01 - La Volta Gran

One of the most common proposals among local cyclists is "let's do the 'Volta gran' this afternoon, who's signing up?". It is a very quiet and pleasant circular route, which runs on completely secondary roads in very good condition and with very little vehicular traffic. It passes through different towns so that the starting and ending point has multiple possibilities, and offers you the possibility of making stops for a coffee or to pick up cyclists who are added along the way. In addition, and if this is the case, it allows alternatives along the route to be able to make it shorter - with the "Volta petita" - or longer, with a very interesting variable once you get to Puig-Reig, detouring towards Viver and Montclar, along asphalted rural roads with multiple switchbacks. In our case, we start and end in Berga; we suggest leaving in the direction of the Rosal colony to end up on more favorable ground. If, on the other hand, you want an uphill finish, you can always leave in the direction of Avià.
It is a moderately demanding route and, despite the fact that it does not have a single flat surface, it does not have any major differences in elevation. At the same time, however, it stands out for its versatility, since if you push yourself to the max it is equivalent to a good workout but if, on the contrary, you are looking for a pleasant walk, you will enjoy the gentle percentages of the climbs, with a maximum difference of 6% or 7% in some specific sections.
The "Volta gran" is a reflection of the people of Baix Berguedà, half peasant, half industrial, with a pleasant presence of small local trade that gives it the necessary color to escape the monotonous gray. On the one hand, the course of the Llobregat river, engine of the local economy for decades, is very present when you cross towns and industrial colonies that well deserve a stop to contemplate this unique heritage. On the other hand, the other half of the route escapes the Llobregat to find roads surrounded by agricultural fields and grazing cows. Years ago, the splitting of the C-16 threatened to break this tranquility but the effect it caused was the opposite, leaving the old county road and its tributaries as a cycling paradise. The orography of this route betrays a way of being and of pedaling, and is a good excuse to add kilometers to your legs.