Community Postcard Series

Our next postcard comes from Sandra Lopez in Girona in Spain, known for her colourful illustrations shared on Instagram.

From an early age, Sandra has been into sports. But it wasn’t until the pandemic back in March 2020 that saw Sandra take to two wheels. Living in London at the time, she would often receive pictures from her friend back home showing the freedom they had out on their bike during their allocated daily exercise. 

Envying the freedom the bike had given her friend during a time when it had been made compulsory to stay indoors and work from home, she asked a friend if she could borrow a bike. Repairing their old fixie bike, Sandra then started to explore the streets of London and beyond. 

“Every day I would ride longer to get confidence with the bike. And in the second month, I decided to buy my own and first road bike. Everything was a challenge for me because I didn't know anything about proper road bikes and how to ride them.”

Once travel opened back up, Sandra decided to move back to Barcelona, Spain. Here she discovered the vast differences between riding in the city and in the mountains. “The skills to ride in Spain are totally different because there is much more elevation. So again, I needed to ride a lot to have all the confidence that I wanted and at a level that allowed me to ride with other people or in a group.”

Now a more confident and established rider, Sandra has reignited her love for having a structured training plan in place. Being able to train and live within the Spanish countryside has allowed her to stay more focused, whilst the landscapes bring inspiration to her work and personal life. “The freedom, the connection with nature, the opportunity to see different landscapes in one day. I am a really competitive person and I love training. And in cycling, you can always improve and learn so many things, I just love it.”

With this clear goal in mind, Sandra moved to Girona to focus on her training. Whilst she loved living in Barcelona with its rich history and beautiful streets, the busy roads were too much of a hindrance for her. Girona offers beautifully quiet roads, long climbs on your doorstep and an inspiring community of like-minded riders all within the city. Plus the coffee there is fantastic. “Girona is the place to be if you want to improve. There are all the kinds of routes that you need for your training. It is really easy to escape from the city and plan a long weekend ride.”

With just over two years worth of experience and about six  months' worth of riding in Girona, Sandra has started to race for a local Spanish team. She is noticing the high levels of performance required to compete at the top. One of the current struggles is the lack of women’s race teams in Spain and often they now have to compete against juniors, on which she comments: “This is really hard for someone that is starting.”

“The thing that I love most about living in Girona is the fact that almost everything is related to cycling. There is no traffic, and no extra kilometres to get out of the city. The weather is nice almost every day and it is so easy to find people to ride with.”

Sandra often heads for the long climbs around Girona. “Climbing is not my first or best skill, but I really like long climbs. So one of my favourite routes from Girona is the one that goes to the coast. You can include a lot of climbing and also the views of the Mediterranean are amazing. Then, my favourite climb is in the Pyrenees for sure. Andorra and Puigcerda, all around there it is  just glorious. Big mountains and lonely rides. I also really like El Montseny, and there is a super nice route from Girona that includes Sant Hilari climb and then finishes with Santa Fe which is amazing.”

Depending on her mood, rides can be done alone or with friends. Riding is more than a social activity for many in the city; it is a way of life. “I normally try to find some friends that I know really well and also who I know are on  the same level, or a bit better than me. Riding with people always gets me motivated and when you are training so hard there are a lot of days that you feel shitty. But then I love to ride alone and just go by myself with my music. Cycling is also a way for me to disconnect from everything and a way to relax. So I love the sensation of being alone on the road, with my playlist on and being able to just focus on my ride. I just love it.”

Outside of cycling Sandra is focused on her designs and illustrations, under the name Sagittarius Designs. Sharing them on her Instagram page and now also working in collaboration with Le Club, one of Universal Colours’ retail partners out in Canada, Sandra has developed a style unique to her. Bright colours, clear lines and always with a focus on sport, it is hard not to notice her artwork. “I use colour as a way to express my emotions or vibe, but also as the main concept to represent my style. I think that after a lot of effort and after a lot of illustrations done, I can say I have created my own style and you can say that this is a ‘Sagittarius Illustration’ without the name on top. And that for me means that I have found my real passion.”

We would like to say thank you to Sandra for taking the time to share what it is like to live, ride and move in and around the city of Girona. 

“I can say that this sport was my salvation during one of the worst times of my life, because like many people, my life was broken during the lockdown. But also, because cycling has given me the opportunity to create my own path. I'm connecting with the people I really want to be connected with. In a personal and professional way, this sport allows me to discover myself more than ever, to find my limits and to break it. Without mentioning all the places that I have seen thanks to my bike. So yes, that's a big thanks to cycling and to the cycling community.”

You can connect with Sandra via the link below. 

If you would like to get involved and send us your Postcard, drop us a DM on Instagram - @universal.colours