Tibidabo Dawn Short Loop · short arc

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fuel stop near Castelldefels

   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.

   Read the complete Castelldefels write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Tibidabo Dawn Short Loop is where the day begins. Next is High point near Sant Pere de Ribes.

2. 2. High point near Sant Pere de Ribes

   Behind the beaches of Sitges, the Garraf massif rises in a block of bare, pale limestone, covered in scrub, dwarf palms and pine, cut by dry ravines and riddled with caves. It is one of the most surprising landscapes near Barcelona, wild and empty, and Sant Pere de Ribes sits on its southern edge, a town of old farmhouses, vineyards and modern homes a few kilometres inland from the sea.

   Read the complete High point near Sant Pere de Ribes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Tibidabo Dawn Short Loop checkpoint 8.

3. 3. Sant Vicenç dels Horts

   Sant Vicenç dels Horts takes its name from the market gardens, the horts, that once covered the fertile plain of the Llobregat river, just south-west of Barcelona. Many of those gardens survive today in the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park, a protected area of farmland squeezed between motorways, factories and suburbs, which supplies Barcelona with vegetables, fruit and the famous artichokes of El Prat. It is an odd, fascinating landscape, where tractors and cabbages share the view with airliners and cranes.

   Read the complete Sant Vicenç dels Horts write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 292 km. Next is Scenic stretch near Caldes de Montbui.

4. 4. Scenic stretch near Caldes de Montbui

   Hot water bubbles out of the ground at Caldes de Montbui, so hot that it steams in the town square at the Font del Lleó, the lion fountain. The Romans built baths here two thousand years ago, and their remains can still be seen in the centre of town, a remarkable survival. The springs have made Caldes a spa town for centuries, with hotels and baths where visitors still come to bathe in the mineral water.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch near Caldes de Montbui write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Caldes de Montbui, about halfway. Next is Photo stop near Centelles.

5. 5. Photo stop near Centelles

   Centelles stands at the southern entrance to the plain of Vic, where the Congost valley opens up after its narrow passage through the hills from Barcelona. The town has a long history: it was the seat of the powerful Counts of Centelles, and its old centre still has a medieval gate, narrow lanes and a palace. Above the town, the hill of Puigsagordi offers views over the plain and the surrounding mountains.

   Read the complete Photo stop near Centelles write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Centelles sits at 195 km, about halfway. Next is Barcelona / Catalonia return.

6. 6. Canet de Mar

   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.

   Read the complete Canet de Mar write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Barcelona / Catalonia return comes up about 206 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tibidabo Dawn Short Loop food stop.

7. 7. la Marina del Prat Vermell

   This is not the Barcelona of postcards, and that is half its charm for a rider. La Marina del Prat Vermell sits on the flat ground between the southern slope of Montjuïc and the Zona Franca, the city's great industrial and logistics zone, with the port cranes on one side, warehouses and new apartment blocks on the other, and the motorway ring roads that make escape from the city fast. It is a neighbourhood in transition, long a pocket of workers' housing among factories, now slowly being rebuilt.

   Read the complete la Marina del Prat Vermell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Tibidabo Dawn Short Loop food stop closes the day.