Joan Pujades: "I had never imagined delivering bread in any way other than by bicycle"

GironaIt is not easy to interview Joan Pujades, from the La Puntual bakery. He does not like the spotlight. The long queues in front of his bakery in the Devesa neighborhood have not come from major marketing campaigns, but from consistency, good products, friendliness, and, above all, humility. When he agrees to do it, after much insistence, he sets only one condition: that it be while he is delivering bread. This means spending an hour chasing his tricycle through the streets of Girona. At every corner, someone greets him. A customer, a shopkeeper, an acquaintance. He exchanges a few words with everyone, always by name. He gives away a fritter, a slice of cake, or simply a “good morning!” “I’m a bit like Girona’s Snowflake. And they haven’t thrown peanuts at me yet, but it’s not far off. Since there are few bicycle delivery people in Girona...”, he says, laughing.

For almost ten years he has been delivering bread with a tricycle. In fact, the same day he bought the bakery, he also bought the bicycle. "I never imagined delivering bread in any way other than by bicycle," he explains as we go from one place to another. His story is one of personal reinvention. After turning forty, he decided to make a professional change and dedicate himself to what he is passionate about. For almost ten years, La Puntual has become one of the reference bakeries in Girona. Not only for its sourdough bread, good pastry products, and now also a quiet bar where the newspaper is available every day, but also for a unique business model.

Be coherent

“I think, in the long run, it’s good to be consistent. If you buy flour around Girona and make bread for the neighborhood, it doesn't make much sense to deliver by car... So, apply that to all areas: because, after all, everything is easier this way,” reflects Joan, parked on Carrer de la Força, in the Barri Vell. It is one of the areas in Girona, along with Carrer de l’Argenteria, where bicycle access has been restricted during the day due to the cycling tourism boom the city is experiencing. He argues that his job is as a commercial delivery person, like the many vans parked throughout the neighborhood that supply another boom in Girona: that of restaurants.

He likes to imagine a city with fewer cars and a Barri Vell where solutions like his were common. This way, he says, delivery people would be in a “better mood.” “Now you see many more bicycles than ten years ago, but not of my type,” he laments, after various cycle logistics projects have not prospered after subsidies have run out. In his case, he continues cycling because it makes him feel more “content” than going by car, even though over the years it has become increasingly strenuous for his body and due to the fumes he inhales from cars. “At first, I thought I would have to pedal less,” he explains about the French tricycle model that has accompanied him since day one.

A cargo tricycle

It has a small basket in front, two mirrors, an electric motor, and at the back a large closed box that reads "La Puntual". Inside, each bread and pastry order is prepared. Joan leaves every morning around nine, first delivering in the Eixample and then heading to the Barri Vell before returning home. Whether it's hot, cold, or raining. A small cover on the same box protects him, but after all, as he says, "for the seven days a year it rains in Girona!" Some clients ask him why he doesn't delegate it to an employee, but he insists that it is one of the moments he enjoys most about his job.

A cycling enthusiast from a young age – he clearly remembers going to the Pedal Festivals as a child and still keeps the trophy he won for the best joke – he celebrates the cycling effervescence the city has experienced. “I love it, because it brings life and is a gift to the city. It’s a cool change. I don’t know if we’re aware of it.” Ten years later, Girona has filled up with bicycles. He continues cycling almost the same as the first day. Without making noise. Without trying to convince anyone. Just trying to be consistent.