Tag Archives: Girona Spain

Snow Biking is great Winter Training

  By MJCT | December 31, 2011 - 2:57 pm | Luxury Cycling Tours
Leave a comment

Don’t let the snow keep you off of your bike.  In my case the lack of snow is keeping me on my bike, but I’m actually riding on snow.  Let me explain.

For the last several years I have looked forward to Skate Skiing after a cycling season.  ( I spent many many years riding in frigid temperatures so that I was ready for the Professional racing in Europe ) However this year my favorite ski trails do not have enough snow on them yet.  To stay fit and have a lot of fun, I have been riding on plowed, but snow packed roads.  I feel lucky to have access to 20 miles of roads between 7,000 – 8000 ft.  At this altitude the snow is dry and provides good traction on most days.  I pay more attention on the descents an avoid the sections that become glazed by too many tire tracks.  A good position, riding a straight line and paying extra attention is critical ( living in the moment ).  Once I’ve adjusted to the conditions,  chances of laying the bike down are par with aggressive summer riding.   I would say that this kind of snow biking is similar to riding in muddy conditions and may even be a bit more consistent if you consider muddy roots and rocks.

Here is a sample:
Snow Biking
Snow Biking -2

The plowing ended, but the snow was firm here and well tracked by snowmobiles:
Riding on snowmobile tracks…

I’m not training to race the Tour de France anymore, but I still love to ride and stay fit. I enjoy leading guests on luxury vacation cycling trips in Europe and this Winter snow biking has worked its way into my training mix.

In a 1.5 hour ride I’ll get in over 600 meters of climbing at altitude.  It works for me and maybe it will work for you.  I am running my regular summer tires and have not checked the tire pressure so I’ll assume they are a bit soft.

The views of Park City while snow biking:
Views of Park City while Snow Biking

Here you can see tracks from a Snowcat, Cars, a Sled pulled by a Snowmobile, Hikers and my Mountain Bike

“My passion is finding routes that make people… respond”

  By MJCT | December 3, 2011 - 12:26 am | Luxury Cycling Tours
Leave a comment
My passion is finding routes that make people... 'respond'

"My passion is finding routes that make people... respond"

What does it mean when I say that “My passion is finding routes that make people… respond” ?    You really should come on of our Jemison Cycling Tours trips to find out, but I will try to give you an idea here.

First I start with spending countless hours exploring every kilometer of  asphalt, concrete and path that I can find.  I have an insatiable appetite for this.  I have to know the lay of the land, its geography and what might connect it all.

Once I’ve ridden every route my mind starts churning out possible roads to link together something that will be known as another ‘Marty’ route.  Like an artist that starts out with a clean canvas, not knowing what the final result will be…  It’s something that comes from within.   The final route ties together roads that flow with a rhythm.  Like a musical composition that comes together and leaves an impression.

With our cycling tours, I usually have 7 rides and about 500-600 kms to link everything beautiful together.  If I know of a road, a climb a cultural sight, or anything that evokes the senses, I must not leave it out…

Lets Ride!

A bridge we must ride over...

A bridge that we must ride over

Lets ride!

Marty Jemison

A Testimonial….. Thanks Lisa !

  By MJCT | December 1, 2009 - 8:19 pm | Luxury Cycling Tours
Leave a comment

Greetings MJCT!

As I am working on our website photo album* for our 2009 Girona Marty Jemison Cycling Tour, it seemed like a good time to thank you all for a wonderful trip. Our 4th MJCT, and like the others, a completely different tour from all the others. It was great getting to know Girona & the area around Girona. I can see why the pros call it home for the cycling season. The rides are challenging, but fun, & quite varied – some climbing, some flats, some towns & villages, some country roads. The beach towns were an unexpected treat & as Bret always says, MJCT never ceases to surprise & amaze with lovely destinations & wonderful accommodations. For this trip we especially liked the beach-side Hotel and we aren’t even beach folks! But how could we not just love the small beach on the Spanish Med, steps from our hotel room. Wow.

Every ride had something new to experience – the steep roads along the coast, the young girl selling figs who could speak 3 different languages, the occasional long climbs, the various lunch stops, every one different and interesting. I particularly enjoyed never having to take a van transfer – maximum ride time! Which was just what I was after this for this trip. But at the same time, it sure was nice to have the van there when we stopped to taste some wine & buy a few bottles. It would’ve been too bad to load Bret up with all that wine in a backpack for the rest of the ride ;) .

Give our thanks to our guide for the trip, Kurt, who did an awesome job of taking care of us both on & off the bike**. It’s fun getting to explore areas that you all know so well, and Kurt was able to introduce us to a number of his favorite places, in Girona & the other destinations during our trip. And our Olot ride on the last day was bonus cookies – thanks for adding that extra day, which gave us another opportunity to experience the area around Girona. Maybe next time we’ll take him up on the offer to ride the big climb (name escapes me) at the end. We were pretty toast after 8 days of riding (but it was a good toast :) .

Thanks for showing us your Spanish home & experiencing all the great food, wine and cycling terrain the area has to offer!  Now we are just trying to decide which MJCT trip we will be on next year – Tuscany? Burgandy? Provence? (that’s the one I’ve got my eye on). Until then -

Cheers & have a wonderful, restful, off season. See you next year,

Lisa & Bret

* The photos from our trip on the Gallery are super. The quality & effects from your camera is awesome & it’s so nice to have so many pictures of us to chose from for our photo album. We never do a good job of taking pictures of each other when on holiday.
** Big kudos for Kurt for determining that a dinner I ordered had saffron, which I am unfortunately allergic to, and then switching dinners with me.

Jemison Cycling Tours…gets a brand New Van

  By MJCT | August 3, 2009 - 12:32 pm | Luxury Cycling Tours
Leave a comment

Every year Marty Jemison Cycling Tours starts with brand new vans   We like the new car smell; the new tires, the shiny paint and we think that our guests appreciate it as well.

Covered Parking for a 9-passenger Renault Trafic with a bike rack in Girona is not easy to find.  Take a look at the what we go through to keep the van in a private parking spot.  (note: this van still needs its rack and logos…)

Marty Jemison Cycling

Girona to Cadaques in less than 100 kms

  By MJCT | June 23, 2009 - 3:00 pm | Luxury Cycling Tours
Leave a comment

Today we (MJCT) rode from Girona to Cadaques.   Marc was puzzled and and asked “how are we going to get there”,? for he had been looking at maps. Once out on the road (yes;  paved) he commented that the government must not pay for these roads because they are not on the GPS. 

Cycling to Cadaques

Cycling to Cadaques

I smiled to myself, knowing that these roads did not live on any printed maps,  GPS or  mapping software.  These were roads that had to be discovered!  Myself and other Professional riders have logged hundreds of thousands of miles around Girona and have found countless roads that do not exist on maps. 

These “connector” roads have been paved by private monies (farmers for example) that often cross private lands.  These roads were mostly dirt even 10 years ago but provide perfect cycling and connecting us to country roads that are well maitained by the Catalan government.

Cadaques in June

Cadaques in June

Our ride to Cadaques or the summer home of Salvadore Dali was around 90kms which included a bit of exploring around Empuriabrava. 

Empuribrava is a village that lies on the Gulf of Roses.  It is a resort community where all of the residents have boat docks and access into the Mediterranean.  A very interesting concept….

Catalan fishing boats

Catalan fishing boats

Tomorrow we are riding from Cadaques to Olot….. and yes we will be riding on beautiful rural roads including sections that do not exist on any may, GPS or mapping software.

Jemison Cycling