Heading out for 10 days in August and looking to get a bit of riding in on the sly!

Doubt there's any readily accessible mountain biking near either place…but can anyone recommend even any good road rides? I don't mind getting the train out of Barca in either the Girona or Tarragona direction…there must be some amazing road riding near Cadaques…but is there anything closer so I don't have to spend so much time on the train?

Also I'll be hiring a bike, probably, so any tips in that regard are welcome too…though if I can't hire a good road bike I'll probably just take my own bike if the riding is good enough to justify this.

bump…someone must have an idea for a good road ride near barcelona…!

From Madrid, there is a train right into the mountains, to cotos pass. It is a ski area in winter. There has got to be some good riding around there.

I believe you can roadie it back to Madrid from there too, gotta be a lot more descent than ascent.

I did a tour in Catalunya in 2000 IIRC.

I enjoyed the riding around Cadaques but got a train from near Loret de Mar I think, took around an hour.

collserola

From Madrid you can easily get a train out to Cercedilla, Colmenar Viejo, Tres Cantos and there is loads of good mountain biking (with some big hills). I can send you some GPS tracks if you want. These places are about 30-45 minutes from the centre by train. A bit closer is El Pardo which is an enormous park to the North of Madrid with some decent riding but I don't know it too well). Very close to the city (10 or 15 minute ride) is Casa de Campo – a big park where the XC World Cup has been held in the past. If you just want a blast around for an hour or two then there is nowhere better (I love the place!).

I know there is good road riding to the North too but don't know where. I can get routes from friends if you want though.

La Pinilla is a ski resort in the winter and does downhill in the summer – I know you can hire DH bikes and kit there as they have a deal with Specialized. Not sure where you could hire a decent mountain bike – I'll look around.

Get in touch if you want more info.

http://www.turismedecatalunya.com/btt/
http://www.catalunyabtt.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=3&id=7&Itemid=25

you can also get the train from Barcelona to Puigcheda(sp)and La Molina. Konas for rent at LaMolina and a chairlift!!

people go mountainbiking in the hills directly to the north of Barcelona around Tibidabo (sp) i went for a walk starting not far from the radio mast thingy and traversed along the hills until you reach a lookout point where you get a good view of the nou camp. (if you look on google maps you can work out where i mean). there were a few mtb'ers on the main paths but there were obvious bits of singletrack, i spotted a few jumps too.