Originally Posted by
HobbesOnTour
In all fairness when someone says "South" I think south, not east.
I also said to get to the East coast requires crossing mountains. Your route is vague but I'm guessing you mean the Southern Coast is accessible without mountains? I tend to be disoriented enough without any more assistance
Extremadura is captivating but I'd imagine not for everyone. Loads of history, wonderful small towns and interesting cities but lots of open space. The weather can turn quickly.
Spain is great for bike touring but it can be quite tough - surprisingly so.
I get it. Personally I wouldn't call the Mediterranean Coast "the South Coast". But a tourist might. So I think it's a forgivable error. Someone commenting thus should be told however that there's many many hundreds of kilometers along the coast between Barcelona and Gibraltar or Cadiz and that such a coastal route would take weeks to complete. Also right to point out that the Mediterranean coast isn't the be all and end all in Spain and that sticking strictly to the Med probably isn't the best option.
Granada to the coast involves mountains (I'm very familiar with that particular highway as it's in my near vicinity. I've ridden every kilometer of it up and down between Granada and Salobreņa/Motril and I'm on it every week). Sevilla though is probably just about the flattest ride from any inland city to the coast in Spain.
And yeah, Spain can be tough. It's very hilly to say the least and summertime temperatures are sizzling. Nevertheless I think it's a very rewarding place to ride. The roads are very good, and outside of the biggest cities the traffic is light. The whole country is dotted with beautiful ancient villages, towns and cities. There's plenty of architecture from every era starting from the Phonecians to the Romans to the Arabs then the Christian Renaissance through to some of the most imaginative and beautiful modern buildings and neighborhoods in the world today.
I love it actually. It's so tough.