Thanks for that. So the coastal route is all road? Not sure I want to do 3 hours of road work on a Friday morning. If it's coastal path, that might alter things.

Greetz

S.

No it's all road, there's a range of hills called the Garraf that come right down to the sea. The old road sticks to the coastline, the train line and motorway are cut through several tunnels. I think the train is the best option, especially as it doesn't cost much.

I think I'd prefer the train. I'm expecting a fairy drastic shift in temperature from what I'll have been used to in Manchester so a lighter first day's riding for acclimatisation might be wise.

Is there a direct train from Casteldelfells to Tarragona? All I could see on Google was taking the train back into Barca then getting another out to Tarragona.

Perhaps we can ride from the accom. back into town for the train ride south?

Greetz

S.

I'd be happy with that.

I'm taking the bike in a Wiggle/CTC poly bag so am totally flexible on what happens at the Spanish end.

From memory we are about 500m from the train station. I thinks there's a local line that runs straight to Terragona, about an hours trip and 5€ (maybe 10€)

I've travelled by train from Tarragona to Barcelona saveral times and I'm sure it stops at Castelldefels, it's definitely on the line. However, I had a quick look on the RENFE website last night and now I'm not sure whether you can get on a train there and go South to Tarragona??? The site is however difficult to use as there are several different types of service from local commuter lines to the long distance AVE which only stops in major cities. I'll keep trying to find out the exact situ and report back. The worst case is that you have to go to Barcelona Sants and then back out to Tarragona from there.

I found a site last night that showed R16 (or possibly R14) does the route and appears to stop @ Castalldefels, but I couldn't find pricing nor if that was the bike friendly train service. That said, it was my first foray into the world of Spanish train travel and I'm sure I have a lot to learn.

[Edit: http://rodalies.gencat.cat/web/.content ... ionals.pdf - this appears to show R14 as the local line stopping all stations. Now I'm not so tired, I can see R16 expresses past.]

Greetz

S.

All the local trains have plenty of space for bikes, never had a problem, you just rock up and go. Strictly they say 2 per carriage but you're very unlikely to have a problem, particularly as most will be in boxes.

I've managed to decipher the Rodiles timetable and as it currently stands, it's possible to get from Castelldefels to Tarragona without going into Barcelona. Basically the local R2 service runs south every 30 minutes and terminates at St Vicenc de Calders where you change to the Tarragona train, a wait of 10 minutes. This is much better than lugging bikes across Sants station which is usually busy on a weekday morning. That said, the current timetable has been effective since Nov last year so it may change in May. Based on the current timings, the 9.56am R2 gets to St Vicenc at 10.36 where you change to the R15 leaving at 10.46 and arriving in Tarragona at 11.08. Hope this helps, the Catalan train system is always an adventure.

I've emailed the hostel re trains. They says it's not possible to go from Castelldefels to Tarragona anymore without going to Barcelona Sants first.
Looks like the morning train is 0909am into Barcelona and then a short wait until 1000am to Tarragona

www.renfe.es

4 weeks from now we should be enjoying beer and tapas.

Woohoo.


I am actually getting more scared of what I have gotten myself into as the weeks pass.

No need to be concerned, we've got a couple of easier days to get into the ride. The trails are very nice at the moment, not too dry and dusty. The weather pattern is quite stable for the next 2 weeks but it's impossible to predict further forward. I'm doing rides around 100km every other day and doing the usual faffing and pruning kit options. At the moment, I'm going with a down bag, borah bivvy and alpkit 3.5 tarp. I'm taking a minimal cook kit to make instant porridge and a brew but will rely on getting proper food at the villages we pass through. I'd not be too concerned about carrying lots of water, especially not a camelback as virtually every village has a font which is drinkable.

I've been debating this...bring the Solplex and be guaranteed a dry night in or bring a Hunka and try my luck. 200g difference in weight, but a world of difference in comfort if the heavens open. Leaning towards the Solplex...but I'm not going to be as flexible as if I was just baggin' it.

Greetz

S.

Well we're nearly there. The group will be 9 strong and we start from the beach in Tarragona around 2.00pm tomorrow. 1,000km in 9 legs to the beach at Bilbao, Med to Atlantic. We'll be taking in Gorges, Castles, Monasteries, Cathedrals,Tunnels and other delights. Dave Barter and Andrew Nordquist are carrying Spots if you want to do a bit of dot watching link here
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id ... 9ccb46ff7c http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... 772DLuFOhV

The bastard has landed. Kickin' back with a coffee at cafe di fiore T1 watching the gate.

Edit: Lois is in one piece. CTC bag wins again.

Greetz

S.

This may be a useful site for you all

Rome2rio.com

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Castelldefels/Tarragona

I've found it very handy as it gives all transport options between 2 places . . . And according to.this the direct trains are once a day!?

Providing the Barca lot can get to Sitges by 10am, theres a train to Tarragona which gets in at 11.10. I'm picking Wotsits up from Reus at 9 ish and will drop him, my bike and Mrs PB to a cafe near the start. I'll return at 11.30 to Reus to collect Mbnut and we should hopefully be away for 2pm. Best laid plans and all that.

Cruising over to T2 looking for the other mutants.

Greetz

S.

Nice blast down the C31. Apparently I'm the first here. Now I'm earlier than Jase. Strange days.

Greetz.

S.

Looks like we may have started something with our tomfoolery
http://blog.volavelo.com/es/don-quijote ... bicicleta/