rogerb40uk

Thanks Stuart, I'll look into that.
Roger

eddierex

I am hoping to bike from Madrid to Barcelona. Seems really simple when I'm looking at the map, but I'm wondering if it's as easy as that.

Looks like a 7 day trip, 50 or 60 miles a day, with at most a 2,000 foot elevation climb. But is it up and down a lot, is it mostly highways or can bikes do that route?

Any help and advice would be supremely appreciated.

girona

Hello Eddie,

I'm not sure which route you are planning on following, but the "main" road linking Madrid and Barcelona is not bike friendly. It is basically the equivalent to an interstate with heavy traffic.
I would use something like https://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx to find a more bike friendly route. I created a course it just for kicks using bikeroutetoaster... it takes you through some back country, 628 km and 4500 m of elevation gain.

Getting into and out of major cities is sort of a pain due to traffic and large roads... if you don't want to deal with that, you could use public transport, ie Cercanias (commuter train) to avoid these sections.

Vampy

A few days late, let me add my 2 cents. I´d say the reason people don´t do that is because it´s mainly road and nothing else. That distance you pare planning on doing could become an awesome trip if you do, for example, the Camino de Santiago. The northern route will take you to wonderful places, and I am telling you this in spite of living in Rota and having a soft spot for the area.

rogerb40uk

This was Stuart's earlier advice (to me) ..... well my local BS has started stocking hybrids, and i have recently bought a Claud Butler Explorer which seems to meet my needs very well . No doubt, there will be some customising done .....the pedals have viciously jagged edges which have already attacked my shins!

On a note of practical info and advice, helmets are required by law to be worn, and the Spanish Highway Code allows cyclists to ride 2 abreast and other road users must allow 1.5m (about 5 feet) of clearance when passing (and some do!!)

With rising fuel prices, I am seeing more everyday/casual cyclists (i.e. not in lycra and on racers!) about in this area.

Any potential bike tourists should remember that this is the second most mountainous country in Europe)after Switzerland!!
There tend to be long, flattish, stretches, interspersed with sudden mountain ranges, which are often not very high, but can be very steep!

( BTW I smiled at the concept of a 'Moulton equivalent' for €20 I guess that meant a small-wheeled folder. The proprietor of my local BS said they took-in a quite elderly Moulton. in near-mint condition, and sold it on ebay for more than $US 2.5K!! They are unique ....would love to try one.)