marcusinbristol

I recently rode with a friend from Malaga to Bilbao, trying to find a route that avoided Madrid and most of the other large cities. it was a fantastic experience, cheap Easy Jet flights made it affordable and I would really recommend this part of Spain if you are looking for somewhere challenging and a little bit remote to ride in.

Most of the roads are in great condition, far better than the UK and many of them particularly in the south have a small hard shoulder almost made for bikes. The villages you pass through rarely see Cycle tourists but were friendly and supportive of what we were trying to do. We completed the journey in a week, but in hindsight taking a little longer would have been better. I've written the trip up here.

www.realadventurefilm.co.uk/category/cycling

I've added a map from "Mapmyride" at the end of each day which shows our exact route. If anyone is thinking of riding this route or parts of it i would be happy to help with any information.

Marcus

Caretaker

That's a great site Marcus. Spain is somewhere I'd be interested in touring but I've more time and less energy than you guys so that route would probably take me at least ten days.

I've added the site to my 'favourites' and will use it in the future.

Thanks.

imi

Great trip!
What made you decide to go South to North? I've usually experienced more northerly winds in spain, blowing down from the pyrenees at least.

And of course going down a map is easier than up... and if you turn the map upside down, you can't read the names, and get lost. I think you'd have to be stupid not to understand that.

marcusinbristol

I think 10 days would make it more fun. This was our first cycle tour. I ride a lot of Cyclosportives and one day events but have always been interested in trying to cross a country by bike and Spain seemed a good place to start. We booked the flights first then thought about how far we would need to cover each day, which in hindsight is where our difficulties began! I think if i could have got longer off we would have done it over at least 10 days.

marcus

marcusinbristol

I wish we had spoken to you before we left! In our minds we were planning on being pushed across Spain by a fantastic South Westerly, but in reality, as you have pointed out the wind came from the north almost continuously.

I think you may be on to something with the map, it did feel as if we were peddling continually up hill

indyfabz

Spent 7 weeks touring in Andalucia back in March and April of '00. Did a big loop starting and ending in Sevilla. Loved it a lot and have always wanted to go back to get to some places bad weather (cold, rain and some snow) and Semana Santa kept me away from. Lots of empty roads. Very challenging terrain in many places. Friendly people. Only saw 3 other cycle tourists. A couple from Germany and a lone guy also from Germany.

djb

tks, I too have been intrigued with biking in Spain someday, so have book marked this as well. Distances are above my average so not the same speed, but will keep the route in mind for perhaps one day looking into it.

cheers, hope the various body parts heal up properly.

marcusinbristol

Thanks, most things have almost healed. I think i did something to my knee at mile 137 on the final day, a bit annoying, but seems to be responding to a bit of physio. I always wanted to see what the bit of Spain in the middle looked like, we visit the coast quite often for holidays and I've done some fantastic day rides inland near Valencia on the east coast, but I always wanted to see the middle. Good luck if you make it to Spain.

Marcus

djb

good on things healing. Yes, I read of your 137mi or 220km day--yowzer! no wonder the various odds and sods began complaining, my bits and bobs complain at half that, even when I was your age or younger! I spent a few days in the Basque area right near the border once while on a Pyrenees trip, and thats why Ive kept the idea in my head for going back one day. I can sort of get by in Spanish so am reasonably comfortable making my way around if all is in Spanish.
So many interesting places to go to, always comes down to what one can afford/family time/etc etc

cheers again,
say hello to Dr Who if you see him over in Cardiff ;-)

fairymuff

As an alternative to the above route, it might be worth checking out the Via de la Plata which runs from Seville to Astorga where you can pick up the Camino Frances to Santiago de Compostella. Like the Camino Frances, or St. James's Way it's an old pilgrim's route, which means it's an established route with accommodation available at regular (walking) intervals. Apparently de Via de la Plata has been gaining popularity in recent years.

My wife and I are considering riding it later this year after doing part of the Camino Frances (Burgos to Santiago) earlier this year. While an established route like the Camino can get a bit hectic with the large numbers of walkers (in particular on the Camino Frances), we found that it made planning the trip a lot easier. Also when doing Credit Card touring like we do, it's comforting to know that even the smallest villages will have accommodation. Also, it's signposted which is nice.

There's a Spanish site here that has details on routes and accommodation for all the spanish Caminos

djb

cook, thanks fairy. My wife will be doing part of the Camino Somethingorother with some friends this june I think on a semi organized trip.
But thats great to see all the routes (although not sure how they all are for bikes)

marcusinbristol

"Hey Doctor Who, come out of the kitchen and say hello to my friends here".... It's a small place the UK... i said to the Doctor.....

marcusinbristol

It's exactly what we had in mind. Our original plan had been a credit card tour, but with the usual limitations of family and work the only time we could guarantee for the ride was December. I was worried that accommodation and cafes would only be open during the main pilgrimage season in the summer. Were we wrong? I would be really interested as we both love riding in Spain and it might be the inspiration I need to get my friend Dave back on his bike and start planning our next trip. I had sort of talked Dave into our trip on the understanding it would be lightweight, but as our planning developed and we became less confident stuff would be open on the Silver route we ended up going full touring mode and heading in a more straight line through the middle. Dave has almost forgiven me.

Marcus

fairymuff

The short answer is that I don't know if you could have done the Silver Route in December. I had a quick Google, and couldn't find a definite answer. Some claim that Albergues were closed, others seem to disagree.

The long answer is that Summer is not the main season for pilgrimage. Andalucia (Seville) is distinctly unpleasant in Summer. Temperatures can easily top 40 Celsius in Summer, which is not pleasant for riding or walking. Peak season for the Caminos appears to be Spring and Autumn. Winter on the other hand can be quite cold, even in Spain. Having said all that, you have a distinct advantage when cycling a walkers route in that you can cover far greater distances.

There should be an Albergue on the Silver route every 25 km at least. Couple that with the fact that you can call ahead (or have someone call for you) and I think you probably would have been alright. When my wife and I were doing Burgos to Santiago last year we found hotel staff to be very helpful in calling ahead and booking accommodation for us. Then there's the fact that people assume you're doing it for religious reasons, which gets you extra brownie points. Thinking about it: I'm pretty confident that once you've sorted your first accommodation outside major cities like Seville, you could probably sort the rest by having locals call ahead to let them know you're coming. Obviously, it helps when you speak a bit of Spanish.

marcusinbristol

Thanks, it's amazing how just a small piece of information can open new possibilities. I hadn't considered the possibility of getting places to call ahead.

indyfabz

As you may know, The Rough Guide travel book series (there is one for Spain and a separate one for Andalucia) has a lot of good information on lodging choices as well as local places of interest. I like that they don't hesitate to tell you if a place is a dump. One place in Andalucia they identified as a clip joint and warned people not to stay there.

marcusinbristol

I think the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are useful to get an overview of an area and to get the feel for what might be available and as you say to help avoid truly terrible places. For me personally as more and more information is becoming available with the internet, where you can even have a look at the outside of where you might be staying with "street view", I still enjoy turning up in a village or town and talking to people to try and find somewhere to stay. it sometimes turns up interesting places.

I find if I plan a trip to much at home when I get out and start the adventure I keep thinking about my planning and the Spreadsheet I did the planning on rather than whats happening in front of me.

Marcus

Ekdog

I ride along the first leg of the Seville-Santiago route every weekend as I have a class in the village of Santiponce. Almost the only time I run into pilgrims (mostly Germans, Brits and a few Spaniards) is in spring and autumn. This time of year there's no one there.

Doug64

Timing is everything. We hit temps of 43C on the part of our route that took us from Lisbon to Valencia via of Serpa-Aracena-Seville-Cordoba. It was near the end of June in an especially warm year.

marcusinbristol

Is Valencia almost due east from Lisbon? Was it the coast or inland that you found the highest temperatures? I've been thinking about riding through France this summer but having experienced 42C in Provence last summer i'm not sure I can handle it.

Marcus

Doug64

Yes, Valencia is almost due east of Lisbon, but we dipped south to get to Seville. The hottest temperatures were inland. Aracena, Seville, and Cordoba were the hottest. The temps on the coast ranged from 26C to 30C. Our original plan was to head toward Granada, but we could not take the high temperatures either. So we just headed for the coast from Seville via of Cordoba. We rode up the coast and then cut inland toward Paris once we reached France. Temps were not too bad, but that is also when we started getting a lot of cooler weather and some rain. That was a little later in July.

Good luck on your ride.

djb

is that a euphamism for "biblical proportions"? (or was the b.p. more in Germany etc)

re: hot temps. With some French friends we camped for 2 weeks down in Provence a number of years ago and at first it was 40-43c and I remember lying in the shade and not being able to imagine biking at all in those temps. Luckily after a few days it went down a bit, but I distinctly recall thinking that if it didnt, I would have wanted to move on somewhere else, its just not enjoyable, even off a bike.
Here at home, I purposely go out when its hot (30c) to get used to it, but really could not see it being feasible at 40+
On tour Ive probably travelled in low 30s, and would certainly research an area to make sure temps dont regularly get as high as what we are talking about (although as you say, I guess sometimes it can be hit and miss)

Marcus, ideas of where in France? I love biking in France and will surely tour again there one year.

marcusinbristol

Where in France? I'm not sure. Part of me wants to ride from the Med to the Channel in a direct carrying only a credit card type of way as fast as I can. But a larger part of me is torn between riding up the west coast and just enjoying the ride, covering 60-80 miles a day and riding up the east side of France and taking in the edge of the alps and the challenges of riding over some of the classic alpine cols. Lauteret, Galibier etc. I will let you know when i settle on a plan.

Marcus