L’Esperit de Girona is a challenging 800-kilometer self-supported event that starts and finishes in Girona, Spain. Earlier this month, 14 riders showed up for the inaugural event, and not a single person finished. Find a reflection from Quinda Verheul with photos from organizer James Hayden here…

Words by Quinda Verheul (@avoidtheavoid), photos by James Hayden (@jamesmarkhayden) and Quinda Verheul

When I’m out there riding my bike, away from cars and the noise of the city, breathing, and moving along with the curves of the landscape, I’m at my best. Maybe it sounds cliché, but I don’t care. This is where I feel at home.

It’s the last Friday of September and nearly midnight when James picks me up at the airport with Piri, his enthusiastic carpet dog in tow. This time, I’m bumping into James not as a fellow ultra-racer, but as the organizer of a race he’s been working on for years: L’Esperit de Girona. As we drive into the city, we catch up with each other on the last few months, and I share my expectations for the coming route. I comment to James that I imagine fast riders could push up to 250 kilometers a day, and he just laughs. The mood was set.

2022 Lesperit Girona

I couldn’t wait to explore whatever James had dreamt up for the brave—or maybe lost—souls that had come to Girona for the event. Knowing it would be hard, I couldn’t wait to get out there and just enjoy myself. James had set the tone of the event around the experience and having fun, more than racing for time. Once you are out in the landscapes of Catalunya, you start to understand how winning becomes irrelevant. Finishing the route is the real prize.

At 8 a.m. on Sunday, we rolled out of Girona past the cathedral and cobbled streets. It quickly became clear that all riders had underestimated the route. I had planned to be back and on an airplane on Sunday, seven days after the start. Eight hundred kilometers and 27,000 meters of climbing in seven days… easy in my head!

  • 2022 Lesperit Girona
  • 2022 Lesperit Girona
2022 Lesperit Girona

L’Esperit has a certain level of relentlessness not often seen in other events. There are beautiful sections of forest tracks connected by brutal hike-a-bikes through overgrown forests and boulder fields, without ever having a glimpse of sweet, sweet tarmac. Catalunya’s geography is as varied as its cultural heritage. From rolling out of Girona directly into the cork forests of Les Gavarres to the high peaks of the Pyrenees, this route meanders through villages that are just happy to exist at their moment in time, shadowed by mountains carved long before us—and that won’t flinch when we are all long gone. Climbing again, this time into the wild forests of Les Guilleries halfway through the route, I started thinking about how I could rebook my flight as the chances of getting back on time started to look slim to none. Looking back, it’s almost laughable that I told myself I would take it easy on the last day and cruise back into Girona on Saturday before flying home.

As the terrain became more challenging, the rewards increased. Soft, fluffy clouds floated over the peaks, with scenic overlooks stunning enough to be a computer screensaver. At these moments, “How the hell did I get myself into the mess?” was quickly met with reprieve. Just like any rollercoaster, what goes up must come down. Moments of grumpiness were met with joyful interactions of fellow riders, golden hills, and glorious mountains. One particular emotional dip, on one of those brutal boulder hikes, was uplifted by a wild horse that was interested in my handlebar bag and took a moment to have a sniff and nibble—maybe purely out of curiosity, or perhaps it just sensed I needed cheering up.

  • 2022 Lesperit Girona
  • 2022 Lesperit Girona

I pulled my ride at L’Esprit out of thin air. I don’t know where it came from, but some odd mix of the right terrain, weather, and snacks meant I was able to go deeper than normal and push myself farther than my legs were geared for. I got hit by a scooter on a training ride about a year ago back in the Netherlands and had a concussion. Since then, “training” has hardly been a word in my day-to-day life, and even just going for a ride was a stretch goal.

The same applies to L’Esperit, having not actually trained in any notable capacity, I was running purely on willpower and Spanish candy. I had faith in my setup and equipment choices, and that freed up my mind to focus on the riding and dodging of overly curious wild horses. I was riding my Sour Pasta Party XC bike with a Tailfin for the first time, which freed up space for more water and food capacity, and this definitely played into my effort on the race. Relatively well hydrated and fed, I could keep my foot on the gas for longer. I had a capacity of five liters of water, with enough room for food to get from resupply to resupply—not bad for a medium-sized XC hardtail.

  • 2022 Lesperit Girona
  • 2022 Lesperit Girona
  • 2022 Lesperit Girona

Even though the route wasn’t the most remote riding in the world, the going was slow. Sometimes, with the next resupply being a mere 50 kilometers away, you were still looking at several hours to half day effort to get there. That’s all fine and dandy, more time riding (walking), but, of course, that means your onboard Snack Inventory™ needs to be up to snuff. Many riders struggled with the first 150 kilometers, myself included, just because the resupply points for food and water were scarce at best. By scarce I mean to say non-existent. A water filter proved to be essential equipment. If it’s hot out, you’ll be filtering from pools of water.

2022 Lesperit Girona

Cataluyna is a magical place with its sounds, smells, and fairy-tale views. The forest is dense and alive, the roads made from a crisp gravel and stone, and wildlife timid yet very much present. In October, the usual summer heat has dissipated and begins to be replaced by the much milder winter conditions. To ride here in the summer can be harrowing during the midday, but in the fall, it’s often very pleasant. Mountains being mountains, the weather can go from bluebird to thundering hellscape in what often feels like minutes. This time around, we all got lucky. Any rain was short lived and weak, and the heat was bearable.

On the sixth day, as one of three riders left out on course, I found myself lost in the dawn light trying to find my way through thick vegetation. I could see the Pyrenees right ahead, and by lunch I would be breathing thin air and riding them. Suddenly, my attention snapped back from dream to reality when the route crossed a river next to a hydroelectric building. While crossing the slippery moss-covered bridge, my leg slid away, and I fell and twisted my knee. I got back on the bike and pushed on cautiously, but after hobbling along for a while, it was clear that my ride was done. I sat down next to a log pile and called James to scratch. Sitting there, I could see the Pyrenean mountain caps that I’d earned the right to ride. I cried tears of sadness for the loss but mostly tears of joy for what I had accomplished. I knew the worst of my concussion was behind me, and I am once again Quinda who loves racing bikepacking events. The mountains were there long before us, and will be there when I am ready again.

  • 2022 Lesperit Girona
  • 2022 Lesperit Girona
  • 2022 Lesperit Girona

L’Esperit de Girona ended with no finishers. I covered 560 of the 800-kilometer route, and only one rider got further than me. A special mention to the riders I met along the route; I cherish each moment with you. Chris for sticking with me crossing packs of dogs and stories during the night. Pierre for being the sunshine even at your darkest hour. Cheerleaders Lisa and Philipp catching me at dawn in search for resupply in Rupit. I was only able to attend the event thanks to the Startline Bursary L’Esperit organized with Tailfin, who covered my and other women’s costs.

2022 L’Esperit de Girona Route

You can learn more about the route and event at L’EsperitDelBikepacking.org.

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