WW 6th Form Report of Cycle in Spain

Author: Zac Harris (6th Form 2022/2023)

For the first week of Easter break I was cycling in Barcelona with the Willow Wheelers, this was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. There were six 6th class boys and their parents cycling with us.

We cycled on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Some of the days we would be cycling inland through small towns that had great places to eat or along the coast which were my favourite cycles because you were always looking out onto the sea with a strong breeze to cool you down. Sometimes, there were hills and in the moment you just want to get off your bike and walk the rest of the way up but it’s always the best feeling in the world to reach the top knowing that you’ve done the hardest part. We were doing between 60 km or 70 km a day so by the end of the week we had done about 270km which to put in perspective is cycling from Dublin to Clifden which is on the coast of Galway. There is no pressure on anyone to do the cycles if they are exhausted from the day before.

Wednesday is our break day, the one day of the week when there are no cycles and you get to go out and spend the day doing something fun. We went to an amusement park in Barcelona where we spent the day running around getting on roller coasters. That same day some of my friends and I got lucky enough to get tickets to the El Clasico game in Camp Nou (Barcelona V Real Madrid). Even though Barcelona lost, the team I was cheering for, it was one of the best experiences of my life.

We were staying at Hotel Florida in Santa Susanna, I was sharing a room with two of my friends and we were beside the other room with the other 6th class boys. The hotel had a pool so every afternoon that we got back we would get our swimming togs and go down to the pool. The pool was very cold which was good because then it wasn’t too busy and we were all roasting after the cycles.

I would highly recommend going on next year’s trip and asking your friends to join because you’ll enjoy it more if you’re surrounded by your friends all the time.