day 11 - ripoll to barcelona
route
Day 11
The main road south from Ripoll (C17) quickly becomes a dual carriageway and cyclists are not allowed to use it (not that I would want to). This means that we had to head west on C26 for a bit of gentle climbing.
Just after the top of the climb (approx 18km in) there is a short cut on a paved track; it saves a few km and is fine for road bikes.
The turning for the track:
After this, from 21km to 37km the route takes one of my favourite roads. It follows a river valley and is gently rolling with almost zero traffic, pretty countryside and a smooth road surface.
There is then a short climb on a more major road before turning right to Prats de Lluçanès; a suitable point for a coffee stop. From here there is about 15km of descending followed by a similar amount of climbing (the last significant stretch) bringing us to Moià. From here there is a long stretch on the C-59; a busier road than I would like, but I couldn’t see a good alternative and in practice it wasn’t too bad.
As we get closer to Barcelona, and things get busier, the route does take some back roads. We cut through a rural area at Gallecs and then weave through the streets of Mollet del Vallès before crossing the river Besos.
There is a cycle path that follows the river into Barcelona, but the first few km are unpaved and a bit rough so if on road bikes, I would stay on the road until the later, paved sections. From there it is possible to cycle all the way to the beach in central Barcelona away from cars, although the last part can be slow as you have to share space with lots of pedestrians.
The beach is a great place to finish:
