Route 18

Sant Pere de Rodes and the Coll de Banyuls

Road · 89 km · Starts in Vilajuïga, two passes and a border crossing.

88.7 km

1,645 m+

4–5 h

Hard

Loop route

The ride

Oriol Gili on the climb with the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes behind — The biggest day on the list, and the one that feels least like training. From Vilajuïga the road climbs straight to Sant Pere de Rodes, seven kilometres that go up steadily without ever turning nasty, with the whole Empordà opening up behind you.

Oriol Gili beside the monastery walls at Sant Pere de Rodes — Beyond the pass there is a kilometre of road to the monastery door, and a kilometre back. Take it. Between the photographs and standing about looking at the view, put a quarter of an hour in the plan, because nobody rides up here and leaves straight away.

The road at the top of the pass with the chapel above it — From the top, the descent to Port de la Selva is the best stretch of road on this page: wide bends, good tarmac, the sea arriving all at once. Check the forecast for the **tramuntana** first, because with the north wind up the descent and the whole coast are into it.

Oriol Gili on the old road between Colera and Portbou — Then the coast: Llançà, Colera, Portbou. At Colera the main road goes through a tunnel, but the old road over the top is nicer and counts as a climb. Portbou is where the Spanish tracks end and the gauge changes for France, and it has bars worth stopping at. In summer this coast is busy: come in spring or autumn.

Oriol Gili with his bike at the Col de Banyuls sign — **There is no short way home.** The mountains are in the middle and the moment to decide is Portbou. Past it the only way back is over the Coll de Banyuls: of its nine kilometres only the last two and a half bite, at ten and twelve per cent with ramps of fifteen, so bring a 34 or a 36 at the back.This ride in video →

Oriol Gili eating a tupper of rice at the picnic tables in Vilajuïga — The descent to Espolla earns the jacket you packed, and the last fifteen kilometres look downhill on the map but feel like a false flat into the wind. At the finish there is a bar, a restaurant and picnic tables. From Banyuls you can extend over the Madeloc, but that adds two hours or more.

By train

Vilajuïga is on the Barcelona to Portbou line and bikes travel free on the Rodalies regional trains. About forty minutes from Girona, but the services are spread out through the day, so check the timetable in both directions before you plan around it.

By car

Also about forty minutes from Girona, on the AP-7 and then the N-II. Routes 17 and 18 both start here and they are two separate days: this one goes north over the border to Banyuls, while route 17 takes in Cadaqués and the Cap de Creus.