Cap de Creus Coastal Ride
A 198 km loop
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Why this ride
Scenery first, traffic last, with checkpoints that make sense on a bike. A 198 km loop that starts and ends near Castelldefels, about 3 h 36 of riding. It goes by way of Santa Coloma de Cervelló, Scenic stretch in Ullastrell, near Castellar del Vallès and Canet de Mar. Castelldefels is the high point. Much of it runs through woodland.
Roadbook
- Castelldefels
fuel
Castelldefels is where Barcelona goes to the beach, and where the coast suddenly stops being flat. Behind the town's long sandy shore, the limestone hills of the Garraf massif rise abruptly, and just south of town the coast road begins its famous run along the cliffs to Sitges. A castle on a small hill, rebuilt many times, gives the town its name and keeps watch over the plain of the Llobregat delta to the north.
The beach is the heart of the place, several kilometres of fine sand with chiringuitos, beach bars, and a lively crowd in summer, when kitesurfers fill the water on breezy days. Planes from Barcelona's airport pass low overhead as they climb out over the sea. Away from the beach, Castelldefels is a prosperous residential town, popular with the wealthy, including many of Barcelona's footballers.
The road to know is the C-31 south toward Sitges. Once past the last houses, it clings to the cliffs above the sea, through tunnels and around a series of tight, blind bends, with views straight down into the coves and over the water. It is narrow and busy at weekends, with cyclists and cars, and police watch it closely, so ride it calmly and enjoy the scenery rather than chasing a time. Inland, small roads climb into the Garraf Natural Park, a dry landscape of scrub, limestone and pine where you can find a Tibetan Buddhist monastery among the hills, and the Modernista wine cellars at Garraf, designed by Gaudí, stand beside the coast road.
The rides from here go in very different directions. The Priorat ride heads southwest along the coast and inland to the slate vineyards and mountain villages behind Tarragona, while the Cap de Creus ride runs northeast past Barcelona to the rocky peninsula near the French border, where the Pyrenees meet the sea and Dalí made his home at Portlligat.
Castelldefels has everything: fuel, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants, many serving paella and seafood on the beachfront. Traffic on the C-32 motorway and around the town can be heavy in summer and at rush hour, and parking near the beach in July and August is a challenge, though bikes usually have more options. For the best of the coast road, go early in the morning, when the light is soft and the traffic is still asleep.
- Castelldefels
pass
You top out here; the road stops climbing.
- Santa Coloma de Cervelló
finish
The route ends here after 257 km.
- Scenic stretch in Ullastrell
scenic
Scenic stretch in Ullastrell, about halfway.
- Photo stop near Castellar del Vallès
photo
Photo stop near Castellar del Vallès sits at 147 km, about halfway.
- Canet de Mar
swim
The Maresme coast north of Barcelona has a particular rhythm: sea on one side, a railway line hugging the beach, then the N-II, then a strip of town climbing up towards wooded hills. Canet de Mar fits the pattern exactly. It is a working town rather than a resort, with a long sandy beach reached through underpasses beneath the tracks, and that is the reason it appears on these rides: it is one of the easier places along this coast to stop, swim and dry off in the sun before carrying on.
Canet has a surprisingly strong link to Catalan modernisme. Lluís Domènech i Montaner, the architect of the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de Sant Pau, had family ties to the town and spent a great deal of time here; his house is now a museum, and several buildings around Canet show the same love of brick, tile and ornament. If the beach is too busy, a short walk through the old streets is a good use of half an hour.
The riding along the N-II itself is honest rather than thrilling. It is a coast road through a chain of towns, with roundabouts, traffic lights, delivery vans and a 50 limit much of the way. Where it opens up between towns the views over the sea are pleasant, especially early on a summer morning when the light is low and the beach cleaners are still at work. The better riding is inland. Small roads climb from Canet and its neighbours into the hills of Montnegre i el Corredor, a natural park of cork oak, pine and holm oak, where narrow lanes twist between farms and you can go a long while without seeing another vehicle.
The beach shelves fairly quickly and the water can be choppy when the wind is from the east, so pick a calm day if you want a proper swim. Showers and beach bars appear in season. Fuel and food are easy in Canet and in Arenys de Mar next door, which also has a working fishing port and fish auction. Avoid the coast on summer Sunday evenings, when everyone in Barcelona seems to be heading home along the same road at the same moment.
- Vilassar de Mar
food
Vilassar de Mar is a Maresme town with salt in its blood. It stretches along the coast northeast of Barcelona, between the railway, the main road and a broad sandy beach, with fishing boats pulled up on the sand and an old centre of narrow streets and low whitewashed houses. Behind the town, fields and greenhouses climb toward the wooded hills of the coastal range, and on a clear day you can see along the shore toward Mataró and back to Barcelona.
The town's history lies at sea. In the nineteenth century Vilassar de Mar produced many sailors and ship captains who traded with the Americas, and the town still has a maritime museum and a long tradition of nautical schools. Some of the grander houses in the centre were built with money made in Cuba and elsewhere. Today the Maresme is better known for its agriculture: strawberries, peas and especially flowers, grown in greenhouses on the slopes, and Vilassar de Mar hosts the large flower and ornamental plant market of Catalonia.
The coast road, the N-II, runs along the shore beside the railway, a slow and often congested route through a chain of towns, with traffic lights and roundabouts. It is pleasant early in the morning, with the sea on one side, but on summer weekends it is crawling with beach traffic. The C-32 motorway inland is faster and tolled on some sections. The better riding lies behind the coast, where small roads climb through the hills of the Serralada de Marina and the Montnegre-Corredor park to cols with views over the sea, before dropping into the Vallès plain.
The rides from here go north and south. The Cap de Creus ride runs up the coast through the Costa Brava, with its cliffs, coves and coastal roads, to the rocky peninsula near the French border. The Priorat ride heads the other way, past Barcelona and inland to the terraced vineyards and slate hills of one of Spain's great wine regions. Both deserve an early start to avoid the city's traffic.
Vilassar de Mar has fuel, cafes, bakeries and restaurants, many serving seafood and rice dishes. The beach is clean and popular in summer, and a swim at the end of the day is easy. Parking near the beach can be scarce in high season, but bikes usually find a spot. Keep an eye on the speed cameras along the N-II.
- Back to Castelldefels
finish
Back at Cap. That is the ride.