Sant Miquel de Cruïlles Getaway

The Sant Miquel de Cruïlles Getaway is not a ride you stumble into; it is one you earn. From the arch of Pont de Pedra, the route points due east, and within minutes the city’s hum fades into the quiet mechanics of the Gavarres massif. This is a hard half-day, 102 kilometres of tarmac that climbs and falls with little mercy, packing over three thousand metres of elevation into just two hours of saddle time. The surface is pristine throughout—clean, grippy asphalt that rewards a confident pedal stroke—but the gradients are unrelenting. If you live for the burn of a steady ramp that never quite lets you settle, this is your terrain. Riders who prefer rolling hills or conversational pacing should look elsewhere; this one demands legs and lungs that are already familiar with suffering.

The centrepiece arrives early: the Sant Miquel de Cruïlles climb. It is not the longest ascent you will ever face, but its honesty is brutal and beautiful. The gradient holds a stubborn, uniform rhythm, never throwing a vicious switchback to break your focus, just a long, patient pull that forces you into a meditative grind. The tarmac here is immaculate, almost new, and the silence is broken only by your own breathing and the crunch of tyres on fine gravel dust at the verge. As you rise, the forest of cork oaks and pines parts occasionally to reveal the distant blue smear of the Mediterranean, and the air turns cooler, carrying the scent of resin and wild thyme. At the summit, the reward is not a café but a raw, unguarded panorama over Lake Banyoles, its surface a flat mirror set against the crumpled green of the surrounding hills.

What follows is a different kind of pleasure. The descent towards the lake is fast and flowing, the road wide enough to let you carry speed with confidence, and the well-surfaced bends invite you to lean a little deeper. Then the route turns into the quiet farm lanes that thread through the Gavarres, where the asphalt narrows to a single car’s width and the only traffic is the occasional tractor or a startled hoopoe lifting from a dry-stone wall. This is the heart of the ride—not grand passes, but the intimate, unglamorous bones of rural Catalonia. The mid-point coffee stop at Terrassa del Call is a deliberate pause, a shaded terrace where you can sip an espresso and watch the heat shimmer over the valley, feeling the ache in your quads as a kind of earned currency.

The way home is a slow unspooling of history. Sant Martí Vell appears without warning, its medieval stone houses and narrow, shadowed streets demanding you slow down and look up at the carved lintels and worn cobbles. It is a place that feels untouched by the century, and passing through it on a road bike feels like a privilege rather than a sightseeing stop. From there, the final stretch is a fast, well-surfaced descent back towards Girona, the city’s cathedral tower rising on the horizon as a marker. The last kilometres are a blur of speed and relief, the legs spinning freely after the day’s effort, the mind already replaying the climb. This is a ride for the rider who wants to feel the landscape in their muscles, who measures a day not in sights but in the quality of the road beneath them.

Ride highlights

• The Sant Miquel de Cruïlles climb with clean tarmac and steady gradients
• Quiet farm lanes through Gavarres massif
• Panoramic views over Lake Banyoles
• The medieval streets of Sant Martí Vell on the way home
• A fast, well-surfaced descent back towards Girona

How the day unfolds

1. start

   Bike fit and briefing

   Meet your guide at Pont de Pedra, Girona, dial in saddle height and run through the route for the day.

2. +30m

   Out through Gavarres massif

   A steady warm-up along quiet lanes into Gavarres massif.

3. midpoint

   Terrassa del Call stop in Sant Martí Vell

   Coffee and a snack at Terrassa del Call in the heart of Sant Martí Vell.

4. final

   Back to Girona

   A gentle return leg with the best light of the day behind you.

What is included

On the road

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