The latest Spanish news from Bob
It can seem as though Spain is doing everything possible to discourage cycling - helmet laws, lighting laws, new restrictions & fees for bus travel, no bikes at all on many of the newest trains. Despite this the number of cyclists has exploded here in Nerja. When we first came about 15 years ago we were almost the only people on bikes apart from local racing clubs at w/es. Now bikes are everywhere and we even have a new local cycle shop. The ubiquity of bikes has downsides though. Yesterday Kay & I did one of our favourite local rides. The road winds from sea level to 2500ft with lovely views of the sea and mountains. Its not on most maps, has almost no traffic and we've only ever met a handful of cyclists on it, all Spanish. So it was a shock to meet 2 American cyclists descending it yesterday. They gushed excitedly about how theyd found it by accident & how lovely it was. And despite our attempts to explain that we really knew it rather well they persisted in telling us the best route to take and to reassure us that we should make it ok (despite our great age!?). Afterwards I felt like native Americans must have done centuries ago when told about the "discovery" of a Grand Canyon behind their wigwams! Hope alls well in Kent. Bob
It can seem as though Spain is doing everything possible to discourage cycling - helmet laws, lighting laws, new restrictions & fees for bus travel, no bikes at all on many of the newest trains. Despite this the number of cyclists has exploded here in Nerja. When we first came about 15 years ago we were almost the only people on bikes apart from local racing clubs at w/es. Now bikes are everywhere and we even have a new local cycle shop. The ubiquity of bikes has downsides though. Yesterday Kay & I did one of our favourite local rides. The road winds from sea level to 2500ft with lovely views of the sea and mountains. Its not on most maps, has almost no traffic and we've only ever met a handful of cyclists on it, all Spanish. So it was a shock to meet 2 American cyclists descending it yesterday. They gushed excitedly about how theyd found it by accident & how lovely it was. And despite our attempts to explain that we really knew it rather well they persisted in telling us the best route to take and to reassure us that we should make it ok (despite our great age!?). Afterwards I felt like native Americans must have done centuries ago when told about the "discovery" of a Grand Canyon behind their wigwams! Hope alls well in Kent. Bob
SPANISH END to END by Bob Hazell
Katy & I have just completed our 3rd unsupported "End to End" cycle trip from the north to south coasts of Spain. Below are some observations for anyone considering similar.
We had everything on the bikes including all we needed for the winter in Nerja (east of Malaga) where we stay.
Our 3 Spanish End2End rides have been by different routes. The first was to the west near the Portuguese border roughly following the "Ruta del Plata" branch of the Santiago Compostella route. The second was down the east coast of Spain. This time we went roughly down the centre of Spain veering east. The weather was mostly cool & damp in the north and sunny (25C) south of Madrid.
From Santander to Madrid we used (in reverse) a route from "Cycle Touring in Spain" by Harry Dowdell as a guide. However we mostly planned our route as we went depending on areas of interest, weather, accomodation etc. We found blogs (eg CTC) quite useful if time consuming. We caught the ferry to Santander then went Laredo, Bilbao, Orduna, Miranda, Avila, Albacete, Ayna, Elche de la Sierra, Este, Calasparra, Mula, Alhama de Murcia, Aguilas (on the Med), then by buses to Nerja.
We cycled on minor roads (Michelin yellow & white). They were mostly smooth & empty but some were very poorly signed. We used Michelin 1:400K maps and had real difficulty with the way small roads often turn into motorways on the map with no obvious option for cycles (or mules). In practice there's usually a way around but not always & as maps can be dated you don't want to just go (usually up!) & risk it. My new Garmin "touring" GPS was of limited help probably because I hadn't learnt to use it properly.
Accomodation was often hard to find and largely dictated the route. We stayed mostly in 1 or 2 star hotels/hostales/pensiones. Most were great value (38€ for 2). However we had a few unfortunate experiences. For example we arrived late in Calasparra after a long ride. Its a largish busy town & we'd been assured it had plenty of places to stay. In fact there were only 2. The first was a (supposedly) free monastery some way (& some up) out of town. We decided not to risk it as it was late & the Tourist Office lady was a bit vague about it. However she clearly thought people like us required a charitable institution. The Spanish on the whole just dont see why anyone except a pauper would choose to haul their possessions on a bike rather than in a car with a shiny racing bike on the rack! The only other accomodation in town was a casa rurale for 125€ (reduced from 185€!). We were forced to take it as sadly we had no tent. We were too loaded with everything for the winter to carry camping kit and in any case there are relatively few campsites in much of Spain, many of those that do exist close for winter -and much of Spain is pretty bleak & unattractive for wild camping.
There were many stunning cycling areas en route. For example Ayna to Yeste to Calasparra and nearby in the Sierra Segura was fabulous riding with warm blue skies, dramatic scenery, wide empty roads and moderate gradients.
Overall the trip confirmed my view that Spain has wonderful cycling honeyspots separated by huge unattractive stretches. Generally I dont think its great for long distance cycle touring without a car. We did our 3 Spanish end to end trips partly as a way of getting to Nerja for the winter not because they were great long distance bike rides like the Channel to Med in France for example. On a loaded touring bike much of Spain can seem big empty daunting & pretty uninteresting. Overall taking the bike by car for day rides or cycle touring within honeyspots like the Pyrenees or Andalucia are probably more fun options!
When we reached the med at Aguilas the weather turned wet so we took 3 buses and 7hrs to get to Nerja. Ten years ago buses were usually a free & hassle-free option with bikes. Now they're usually neither...! Finally we had no encounters with Peter's Puncture Pixies' pins and we met just 3 non-Spanish people (2 English & 1 French) between leaving Bilbao and arriving at the med!
We had everything on the bikes including all we needed for the winter in Nerja (east of Malaga) where we stay.
Our 3 Spanish End2End rides have been by different routes. The first was to the west near the Portuguese border roughly following the "Ruta del Plata" branch of the Santiago Compostella route. The second was down the east coast of Spain. This time we went roughly down the centre of Spain veering east. The weather was mostly cool & damp in the north and sunny (25C) south of Madrid.
From Santander to Madrid we used (in reverse) a route from "Cycle Touring in Spain" by Harry Dowdell as a guide. However we mostly planned our route as we went depending on areas of interest, weather, accomodation etc. We found blogs (eg CTC) quite useful if time consuming. We caught the ferry to Santander then went Laredo, Bilbao, Orduna, Miranda, Avila, Albacete, Ayna, Elche de la Sierra, Este, Calasparra, Mula, Alhama de Murcia, Aguilas (on the Med), then by buses to Nerja.
We cycled on minor roads (Michelin yellow & white). They were mostly smooth & empty but some were very poorly signed. We used Michelin 1:400K maps and had real difficulty with the way small roads often turn into motorways on the map with no obvious option for cycles (or mules). In practice there's usually a way around but not always & as maps can be dated you don't want to just go (usually up!) & risk it. My new Garmin "touring" GPS was of limited help probably because I hadn't learnt to use it properly.
Accomodation was often hard to find and largely dictated the route. We stayed mostly in 1 or 2 star hotels/hostales/pensiones. Most were great value (38€ for 2). However we had a few unfortunate experiences. For example we arrived late in Calasparra after a long ride. Its a largish busy town & we'd been assured it had plenty of places to stay. In fact there were only 2. The first was a (supposedly) free monastery some way (& some up) out of town. We decided not to risk it as it was late & the Tourist Office lady was a bit vague about it. However she clearly thought people like us required a charitable institution. The Spanish on the whole just dont see why anyone except a pauper would choose to haul their possessions on a bike rather than in a car with a shiny racing bike on the rack! The only other accomodation in town was a casa rurale for 125€ (reduced from 185€!). We were forced to take it as sadly we had no tent. We were too loaded with everything for the winter to carry camping kit and in any case there are relatively few campsites in much of Spain, many of those that do exist close for winter -and much of Spain is pretty bleak & unattractive for wild camping.
There were many stunning cycling areas en route. For example Ayna to Yeste to Calasparra and nearby in the Sierra Segura was fabulous riding with warm blue skies, dramatic scenery, wide empty roads and moderate gradients.
Overall the trip confirmed my view that Spain has wonderful cycling honeyspots separated by huge unattractive stretches. Generally I dont think its great for long distance cycle touring without a car. We did our 3 Spanish end to end trips partly as a way of getting to Nerja for the winter not because they were great long distance bike rides like the Channel to Med in France for example. On a loaded touring bike much of Spain can seem big empty daunting & pretty uninteresting. Overall taking the bike by car for day rides or cycle touring within honeyspots like the Pyrenees or Andalucia are probably more fun options!
When we reached the med at Aguilas the weather turned wet so we took 3 buses and 7hrs to get to Nerja. Ten years ago buses were usually a free & hassle-free option with bikes. Now they're usually neither...! Finally we had no encounters with Peter's Puncture Pixies' pins and we met just 3 non-Spanish people (2 English & 1 French) between leaving Bilbao and arriving at the med!
