Another day off has come and gone. Keeping up with a trend of going on day trips, I went to Sitges. This time however, on my Brompton. Sitges is relatively close, just 50 km from my hotel, so I figured I could always can catch a train if I am too tired to cycle back.
I was out the door by 9am. A big chunk of the road goes through Barcelona and its suburbia: cycling over the city’s bike lanes was moderately pleasant but going through the suburbs on busy roads wasn’t. It got better once I reached Gavà and turned towards the sea. From Gavà Mar to Port Ginesta it was a very pleasant, leisurely ride right on the seashore. The beaches were virtually deserted, just a few people here and there.
I was wondering if this road would continue along the sandy beaches all the way to Sitges. But no, it had to go up and wind, otherwise it would have been too boringly easy.
I reached Sitges around noon, right on time for a celebration of who-knows-what at the Plaça de L’Ajuntament, with giant puppets, human towers and petards.
Julie and I came here fifteen years ago but I vaguely remember this town: we had done a two-week whirlwind adventure from Paris to Amsterdam to Barcelona to Pisa to Florence with a few day trips to smaller towns like
this one.
I didn’t stay long though – after wandering through narrow streets for a short while, a quick lunch and subsequent ice cream I headed back to Barcelona. I felt fresh enough to cycle.
When I got to the sandy beaches I stayed there for a little while: although my cyclist tan got better there was still work to do.
By 6pm I was home, mildly exhausted but contented.
This week in numbers:
188 km – distance cycled
35% – permanent inhabitants of Sitges that are from the Netherlands, the UK, France and Scandinavia
17 – sand beaches around Sitges