2018: Bordeaux to Barcelona: 14 October 2018: Girona; 40 miles, 690 Total

A best intentions route. I started for Banyoles and then Besalu. My first route was via back streets, ending in an gravel & dirt road with heavy rain. I returned, the rains stopped and I tried again via the main highway route, following road signs. That ended with heavy rain as well. So, two out-and-backs in this general direction.

As I rest in my Condal Hotel room after an enjoyable but wet day exploring the area around Girona, I happened across the Catalonia TV channel. Shades of a prior trip, they are featuring 'Castels' Competition (Human Towers). We passed through Tarragona on a prior trip, the heart of Castels competitions.

Some info from the web:

The Tarragona Human Tower Competition is an event carried out by the best teams in the country and it is held every two years. One of the main attractions of this event is that all the towers are scored on difficulty. The leading teams compete in various classifications.

The XXVII Tarragona Human Tower Competition, organised by the City Hall, was held on September 30th of 2018 in Torredembarra and on October 6th and 7th in the Tarraco Arena Plaça of Tarragona, with 42 teams participating.

Nearly 6.000 spectators enjoy the most important tower building event, which enjoys wide coverage in the Catalan and international media.

Six- to ten-level pyramids are the norm, per the web, depending on the class of the competitors. Most on TV seem to be 6 or 7 levels. Coverage is non-stop with excited commentators, replays, and participant interviews.

Not many photos of today's ride. My tour companions left about 8 am for the train station while I dropped my bike trailer at my hotel. The forecast was accurate. Precipitation rapidly shifted between mist, rain, heavy rain, a short sun break, and repeat. My original plan to visit Besalu was drowned out about 8 miles out of Girona. I was following the maps.me-recommended route. When the road transitioned to sand and clay, I turned about to my hotel, but could not yet check in. I rode to the rail station to determine how and when I could travel to Barcelona on Monday. Subsequently, the rain stopped, a patch of blue sky appeared to the northwest, and I decided to try again by a different route. Instead of following maps.me, I opted for a direct route on a main highway with a wide shoulder. Sunday morning traffic was light, and riding without my trailer was pleasant. However, after a short stop at a Banyoles market for lunch, the rain resumed and I decided to forgo Besalu. On my return to Girona, I paused several times at underpasses and a bus shelter during the heaviest rain.

I now have my trailer in my room, trying to dry things out, and my bike is stored in the hotel's 1st floor lounge that guests seldom use. It's Sunday in Spain and few shops are open, just small markets and some restaurants. I'll look for an early dinner between rain storms. Tomorrow's weather looks better for my 1.5 hour train to Barcelona, and then a short ride to my departure hotel where I'll pack the bike. The train station is less than a kilometer, and I can take the bike and trailer aboard the regional train without extra packing or charges. I will have to negotiate the transfer to the El Prat Airport train at the Barcelona station, then ride to my departure hotel.

Saturday Evening—Girona Old Town. Robin and I took an evening walk while John and Michael relaxed at our apartment. Michael slipped on a wet cobblestone on the way back from a pre-dinner walk. He's sore but OK. No need for more walking. I've been extremely cautious when riding and walking on these wet streets.

No More Whining About Rain. This is what I missed in Bozeman, Montana. I love riding in 65F rain showers.

Remember When Children Could Stay Up Late and Play Outside? They still can in much of France and Spain, perhaps a message for protective parents.

The SLO Riders with Alex, our Host.

Departure and Goodbye. Sorry to split with these fine bike touring companions. They all kept in good spirits, especially Michael. Michael really wanted to continue. His language skills were invaluable, especially in France. When in doubt, we handed him the phone or asked him to negotiate. He was unflappable.

The one thing we witnessed as an alternative was Google Translate, providing you have a good signal and unlimited data on your cell phone. John purchased 20 or 30 Gigs with his sim card, as the additional cost of a minimal plan was small.

I had issues with my AT&T linked phone and plan. Their $10/day, unlimited-for-the-day plan quit working about 10 days in. The best solution is having an unlocked phone and buying a SIM card on arrival. In fact, iPhones are so good and reliable that I suggest purchasing an older model for touring if you are currently stuck in your current carrier's plan. I'm guessing any 6 or above would suffice. Good camera and adequate processor and storage. Good for 32 minimum or 64+ GBs of storage if possible.

Robin might be the most polite and courteous person I've had the pleasure of traveling with. He asked everyone their name, introduced himself, and then the rest of us if we were paying attention. He usually rode in back until he encountered a steep grade. Then he would simply glide past me, then Michael, and catch John, who had slowly pulled away from all of us.

John taught us all how to navigate using the map.me app, almost always keeping us on route, if maybe too obscure a route at times. John was unflappable, always ready to adapt, whether it was a place to eat or coping with the unexpected. John The Professor really fits, even if John chose not to teach after getting his PhD. Besides, I have to differentiate him from John the Banker, a prior touring companion.

Perhaps my greatest anxiety when bike touring is getting lost, especially if others are counting on me having some sense of where we are. I often say: I'm not lost but I'm not exactly sure where we are. For navigation this time I purchased all the 150,000-scale Michelin maps, bought the upgraded version of RidewithGPS, had a Garmin Edge Touring GPS with pre-loaded routes, an carried a phone with Google maps and Apple's Maps application. Here were the issues with each one:

Michelin Maps were accurate and the Euro Velo bike paths were noted. Maps offer the best overall perspective, but a cyclist would probably be riding busier but perhaps more direct roads. However, the detail was still lacking for turn-by-turn directions and many smaller roads were not on the maps. Also, the route numbers often changed or differed from the map numbers. When routes converge, the posted number seems to be optional.
RidewithGPS routes could be loaded on my iPhone and Garmin Edge. However if we were to change routes, they would no longer work. The app is good for planning with a laptop and it links the profile to the route, very useful when minimizing climbs with a loaded touring bike.
Garmin Edge Touring is largely useless, ofter referred to as a POS or POC. Routes were inexplicable, the battery would last half of a day, and the display is hard to read when wearing sun glasses. Also, the perspective is narrow and when one rides off-route very long, the unit simply shuts off.
Google Maps requires a data connection on the phone, although I think there is a map-download option. It's not that easy to use. It's better for driving when one can plug it into power. Google's info on car roads is much better than cycling routes. I did not try to use Maps. John noted that even finding an address was often difficult.
Maps.me is the clear winner. When wifi is available, download the area maps before traveling. I only needed to download about 4 areas and had plenty of phone storage left, and I do not have an extra SIM card. John showed us how to extend battery life by not starting a route and just following the arrow pointer. One can zoom into incredible detail based on OSM (Open Source Maps) that zoom to the shape of buildings. The only need is to carry an auxiliary battery to keep the phone charged. Also, purchase a reliable bar mount to hold the phone securely and perhaps a case or baggie to keep it dry. Best of all, it's totally free. We found it could locate our pre-booked lodging by the name of the lodging, often easier than entering an address. Map orientation takes some time to learn, and phone screens might be hard to read in direct sunlight or when wearing sun glasses.

So my summary advice is to download maps.me to your phone and carry an auxiliary battery and cable to keep your phone charged. My Garmin is useful only as a sophisticated cycle computer. The only useful info gleaned from my Garmin was elevation. My simple cycle computer was more reliable, measuring speed and miles, because it did not turn itself off or exhaust its battery mid-day.

So, a HUGE THANK YOU to John the Professor for route guidance and teaching us all how to avoid getting lost.