M&M Gravel Grinder

Maresme to Montseny: the two M's, and the actual structure of the ride. The long route leaves the sea at Santa Susanna and climbs inland through the Montnegre i Corredor park, then keeps going all the way to Turó de l'Home, one of the highest summits in Catalonia outside the Pyrenees.

Coast, mid-altitude park and proper mountain in one ride: the early ramps off the Maresme, the cork-oak ridges and fire-road traverses of the Montnegre i Corredor, and Montseny itself, where the riding tips into beech and fir forest. The vegetation does the altimeter for you.

Pacing the early ramps to leave something for the Montseny pitches is the difference between a good day and a long one home. Even on a clear morning the summit can be cloud-bound by afternoon, because Montseny makes its own weather.