bimfire

Easy question second time down to Spain thinking of going Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and through Zaragosa to Madrid

please let me know what you think and generally about travelling through Spain

Many thanks

Bim

Gotte

I'd be interested as well. I've got a short tour pencilled in for Barcellona to Costa Brava in the Spring of next year. I'd be interested if anyone has weather info, such as when it gets too hot to cycle qand whether it's windy? I was just in Germany, and it was in the 70s, and only rarely unpleasany, but then again, there was usually a cool breeze.

wiles9

Im touring with my GF from Barclona through Pamplona, then France ... on to Ireland.

While in the Spanish climate, we plan on very early starts, stopping by 11-12 , then not starting again until 3-4, these parts of the day will be impossible to cycle in, its so dam hot. my opinion anyway.

¿¿¿When do you plan on doing this tour??

And PS. Im living in Barcelona right now, its a beautiful place, just stay away from the tourist traps, and watch your bike in the city centre, there is a market here of stealing and selling them.... prob like most major cities..

Gotte

not looking to hijack the thread from the OP, but I'm looking at around this time next year. What are the temps and wind like now?
I want to hit a time when it's not too hot for cycling but not too cold for swimming in the sea.
I was in Begur on the Costa Brava in mid June, and found that, while the sea was still a little chilly, it was fine for swimming. It was too hot for cycling, though, except for early morning, late evening.

Any input will be a great help, thanks.

wiles9

Well the weather is crazy, and supposedly not the normal, all of europe is suffering some strange weather, one minute the sun is beating down on you, very hot, next its pouring rain for a solid week. Ive never lived here at this time of year, so dont know what to expect.

I think May June is good, but still.. during the hottest part of day, depending on where you are from, is too hot.... it is for me anyway. Wind, best bet is to check the net. Again due to the weird weather we are having, some days there is a nice cool breeze, others, its stiffling.

Someone else might ave better advice..

becnal

Heat is no problem. Sleep at noon, ride in the early morning and late afternoon till nightfall.

TomasV

Well, I agree that weather is crazy now, but in most parts of Spain you can be sure you will have hot weather from May to September. You have to be specially careful when ciclyng in the south (Gualdalquivir river valley), or in the Ebro river valley. 35 - 40 ºC temperatures an be easily reached and you need to be very cautious when climbing mountain passes or hills (as you know there are many of them in Spain).

Do not hesitate to contact me if you require additional information.

TheBrick

As with anywhere the sea is hottest at the end of the summer, so travel in september still warm out but not roasting and the sea has ahd all summer to warm up.

bulevardi

Anyone experience with the coastal routes at the mediterranean sea, from Barcelona to Gibraltar ?


I was in Spain last year, without bike, but I only saw high speed traffic roads for cars doing the coastline.

Example: link google street view

There is the A-7 toll-highway, not suited for bikes, but the N-340 does the coast aswel, but between the villages, cars drive 80 km/h.
It's not that nice or safe to drive by bike there...

Anyone has driven these routes already? Some alternatives?

jefnvk

Note that most of the small villages are shut down from 1-3pm or thereabouts, with little open besides some bigger chains. Know when you are in the mountains you can go from needing a coat and pants in the morning to sweating through your shirt and shorts in the heat of the afternoon. Also it is probably the worst country in Europe for people knowing English, if you don't speak Spanish. Even if you do, good luck with the regional dialects, and don't use the wrong language to a Catalan

Otherwise enjoy, it is a beautiful country full of wonderful people and GREAT wine. I've been four times myself, and have no intent of stopping going anytime soon!

bulevardi

Except the Gibraltar region, Estepona, Marbella... Lot of English speaking people in summer.
Been there already 2 times on holiday in that area, but alas, without bike....


I live in the centre of Belgium, and that Gibraltar Rock attrackts me...
A good friend om mine lives in Barcelona, for a stopover, and I can arrange a free sleepover in neighbourhood of Estepona.


It made me think of a st00pid idea: "what if I'd bike from here to Gibraltar, before I get 40." .. I still have 7 years to decide and plan.... well, the sooner the better.
My wife thinks it's my midlife crisis already.


France wouldn't be a problem to bike, camp,... but Spain?


Hmmmz. I saw cyclists doing highways there, as there was no other option.
A night shot I took above those roads:

jefnvk

Ah, furthest south I've made it was Cazorla. I suppose it makes sense the area around Gibraltar has more English speakers.

Doesn't sound like a stupid idea, though, sounds like a great time! I envy you European's ability to take long amounts of time off work and have such a vast difference of cultures within such a short distance of you! Wish I was into biking when I lived there.

Doug64

My wife and I rode from Lisbon Portugal to Spain and turned north at Valencia to Barcelona and then into France.

We encountered long periods of temperatures above 40C, with a high of 43C in the interior. Heat can be a problem, especially in southern interior Spain where shade is scarce. It was a lot cooler on the coast where the temps were in the low 30s. This was in June and early July.

Eurovelo Route 8 goes along the coast, However, it was not marked or specific when we rode it in 2011. It might be worth checking.

I don't know about the coastal route south of Valencia, but heading north to Barcelona the riding riding was good. While there were a few busy roads, there is a law requiring drivers to give cyclist a 1.5 meter clearance when passing. Most drivers were pretty good about doing this. Local cyclists showed us bike paths on a couple of occasions which made for some really nice riding.


Along the Mediterranean coast in Spain.


We found most "N" roads, or red roads on Michelin Maps, relatively good to ride on. White roads were really bike friendly.

str

Don't use the RED national roads, too much traffic. enjoy the YELLOW and WHITE (michelin maps) roads and off roads... avoid the BIG roads along the Mediterranean. better cycle a bit inland and you will find beautiful rural villages and roads.

Doug64

You are correct; red, yellow, white in that order. We still rode quite a lot of red roads without any issues. I attribute it to old age.

str

You can use the RED "national" roads os course, but most have been reformed the last 25 years with EU money. what did they do? ""now lets build WIDE MODERN roads...."" at places where nobody need them ... most of the time they are ugly, independent if there is traffic or not. all best S.

P.S. for example the road in your first picture

Stadjer

Don't underestimate Spain. It's a nice civilised country with lots of beautiful cities which often makes people forget that large parts are wild, hostile and vaste, a lot like a desert. Especially away from the coast in the summer it can get very hot, hilly, desolate and dry and I doubt it has full cell phone coverage by now. So don't accidentally plan a survival trip if that's not what you want.

bulevardi

Thanks for the great info !!

str

maybe you like this:

https://stefanrohner.exposure.co/hidden-valencia

https://stefanrohner.exposure.co/sierra-de-cazorla

SparkyGA

My bike computer hit 63C on the tar in May this year along the Spanish/Portuguese border. Hotter than I ever experienced in the summer in Africa... Also a pain in the butt at times to camp in Spain with the huge amount of farming and fences

Overall though a really fantastic country to tour. Super easy going people and great cheap food at the supermarkets I would love to spend a few months in Spain alone just wandering around...