borgb

Hello folks,

I am planning a bikepacking trip from Barcelona to Valencia via mountainous backcountry areas. Passing cities/ villages such as: les Borges del Camp, Mota la Nova, Benifallet, Tortosa, Vallibona, Catí, l'Alcora, Chovar and etc.

Cycling on N and secondary roads.

My plan is to start in the second part of August and finish approx. 430km distance in 8-9 days (incl. 1-day break).

Average 50-55km a day cycling with a total ascent: 9226m
Since it would be my first long-distance cycling, I'd like to know the following:

1.) Is my per-day km goals feasible?
2.) I am living in a country where the average summer temperature barely reaches 15°C., in Spain, it will be around 30°C. Could that impact my ability to reach my daily goals? If so, what could I do to minimize the struggle?

Any tips would be highly appreciated.

headwind15

I know what kind of shape I am in and could say what I could do, but I'm not you, so I have no way of gauging your ability. Your distances seem short (for me), but again, I'm not you. I had a flight booked for Barcelona last year and I was going to do bike packing in Spain, France and Italy, but my flight was cancelled because of the bug. When you say bike packing, I don't know if you mean credit card type or fully self sufficient with camp gear? I do not know where you are as far as keeping clean, If you are camping and want to rinse off after getting sweaty from a hard day on the bike, I think the most under-rated piece of gear is the pocket shower.

headwind15

I had a few other thoughts... I don't know where you will be traveling from, but for me I was planning to stay for three months. For one thing the cost per day when you figure in the travel expense to and from Spain, is astronomically high for 8-9 days, and from my experience 8-9 days in retrospect will seem like an eyeblink looking back. (really short). I would certainly regret not staying longer. Two travel days out of 90 is nicer/ less stressful than two out of 9. The percentage of stressful travel time vs adventure time is too high. You could ride your planned route, and if you got to Valencia a few days early, you could simply do some rides out of there.

gauvins

This represents something like 60h total, at an easy pace. (14kmh on level, 500m/h up, 1000m/down). I am a slow rider and typically beat these estimates (locus pro)/Android).

Hot weather on a bike is usually less painful because the speed at which you travel creates a cooling breeze. Typical advice would be to start at or slightly before sunrise. If the going gets tough, think about Spaniards riding into a frigid breeze in Iceland... (And I'd bet that in August, you may well get temperatures approaching 40)

imi

OP: Sounds like a fantastic trip! I’m jelly! 😆

Yes, it will be hot, particularly in the middle of the day... which is why the spanish invented the siesta!

Start early, get half of your day’s miles in, then enjoy a long lunch/siesta.

I bring a mini hammock with me and find a nice half shaded grove. If you prefer to hang out in a town or village, the main square (usually called ”Plaza Mayor”) most often has big trees for shade and a water fountain with potable water, though you might want to filter it on a short trip or drink bottled water if you haven’t adapted to the regional bacteria.

Keep your head covered when in the sun, sunscreen on unprotected skin, and drink more water than you think you need, especially on the first few days until your body has adapted to sweating so much. Absorbable electrolytes might be a good idea too.

indyfabz

How your body reacts to heat depends on you. Having toured Andalucia starting in late winter through the end of April, I strongly recommend starting the day early. As noted, the siesta was invented for a reason. And do try to take advantage of the mentioned water sources in towns.

And have good, low gearing.

Crussade

It sounds like perfect trip

raybo

I don't know if any of the links on my site will help you but here are 34 links to bike touring in Spain.

Sounds like a great trip!

Doug64

My wife and I rode from Valencia to Barcelona as part of a longer ride. We were coming from Lisbon, and dipped down toward Seville, expecting to turn northeast to the coast. We changed our plans when the temperature hit 43, and headed east toward the coast. The low 30s temperatures on the coast were a pleasure to ride in. I'm not sure how far inland you have to be before losing the coastal influence on temperature. If the heat starts to slow you down, you can do like we did and head for the coast.



North of Valencia-- My wife's hair in the picture is mated from sweat, and her face is flushed a little from the heat. And, we were on the coast. As mentioned above, electrolyte replacement drinks are a good idea. Also don't expect to find stores or cafes to be open during siesta time. Sometimes the cafes did not reopen until around 7:00 pm, but the bars seemed to be open most of the time.

headwind15

Do you mind asking if you recall what time of year you were over there?

indyfabz

I think this is the second photo you’ve posted from a spot I rode by during my 2000 tour of Andalucia. IIRC, the other one had a sign for Aroche.

First day of my trip. Stuck to the N-433 from Sevilla with one deviation because I had originally planned a different destination but ended up going back to that road and making it to Aracena. I was definitely back on the N-433 with 12K to Aracena. I was so wiped I had to take the next day off.

Doug64

It was early July when those pictures were taken in 2011. It was an unusually hot spell that was supposed to last a week or a little longer. We were in Europe for 3 months starting in Portugal in June and ending and leaving from Amsterdam in early September. We experienced a wide range of weather conditions.

Correction: After reading this, my Logistics Chief told me it was the end of June, which was not normal to be that hot