Tibidabo Dawn Short Loop · part 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Barcelona / Catalonia return.

2. 2. 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 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tibidabo Dawn Short Loop food stop.

3. 3. 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

   A break here. Next is Back to Tibidabo.

4. 4. Back to Tibidabo

   Castelldefels is where Barcelona's beaches run out and the mountains begin. The town sits on a long flat stretch of sand south-west of the city, with the Garraf massif rising steeply behind it, a rough block of limestone, scrub and pine that tumbles into the sea. A hilltop castle, first recorded in the eleventh century, overlooks the town, and the coast road, the C-31, runs along the shore toward Sitges through tunnels and above cliffs.

   Read the complete Tibidabo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back to Tibidabo closes the day.