The Harvest Tour
Our first olive harvest last year was, well, our first: complete novice farmers with no olive picking experience who realized pretty quickly that our olive trees make a ton of olives—almost literally. In the beginning we called on a few close friends to come help us out but, as word got around town, more and more people asked us if they could come pick olives too. Soon, people were riding over to spend an hour or so in the orchard, others driving up to spend the day in the trees.
Surrounded by wonderful old olive trees and friends, what seemed like a daunting task turned out to be fun that was actually short-lived. When all the olives were picked and pressed into wonderful olive oil, the fun began again as we gave each pair of helping hands a piece of the harvest. We still get messages and pictures of fond memories and wonderful meals made with Can Campolier olive oil.
With such a successful first harvest, this year we’re officially opening the orchard with the Harvest Tour. Spend the morning with us on bikes and then return to the estate in the afternoon for an orchard lunch and olive picking. Enjoy the roads, the olive trees, and take home delicious hand-picked, cold-pressed olive oil.
Join us for the Harvest Tour
Ashleigh Girona Cycle Tour
It’s the off-season but I’ve just finished a week-long five stage tour. It included lots of coffee stops, all my favourite roads, and a bunch of new friends. It was my inaugural Girona Cycling Tour that I hosted and it really opened my eyes to a new way to push women’s cycling forward.
The Girona Cycling Tour at it’s most simple was a cycling holiday but it’s part of a bigger vision we are working to achieve at Rocacorba Cycling. When it comes to tackling the complexities of women’s cycling, it took a long time for us to manifest something actionable but, after the tour, I knew we were onto something powerful.
It seems obvious but not every sport allows people of all levels to come together. Not anyone can join the Springboks for rugby or FC Barcelona for football but pro women’s cycling is a bit different. We have the ability to not just allow, but also to welcome supportive cyclists and fans into the process. By reaching out and making real-life connections with other cyclists/fans, we can access and strengthen the support we desperately need.
As in any new endeavour, I was excited but unsure of how the week would go. Would everyone get along? How could I make sure everyone felt included? Was the weather going to hold up? As the riders arrived, I saw they also had “new experience” jitters but as soon as we hopped on our bikes, all of our concerns melted away. There was a wide range of abilities, different experience levels, and different approaches to cycling but it didn’t matter. By the end of the week we were all happily physically tired but mentally energized.
That energy stayed with me. By taking down all the barriers and allowing people in during a simple cycling tour, I felt that I had made actual change! It seems small but I know everyone left with a sense of connection that will touch their relationship with women’s cycling forever.
The future of our sport is in connecting the dots, making deeper lasting connections, and doing that in as many different ways as possible whether that’s a minimum wage policy or a coffee with a new friend during a holiday tour. The beauty of women’s cycling is that it has the opportunity to be open and welcoming to different models and practices. There are so many different ways to advance women’s cycling and, with a multitude of attack points and an open mindset, everyone (especially professionals) can contribute to the growth and sustainability of our sport.
Click here to ride with me next year from 5th-11th October, 2019.
