Quite hypocritically, having downgraded the hotel Flora Parc for car dealerships across the street, I now upgrade it for having a bike shop right next door!
Nice as the path was, it was frequently interrupted by boardwalk connecting housing to the beach. We looked at these with suspicion, pretty sure that they could send us flying. But there were so many we needed to develop a strategy for them. What we did was to start way over on one side and attack them on as diagonal a basis as possible.
On the mountain side we had a small shoulder. Cyclists coming the other way were out of luck. Look at the precision of Dodie's placement on that road. She's a professional!
Waaa! There were an inordinate number of heavy gravel trucks on the road. We would soon see that this was due to a quarry and a cement factory along the way.
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonFortunately Dodie was unaware of this risky behaviour until evening when she saw the photos. By then it was too late to say more than "Please don't do that again". Reply to this comment 6 months ago
We stopped in a pullout and had a chance to look at the hillside plants. Anyone who felt like climbing the hills at such points could have a "mirador" - lookout. The trails up were super steep!
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Patrick O'HaraThe shoulder sort of came and went, mostly went, especially around the tight blind corners. We held our line just right of the centre of our lane on the corners, and really booted it in order to get through the thing as quickly as possible. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Karen PoretIt was relentlessly steeply uphill and the traffic, although most drivers gave cyclists enough space, was loud and also relentless. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
With this truck, or one just like it, I made an error that I would not repeat. On this road as on so many others, we had lots of "suicide passers". These would pull out from behind us, or anything else not moving fast enough for their satisfaction, and into the oncoming (often blind - around a corner) lane. Then they would desperately pull back in to avoid the head on collision. My error was to slow down at one point to wield the camera, allowing about a four car length gap to open between me and Dodie up ahead. The white van pulled around me and then stepped on the gas, swerving back, to avoid the head on. But oh hell, here was Dodie in the lane, a few car lengths on. The white van driver managed to tuck behind her, taking that position between me and her. But he could just as easily have taken her out, since his foot had so recently been to the floor. On the other hand, a suicide passer can just as easily, I suppose, clip Dodie on the return to the lane, in the case that we are stuck close together.
Beyond Sitges we entered Vilanova. This offered some reasonable sidewalk cycling, but mainly it was a nondescript urbanized area with no charm whatever.
Karen PoretYellow ( beige) indicates pedestrian walking, correct? What is the function of the orange cones? To “protect” from the autos? The green actually reminds me of a putting green..;)( no, I don’t play golf) Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Karen PoretWe never did really take the time to figure it all out, but yeah, beige seems to be for pedestrians, green fefines the edges of the no car zone, and the orange posts are intobthe ground to keep cars from cutting into the no car area. There are also red lanes which we think are where the bikes were meant to go. Way too complicated when you are trying to figure out where you want to go while also trying to stay alive. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Karen PoretTo Steve Miller/GrampiesMaybe this is one of those “locals only” situations where they know how to “get around”…;) Reply to this comment 6 months ago
The track now took us onto this rock lined path. We are always leery about such things ending in sand, but this time it came out to a beautiful stretch of beachside paved path.
Andrea BrownThis is a beautiful shot. Layers of textures, perfect lighting, and a wave to draw the eye over to the edges. Well done. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Scott AndersonMonk parakeet, a problematic invasive species. We just saw out first of the year in Valencia yesterday. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonInvasive they may be, but they sure are cute. Also, hard to see a green bird in a green leafy tree so we were happy to spot a few on the ground. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThey are cute! It always cheers me up to see them, unwanted though they generally are. My favorite fact about monk parakeets is that they build colonial nests shared by as many as dozens of birds, each with their own entrance hole. Nests can be huge, weighing up to a ton, and can be a threat to people below if they fall. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Karen PoretOk! We have several here in Santa Cruz, but, unfortunately they are not used for the intention nor in usable shape. It is simple but not simple to maintain due to vandalism, sad to say…
I like the red one in your photo! Really “grabs your attention” even on a bike! Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Bill ShaneyfeltMuch as you travel, you probably already know they are a bit astringent until dead ripe and wrinkling, but I might have been tempted to attempt to pick a few. I may be old, but I still climb trees. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
Bill ShaneyfeltTo Steve Miller/GrampiesIf only my knees were not so worn out! 20 miles max... unloaded.
But it sure sounds fun! Reply to this comment 6 months ago
We turned off the broad seaside path and made our way up through Calafells. In the early going a dry goods market was just packing up - no loss. But we did see some fruit vendors, reminding me that I would like to find or look for those imagined small red persimmons. Oh well, we have big plans to find the market in Valencia. From this point our chosen road ascended quite steeply, but not for so long, until we arrived at what is the Calafells main square, in the sense that it does have the town hall and a church, but it is all very small. We scouted around a bit, because we could not find our Hotel Antiga, which was supposed to be on the square. Finally we tried a door that had to be it, and it was! We later did spot a small sign over on the side. Despite this low key approach, the hotel turned out to be amazing. It has many rooms extending back from its small frontage on the square, a beautiful garden with orange trees, and a huge pool. Importantly the rooms feel like the Spanish haciendas we were priviledged to stay at a bit in Mexico. For example, I am writing this at a quite large mahogany desk, lit by a stained glass table lamp.
Not only was our hotel a hidden treasure at Calafell, but the town itself is a hidden treasure. There is a small castle at the top of the hill, which around 900 a.d. marked the middle of a no man's land between Christians at Barcelona and Moors at Tortosa. The castle had its own church, but in time it fell into disuse. It is said even the bishop did not want to walk up to it. So a "new" church was built - it's right beside our hotel.
The population of Calafell was 44 families in the census of 1359, but after the Plague, this fell to 14. The population was 2,000 in 1960, but it has since exploded to 25,000. Most of these must be down by the water, because it is super peaceful up where we are. We took a stroll around the castle, but could not get in. Even so, we had some super views round this stone town, up on a hill.
As we sat in our room above the square with our balcony doors open we could listen to the active shouts of children below, mainly playing with a soccer ball. Something we liked about this was that they could play here without fear of any kind.
