Lake Banyoles Loop from Girona

September 23, 2023

With a Surprise at the End

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We have had a very full day with an unexpected and mind boggling end. In a good way. More on that later.

Yesterday Keith spoke to a guy at a bike shop and he recommended Lake Banyoles as a favourite ride. Several other people suggested Lake Banyoles was the one to try. The CN suggested we save Els Angels for the way back to the coast.

Today’s ride was great, but I don’t think it was what either of us anticipated. We followed a route to the lake that we found on the internet. It wasn’t quite what we expected so we followed the Via Verde route on the return trip. We were expecting more road riding and a bit more of a challenge. I am suspicious that all those young people Keith consulted must have looked at us old people and thought they had better recommend something suitable considering our age. We must look ancient to them. As the CN pointed out, we may have simply chosen the wrong route to the lake as neither of us would describe today’s ride as one of the best in Girona. Absolutely lovely, yes, but not in our top ten list.

On our way out of Girona we passed some sort of a bike festival. I wanted to stop and take a look and the CN gave me his usual answer. “We’ll catch it on the way back.” Often we don’t. Just saying. So we continued, which turned out to be a very good thing.

The weather was perfect for cycling. It certainly must be a popular route as the number of bikes at the lake was amazing.

We love these Spanish roads where you don’t see a car for ages.

Slight navigation glitch here. We were on the road to the right so flipped the bikes over the guardrail to where we should be.

Lake Banyoles was as beautiful as advertised. We stopped for a cold drink and admired the scenery and all the cyclists. Every type from toddlers on scooter bikes to roadies in spandex. You feel a part of a community here on your bike.

We headed back to Girona hoping to catch the mountain bike race. Unfortunately we missed it. We did meet a couple of lovely women competitors while we were looking for the start and had a good chat. They directed us to the race start and finish, but everything really was wrapping up and we left disappointed.

This was a care home for the elderly. What great murals!

Our mountain bike competitors. The young woman on the left came first yesterday. Kudos to her.

But then the magical happened. We were close to the bike festival and decided to check it out after all. It was the most incredible event we have attended in a very long time. And one of the best parts? Our personal favourite Austrian female mountain biker came second today, and the awards ceremony was right inside the entrance we used. We got to clap, cheer, congratulate and take pictures.

Rubbing shoulders with a really good mountain biker and charming young person.

All the winners with our favourite on the left.

Words fail me to describe this bike festival. It was called Euro Mobility Festival presented by Sea Otter Europe. It was so huge and such a maze we got lost. We really did. It covered acres and acres and acres. There was every kind of bike imaginable. Accessories, tools, clothing, parts, shoes, tools, bike bags…if it existed for bikes it was there. There were hundreds of exhibitors. The number of people in attendance was also mind boggling. It was absolutely a rush to wander in this huge crowd of like minded people looking at the absolute latest in bikes and gear. They had 9 huge courses laid out for test riding and anyone could leave some identification and try a bike. Thank goodness we did it at the end of the day when we could take all the time to see this grand spectacle we wanted. The pictures really don’t give the scale of the event credit. We have never seen anything like it in our lives and it was a complete blast.

The Center fold from the magazine they give you (in three languages) at the entrance.

I loved these huge trailers that opened up and had a bar on top. I should have taken a picture of the Scott set up. It was massive.

I liked this display. Actually, I liked all the displays. The place was a maze. You can see a bit of the Scott set up in the background.

It is very very hard to describe how amazing the whole thing was, how busy and how much of a maze. We really had to work to find our bikes in the bike valet again. We had no idea of the scale of the event when we entered and didn’t pay attention not realizing their were multiple entrances.

We biked back to the hotel, astonished. Then out for dinner, outdoors in such a fabulous setting. No scurrying in for rain tonight. One more night in Girona and we plan to explore the city tomorrow.

Today's ride: 56 km (35 miles)
Total: 182 km (113 miles)

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Jacquie GaudetWow! That bike show looked amazing! The Vancouver one is absolutely pitiful in comparison.
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7 months ago

David MathersLake Banyoles where Silken Laumman won a Bronze Medal in singles in 92 and the women’s teams won 3 gold medals 🏅🏅🏅 there.
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7 months ago

Kirsten KaarsooTo David MathersThat is an interesting piece of information.Good to know.
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7 months ago

Kirsten KaarsooThat sounds like quite the bike show. We cycled the Lake Banyoles loop also it was enjoyable but not the highlight of our trip. Enjoy your day exploring Girona we did.
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7 months ago

Rich FrasierSo jealous!!
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7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo David MathersWe didn’t realize it was Lake Banyoles either … thanks Dave.
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7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Kirsten KaarsooI still feel astonished by it. How fortunate we were to see and enjoy it.
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7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Jacquie GaudetThe scale of it was so hard to describe and it was so much fun. I walked around just amazed.
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7 months ago

Rachael AndersonWhat a great day!
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7 months ago