Blackrock to Barcelona by Bicycle

21/06/2016

This is the story of how I cycled from Dublin to Ibiza in 2016. 1500km in 21 days. I had a new Trek touring bicycle with hybrid tyres (which were needed considering some of the track surfaces I encountered.) I left without a map but used iPhone apps and local tourist information offices to find the best cycle routes in each region. I pre booked accommodation in advance which always put me under pressure to do the distance each day. Bookings.com and Trip Advisor assisted me on accommodation and restaurant decisions. Spotify was my music supplier. I read 3 great books on my Kindle. Whatsapp and Messaging served as my communication apps. ( don't think I made 1 phone call)
Ten years ago this type of trip would not have been possible.
People everywhere astounded me with their generosity and kindness.
Here is a link to a photo summary of the trip
https://vimeo.com/172143470
The way Facebook built its newsfeed you are forced to read the story from end to beginning. I have searched but have yet to find a way around this.

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16/06/2016

Postscript. I decided to try and get my bike back from Barcelona. Toll it on the ferry to Ibiza and found a great bike shop where the owner not only packaged it for me but also arranged a taxi to the airport that would carry the case.

06/06/2016

And so it ends. 1500 km. 21 days. I arrived Barcelona today and now wait to board ferry to Ibiza. The buzz of Barcelona is quite a shock to the system. I had to cycle through the recently constructed Port Velu. It was just hopping with tourists. The cycle from Mateo was like dunlaoghaire to Dublin along the Rock road at rush hour. Only it was 30km long.

05/06/2016

So, tonight I am holed up in Mateo a surprisingly large town within spitting distance of Barcelona. ( I had been expecting some cute little fishing village!)
The cycle here was as always different to what I expected from studying the maps. I thought a simple cycle alongside the main road to Mateo. I ended up climbing a mother of a 5km road up to a nature reserve. It felt as if the Tour de France was taking place as cyclist after cyclist cruised past me. I had joined some sort of race. Finally the top and I felt I had crossed the pyrannees again. Eating my most disappointing meal of the trip tonight after a recommendation from the reception guy at the hotel. Boy, am I going to roast this place on trip advisor!!

04/06/2016

On my travels I met many people. In particular a Dutch couple whose route came into sync with mine along the canal du Garonne. Here is their tale after we parted ways. This is against a backdrop of French strikes and of French floods.
(. I am not alone?)

After 85 kilometers after Carcassonne we ended up in a wonderful bed and breakfast in a village called Capestang. Those kilometers were done partly via roads parallel to the canal rather than going via the track along the canal or via a farmer path along the canal with sharp stones and loose gravel.
Not a veloroute friendly to bikers and as you said in some cases even dangerous.
In Capestang we decided to bail out as we got fed up with the bad route, the weather became stormy and showery and we heard that the railways were going on strike. Since we had to return to our car in Arcachon by train we thought it better to get back there as soon as possible and so the lady of the b&b advised us to go to Narbonne as from there a better railway connection could be available.
By road with limited traffic but still dangerous we did the 20 km in no time and arrived at the railway station at 1030. When cycling on the road I stay next and aft of my wife otherwise the cars will pass you without any margin and at high speed.
No train would leave that day with a facility to take bikes and they could not tell when there would be one. They advised us to come back at 1930 as there might be one going at that time.
Since the weather also became worse I rented a van, loaded up the bikes and ourselves and drove off to Arcachon. Complication was that the van had to be returnedto Narbonne and could not be left at my destination, and so we drove back to Narbonne the next day in the van and with our car and returned the van to head back to the north in order to return home.
A thousand km just to pick up our car and return the van, but also to cancel the booking for the train. At the railway station were some elderly british bikers, not very well speaking french and flabbergasted when they learned no trains would be running. The left the station confused and amazed.
Anyway we headed north and spent the night in a hotel south of Orleans to find out the next morning that Paris was flooded and when hitting the road the way to the north was closed. Trying to find an alternative way via local roads showed that the water in all rivers and streams flooded all towns and villages and going north meant via Tours, Lemans, Rouen and Amiens.
Another detour in other words. We are home and how good that is after all this French joie de vivre.

04/06/2016

It is extraordinary in spain the sense of family and living. Totally different from France. The streets throb with kids running around. The restaurants are packed with family. Most vibrant. A nation that will bounce back from economic woes. ( I feel I have been the only guest in most hotels I have stayed in!)

04/06/2016

And the day continued. Hot hot hot. ( and that is not a reference to the many girls by the side of the road on this route) I am staying in Sant Celoni tonight and the route here from Girona was through a forest park that reminded me of the Black Forest. Siri also took me through a golf course which turned out to be owned by Denis O'Brien. Very nice looking course with many playing on it. The square my hotel looks out onto has a very Germanic feel also.

04/06/2016

Today was interesting. I set of early because I had many km to cover (76km) and I wanted to try and get as much done before the midday heat. Arrived in Girona smoothly and allowed Siri guide me around the city. However in her quest to always make life interesting she had me passing through a number of industrial estates. Suddenly BANG, my rear tire exploded.
A nail. I am just under 100km from my destination and this happens. Of course I whipped out my kit, stripped the inner tube and replaced it with the spare I had brought with me.
I wish.
I just sat there looking at it and decided it was really time to reach out to the world and trust fate. I saw a man walking his dog ( this was a pretty deserted industrial estate and it is Saturday morning. ) I explained the problem and he gave me directions to the main road nearby. It took me about 10 mins to walk the bike and all my bags up to this road. There was no garage or anything in sight. I approached a man getting cash out of an ATM and asked for his assistance. Do you know what this decent guy did? He took my number and drove back into Girona to a bike shop he knew. Ten minutes later he rang me and told me that someone would collect me in 10 to 15 mins. Thank you sir, for your kindness. 20 mins later a guy pulls up and takes me, my bike and my gear to the biggest bike shop in Girona. He turns out to be a pal of the bike shop owner and takes long distance cycles every year with his girlfriend. I arrive at Radikal Bikes and they had me back on the road within 30 mins.
There is a god!
Postscript:
When I returned to Ireland I wanted to thank the guy who went out of his way to help me and I organised the hotel el Moli to contact him and arrange dinner for two in their lovely restaurant. He texted me a lovely note of appreciation but also this comment
"my little son is freaking out with this story and now he wants to help to everybody "
Message to earth.... Help strangers.

03/06/2016

Do I feel like cycling 70km tomorrow? Absolutely not!!

03/06/2016

Sitting in this square in banyoles and the noise is absolutely deafening as the Spanish enjoy their tapas and kids run around. This town has a nice feel to it and the beautiful lake alongside is famous for producing rowing champions.

03/06/2016

It's hot today. Very hot. Keep having to stop and drink liquids as well as reapply sun protection. Feel like I am burning up and moving very slowly on the bike. Checked tyres but pressure feels ok. It may be that the tarmac has slightly melted. Make it to Banyoles by early afternoon after a quick coffee in Figuerie.

02/06/2016

La Jonquerra. I have read up
more on this Catalonian town. Theses images that I did not take but encapsulate the feel of the place. It seems it has become famous in the last 5 years for pandering to various facets of the global s*x trade. None of the girls are Spanish. Brought in by Ganga from Eastern Europe. Sad really. Brothels have been made legal here but are illegal across the border in France. Hence traffic through the town has jumped from 2000 vehicles per day to 5000 per day in 2015. Not for the paella!!