The Catalonia Trail community has been organising bikepacking events since in 2018. Catalonia Trail events are an adventure through the most beautiful and remote places from Girona, Pyrenees and the Costa Brava. As well as the long distance, multi-day Catalunya Trail and Gravel Augusta bikepacking events, the organisers wanted to create a shorter, single day option and so the Barcelona-Girona 103 was born.

The Barcelona-Girona 103 was born as a necessity. Jaume, the mastermind creator of the route, works in Hostalric and he used to commute by bike to and from Girona. However, the roads of this area are really dangerous and he decided to look for a safer gravel route. Later he went to live in Barcelona and he decided to do the same with a Hostalric – Barcelona route. The combination of the two meant that he had a gravel route that joins Barcelona-Girona with a distance of 103 km.

He was really proud of his creation because it is a perfect gravel route - very fast, safe and really direct. It feels like the perfect basis for a Green Way between the two cities and has been included in the Eurovelo 8 Mediterranean route. Jaume realised we needed a route like these especially because Girona is a very important cycle tourism destination and a lot of visitors wanted to travel by bike from Girona to Barcelona.

It's dark at 7 a.m. Event organiser Jaume welcomes me in Moncada for the start of BGB. A group of nice Catalan riders immediately asked me if I would like to ride with them and I said yes without hesitation. A narrow trail leads along a river at the beginning. It is decorated with pointed stones. As it gets light, the path widens. Up and down the hills we ride. 

Each time the gravel road climbs, the group fragments a little. In order to be fast here, it's not enough to be able to access a high wattage on the climbs. A lot of balance and a good feeling for the constantly changing surface are also required. Nice sections on gravel and a steep ramp at Hostalic follow. 20 km before we arrive in Girona we pass a very well-kept golf course. 

No cars, just adventure. Nature, roots, stones, gravel, dust under the tires. Dust on the chain, on the skin, on the face. Mid-October, somewhere between Barcelona and Girona, in the Catalan hinterland. The last stretch before Girona leads as a trail along a small river. 

The lunch break is as planned at the Bar Domestic in front of Girona Cathedral. Girona is not only the adopted home of many cyclists from all over the world because of the high quality of life. After a few minutes of riding you are away from the city center. 

The way back begins with a gravel dream. Gravel roads lead through small towns, in the background green mountains shine in front of a steel-blue sky. The temperatures are 28 degrees. For hours, for several meters in altitude, we have been riding together on sometimes fine sand, sometimes on gravel and sometimes on stony ground, which you could also describe as rocky. The sweat on our skin and in our jerseys, pants and socks acts like glue, trapping dust. After four hours, the dust becomes a crust on the shins and together with salt crystals forms a greasy, dirty layer on the thighs.

We ride through undergrowth, in tight bends we brush our shoulders and legs against the bushes and thorns that protrude into the paths. Up and down the hill. It's not a race, there's nothing to win. About 40 km before the finish, a few final ramps with gradients of up to 22 percent are still waiting for our group. The final piece of the track leads back along the river. 

After a warm farewell to my new gravel friends from Catalonia, I reach Bar in Moncada after almost 9 hours. An unforgettable day in the Spanish gravel paradise comes to an end.

Interview with Jaume, event organiser.

How many participants were there at the event?

This year I organised the event in “petit comité”, without any publicity. I would like to organise a big event again, even though it is too much work for me. I’m a teacher and I organise Catalonia Trail and Gravel Augusta, so I decided to do Barcelona-Girona 103 only for 49 people. I hope I can organise a big event again.

What is special about the route?

The most important of the route is that it joins two very important cities and there are lots of other big villages such as Granollers, Sant Celoni, Cardedeu, Llinars del Vallès along the way. They need a cycle route that celebrates the area etc. Moreover, this is the area that Eurovelo 8 passes through, but the goverment doesn’t create an official route. I know the government were put in touch with different city halls to create the Eurovelo 8, but it is not a priority for them. Moreover, I really like the route because it is a perfect gravel route - really fast, really good surface and very short. I have done lots of gravel route around Catalonia and I know how difficult it is to find a perfect gravel surface. For exemple, when you go down Barcelona, there are more stones in the surface, but not in Girona, The gravel surface of Girona is perfect. As a joke I think the route of Barcelona-Girona 103 is perfect for to do a gravel world championship. Barcelona-Girona 103 is 80% gravel. With Catalonia Trail and Gravel Augusta, I know how difficult it is to create a gravel route with a gravel content percentage higher than 70 %. Barcelona Girona is 80 %.   

Are there more Catalonia Trail events planned for 2023?

Yes of course. The 6th edition of Catalonia Trail will be in 6th of April. We used to do Catalonia Trail in summertime, but we decided to make the event in April now because summer is too hot now. During the last two years our participants rode in temperatures of 40 degrees and we were obliged to create a detour due to fire hazard. The 2nd Edition of Gravel Augusta will be in 6th of May. And Barcelona Girona 103 will be probably be held on the 12th October 2023.