200km, 360km or the ultra hard card 560km events. We've taken the 360km event and split it into bit sized chunks so that you can either use it as a recon for riding the event itself or just simply enjoy riding the course over a multiple day trip.
The Traka 360km course is a real taste of all terrains, spanning amazing vistas overlooking the Mediterranean, fast hard packed gravel roads, some superb single track and even a very short few hundred metre section of hike-a-bike, you'll leave having fully explored Girona gravel.
With overnight stops along the route, the 360km course gets split into 3 bite sized chunks with roughly 120km on each day, with each section giving a unique and different experience.
Whether you're planning on riding Traka or just want an amazing gravel adventure, come and join us for the Traka 360 Recon.
Tour Highlights
Tour Highlights:
Book Tour
€995.00 – €1,595.00
Overview
Gravel Cycling Tour Girona - The region & the challenge
Catalunya is nestled in the northeastern part of Spain, adjacent to the French border and hemmed in by the mountains of the Pyrenees.
Catalunya, Cataluña or Catalonia depending on which language you speak has a strong identity which is distinctly separate from that of the rest of Spain. Under the dictatorship of Franco, the region endured many years of repression of their identity, language and traditions. The result being the tensions you see bubbling up in the most recent calls for Catalan Independence and the recent clashes with the Spanish authorities.
As you travel around the province of Girona – one of the four provinces in the Catalunya region – you will hear a language which is not the familiar chatter of accented Spanish that you may be familiar with. Catalan is spoken more widely in the Girona Province than the larger metropolitan area of Barcelona and the further you venture away from the coast the more you will hear the tones, sounds and words which have a bigger similarity to French than to Spanish.
The traditions of this region are also intriguing. You won’t find the familiar stereotypes of bullfighting Spaniards here; you’re more likely to find extreme feats of strength – which symbolise the character of the Catalans – as they build immense human towers called ‘colles castellers’. Working under the motto ‘Força, equilibri, valor i seny’, the castellers represent the strength, balance, courage and common sense ingrained into the people of Catalunya.
As you travel around the province of Girona, you will be pleasantly surprised by the tranquillity and welcoming nature of the Catalans as they patiently wait behind a group of cyclists, passing only when called to do so, something which most cyclists are not so familiar with!
Perfect Gravel Destination
Girona combines an ideal mix of mountains, hills and flatter terrain, all set within outstanding natural beauty. This is one of the reasons why professionals make it their home. Imagine if you could increase the number of ride options, almost exponentially! This is what riding gravel in Girona offers you. With only one tarmac ascent from Girona up Els Angels (the climb directly out of the city), there are around 5 or 6 different gravel options up the same ascent. This is repeated across all of the great ascents of the area.
Gravel is fast becoming the most popular branch of the sport. The pros are reaching for their gravel bikes when the serious business of training for grand tours is done. Gravel offers the tranquillity of riding into areas where all you hear is the natural environment and the giddy kid enjoyment of playing around on your bikes. It’s no wonder why more riders are heading off the tarmac to rediscover the excitement of riding.
With 60% of Catalunya covered by forest, this also provides an ideal playground for gravel riding. With many paths through the wooded areas pierced with jagged rock faces and river crossings, you’ll crest the top of the hills catching glimpses of the shimmering blue sea one minute and deep in dense trees with water crossings the next.
The diversity of this region offers you the volcanic area of Garrotxa, the beautiful lakes of Pla de l’Estany and the coastal and Mediterranean feel of Empordá. The rides have been selected to show off the best of the area.
Through Empordá, you’ll be climbing into the massif of Montgrí with its magnificent limestone formations that rise from the sea and then racing down immaculate gravel paths zigzagging through olives trees and apple orchards before lunch on the beach, where a quick dip in the warm waters of the Mediterranean set you up for a lovely ride back to Girona. Explore the tranquil and varied diversity of the region by gravel.
Charming villages
In addition to the attractive landscape, cuisine and the people of Girona Province, there are some places in this region that have a truly unique air about them.
This is the case of the charming villages that you will discover as you ride through Girona old town, Beget, Camprodon, Santa Pau and Monells, among some others.
Girona has so many attractions that it is hard to know where to begin. It is one of the most important medieval towns in Catalunya: don’t miss its unique Jewish quarter and the Girona Cathedral.
The fact that almost one-third of the Costa Brava and the Girona Pyrenees is a natural protected area should give you a good idea of what you’ll find there: with just a few kilometres separating the snow-capped Pyrenees peaks from the Mediterranean’s most charming beaches and coves.
In such a short distance there’s room for fishing villages and high mountain rural towns, for Romanesque monasteries and churches, for Iberian settlements, Greek and Roman ruins, Jewish quarters and medieval fortifications, and the surrealist legacy of Salvador Dalí.
Climate
Details
What's Included
- 4 night’s accommodation
- All breakfasts and evening meals at the hotel and local restaurants*
- Airport transfers – transfer times to be arranged
- Experienced and local language guides
- Mechanical support / building and packing of bikes
- Road side picnics on ride days
- Detailed digital route files for use on GPS Devices
- Complimentary sports nutrition
- La Fuga welcome pack
*Meals are included up to a specific budget after which a supplement will be applied
What's not Included
- Flights
- Café or restaurant lunches and coffee stops
- All drinks with meals
- Personal Travel Insurance
- Incidental Expenses
- Parts and spares used during the trip
- Tips and gratuities
- Massages
- Bike Rental option available during the checkout
Itinerary
Our La Fuga guides will pick you up from Barcelona airport and transfer you to your hotel. Once checked in, your bikes will be assembled or fitted if using rental bikes. We have the excellent Basso Palta rental bikes for you to use for the trip should you wish. We’ll then head out for a quick spin on some local gravel close to Girona to check out the machines ahead of the rides to come.
There will be time ahead of dinner to have a walk into Girona Old town to grab an ice-cream or grab a drink enjoying the ambience of ‘Plaça de la Independència’
Your guide will brief you over dinner about the format of the next few days of riding. After dinner, you can explore the old town or just head back to the hotel sit on the terrace and enjoy the views over the city.
Today the first 127km of the Traka 360 is on the cards. You’ll head out of Girona on initially on Tarmac as you climb away from the city, but soon you’ll be hitting the gravel trails as you descend towards the river Ter. You’ll be riding along the Ter towards the east before heading into the Empordá Region.
The Empordá region (divided into two counties or comarca) takes if name from the ancient Greek and Roman town of Empuries. It has an uncanny resemblance to Tuscany with olive groves, vineyards and old stone farm houses littering the countryside. It is varied in terrain but closer to the coast you’ll enjoy some flatter terrain and be able to get a descent speed as you rumble along on the wide gravel roads towards the city of Figueres, famous for Salvador Dalí.
The days ends as the climbing starts again as you head into the wine region and close to the French border. We’ll be firmly in the wine region with many vineyards based in Capmany and Cantallops where you’ll find the hotel for the night.
Dinner will be in the hotel restaurant with great views over the Empordá region below.
Today is all about the coastal views. After breakfast we’ll grab an espresso before heading into the Albera massif.
To say that todays ride is spectacular is nothing short of the truth. The Albera Massif is simply breath-taking! You’ll be riding through the remote mountainous area which forms the border between Spain and France. Occasionally you’ll be offered glimpses of the glistening blue waters of the Mediterranean in the distance. The course is mix of wide gravel tracks zig zagging across the landscape with some single tracks and a small amount of hike a bike.
The second half of the day takes you into the Empordá flat lands, tracing across the bay of Roses, with little in the way hills to break your speed. It’s an ideal time to sit in a group with your fellow riders and cross two of the major rivers of the region with the Fluvia and the Ter taking you to your hotel for the night.
Tonight’s dinner will be in the hotel taking in views of the Empordá countryside and maybe enjoying some of the wine of the region whose which has grown in the terrain you’ve been riding through.
You’ll return back to Girona today and finish the 360km Traka route, but the 120km ride packs in a lot of varied terrain.
The ride starts by traversing the apple orchards of the lower Empordá county. You’ll have the impressive Castello del Montgri in view almost all the time. This Castel is unique in the fact that it was never completed, with only the perimeter walls having been constructed. It was built in 13 century, but was only intended as a deterrent to the pirate who were roaming the Mediterranean seas below.
As the route continues you will pass through mediaeval villages which haven’t changed for hundreds of years. The tranquillity and beauty of this region is delightful. The tranquillity in your legs is shattered by the sudden uphill of the climb into the Gavarres massif. This represents the last major climbing of the Traka 360 course. You’ll descend to the Selva plain where you’ll be treated to various sections of single track and sharp climbs before returning back to Girona where a well deserved cool refreshment will be waiting.
A celebration meal will be deserved tonight in one of our favourite restaurants to toast an excellent few days of riding.
With an afternoon return flight home, it allows you a chance to take on this short 1.5-2h loop. Legs will be tired after a few days of cycling, but this short loop will be an enjoyable way of finishing your adventure trip on the gravel bike.
We will finish our ride and have lunch in one of the many squares in Girona. After the last portion of ‘patatas bravas’ and ‘croquettes’, we ride back to the hotel. You can enjoy a refreshing drink on the roof of the hotel, and our mechanic will pack your bikes ready for the journey home.
Accommodation
Hotels may be subject to change from time to time due to availability.
Traka Recon – Girona Gravel
