I have been here before, Girona. It was March 2020 and COVID was in its early stages. I was on a bike trip, riding gravel on the outskirts of the this great city, planning to spend a week exploring and writing about it, the people, the riding. Two days in, I was scrambling to get a flight home. Things were shutting down, and I was headed back to Barcelona, back to the United States. It was confusion. Someday I would return.
I HAD BEEN WANTING to do a trip with EF Adventures for a while. There were opportunities in 2025 to go to Mallorca or Provence, but time and life didn’t allow it. And then, earlier this year, “Catalonia & Costa Brava” became an option. No matter what, I was going to get on this trip! It was my destiny to get back to the place that, for me, only had memories of chaos and uncertainty.
April, 2026, was my opportunity. I boarded a plane headed to Barcelona with an open mind and burning desire to fully engage and soak up what this part of the world has to offer. I love Spain like I love Italy. I love the culture and food of the Spanish, their regional pride, a deep understanding of who they are, where they come from, their history, futbol and, of course, ciclismo.
In Barcelona, I met up with another rider on the trip named Amy. She’s from Boston and was bringing her daughter, Olivia, from Montana. We shared the shuttle and instantly connected. I mentioned my love of the Boston Red Sox as a child, and she gave me tales of the city and life in New England.
One of my fears and one of the unknowns with these types of trips is that you never know who you may get. It could easily be a trip with ultra-serious cyclists who just want to grind. They’re there for the suffering or what I call “checklist traveling.” And then there are those who want to ride but also see things, learn about where they are in that moment, feel the history of the places, engage in what, for many, could be considered the trip of a lifetime.
Despite not knowing Amy or the rest of the travelers, we had met virtually in the EF chat. It was the perfect portal to exchange pleasantries, ask questions and give a brief profile of each of us. We’d be spending more than a week together, and I already had a sense of how this group would bond.
At the helm was Bogdan, our tour director from Romania, and Paul, also from Romania, who resides in Barcelona and would be our go-to for everything mechanical and logistical. He would steer the ship for the EF Adventures support van, and keep us hydrated and fed. Dave, an Irishman who lives in Girona would float in between the front and back, gently keep us in line, offer encouragement and tell some of the best stories you’ll ever hear. For the week, a few of us would be riding Cannondale SuperSix EVOs, some on Synapses and one on an e-bike. The mix of machines was perfect and indicated that this would be a mix of hard riding, but also not be taken too seriously. After all, there was food to eat, wine to taste, towns to explore and stories to tell.
GIRONA
ON MY PRIOR TRIP, I stayed on the outskirts of town and didn’t really get a sense of what the center of this vibrant city was like. This time, EF placed us dead center. It was a proper hotel that allowed us to be in the heart of what many consider to be the center of world cycling. We know the stories. A lot of pro cyclists live here. The climate is perfect, the riding is perfect and its proximity to other parts of Europe has created an ideal hub.
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