Looking for Ideas in Spain

[MIKE R]

I'm looking for ideas for where to go in Spain.

I'll be landing in Bilbao on Tuesday August 28, riding solo and meeting my wife at Malaga airport on the Saturday, to spend a week off the bike, then a weeks tour back to Bilbao.

My return leg is planned........3 nights at BikEspana near Coin, then up to Toledo area for one night and the final 3 booked in at La Pisa in the Picos.

I am looking for ideas as to a route down. I am already booked in for Friday night within half an hour of Malaga. Ideally I looking for a good route for Tuesday morning to Friday afternoon. I have considered Salamanca, Segovia, Avilla etc but I've been there before and I could always call there instead of Toledo. Also a couple of years ago I spent some time with a friend in the Pyrennes...Jaca/Sort area.

Basically I am looking for somewhere new that has been visited by someone on here who can recommend it.

Many thanks

Mike

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Can't help with places but i've done this route....

Santander - Riano - Guadalupe - Rhonda

Got the route from here

http://www.motowhere.com/listpaths/srchkey/spain

Once in Rhonda, I would recommend planning to stay the night and do the Marbella road early enough to avoid the traffic - just awesome.

Gonna be a bit warm !

 

[Aidan1150]

I used to deliver beef to Segovia many years ago but unfortunately never had time to really get to know the city. The Roman Aquaduct is an impressive structure and dominates the city. It would make a good stop on your way down though.

 

[oblertone]

Another vote ...

... for Segovia, and then find your way to the N502 which is one of the finest biking roads I have ever been on ! 391K's of smooth surface constant radius bends with little traffic and plenty of fuel; see what your Euro-millions have paid for

ps - It goes almost all the way to Malaga too !

 

[Greg Masters]

Stop off at Toledo too.

Greg

 

[motoreiter]

Segovia is pretty cool, but I think you've said you've already been there? I stayed at the Hotel Acqueduct, right next to the, well, acqueduct, I think I paid about 50 euro for a room with a balcony and view.

Another couple places might be kind of out of your way, but are very nice: Ainsa or Torla, in the Pyrenees. Ainsa has a really cool medieval old town up on the hill, and Torla has an even more spectacular setting. If you're interested, here are some pix of Segovia, Ainsa, and Torla from my blog (skip down to the entry for August 30):
http://www.motoreiter.com/2009/09/heidelberg-marbella.html

Wherever you stay in this area, there is some unbelievable riding out there, especially if you stick to the tiniest roads...

 

[MIKE R]

Many thanks for all the above posts, they've given me some ideas.

Any more ideas gratefully accepted.

Mike

 

[Greg Masters]

... and then find your way to the N502 which is one of the finest biking roads I have ever been on ! 391K's of smooth surface constant radius bends with little traffic and plenty of fuel; see what your Euro-millions have paid for

... or the N420 to the south of Ciudad Real.

Greg

 

[Harv]

You could consider trundling along the Pyrenees towards the East Coast, Catalunya...the Els Ports area...down the Costa's...cross the Sierra Nevada National Parc into Malaga.
Check out the google maps and see the parcs etc then delve in deeper to see the roads.
Els Ports is stunning...check out a little number from Bot to Prat de Comte for instance.
Sierra nevada's similarly so.

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

There are beautiful mountain roads in Catalunya at every turn, seemingly. Given a choice, I think I would head for there rather than the Pyrenees, although doing both would be better!

My favourite to the South of there is called Maestrazgo. Stunning landscape, the least populated and developed area of Spain apparently, very remote feeling but not actually that far from civilisation.

It's sort of south-west from Catalunya, between (going from meory - no maps here at work) Teruel at the southern edge to Alcaniz at the northern edge. Towns (villages, really) in the area include Cantavieja, Pitarque, Villarluengo, and the confusingly-named villages not far apart called Mora de Rubielos and Rubeilos de Mora. (Take careful note if arranging to meet up with friends in one or the other ) There are some highish passes here - around 5,000 ft - but stunning scenery and roads everywhere. And when you've got all hot, it's not far to the coast for a quick dip, hotels and resort attractions.

This is the one area that sticks in my mind as being the place where roads were made for a GS.

 

[LiquidLAN]

I used to deliver beef to Segovia many years ago but unfortunately never had time to really get to know the city. The Roman Aquaduct is an impressive structure and dominates the city. It would make a good stop on your way down though.

Segoiva is stunning! It really looks like no-where on a map, I ended up picking it as a reasonable distance to have ridden in a day last year and I'm so glad I made the effort to venture into town. Would totally recommend stopping there rather than just passing through, its a really beautiful place.

I ended up staying in a huge room in a hotel just off the plaza

there or some pics here

As for routes and places to go/stay I'm not sure you can go far wrong in Spain - I took some advice form here regarding routes over the Pyrenees, but through Spain, we just took pot luck really and didnt have a day (or half a day) that didnt have fabulous roads, views, etc.

I started the day with a paper road map, picked a few locations and then looked for any road that got me there close to mountains or rivers - they'd be naturally twisty then. N-111 is fabulous

you need to keep an eye on the road signs though, we found there are a few fabulous roads that are by-passed by tunnels, you'd be riding through a hole with a lovely twisty bit playing out on the GPS above you - I did have to turn back and play a couple of times

 

[going home]

We just came back last week - I recommend a couple of these roads

I'll put in our timings to give you an idea - we were 4 bikes and 2 were with pillions so we didn't go utterly bonkers on the mileage. NB all my road names/numbers are from a Michelin Map dated 2005, but the towns haven't moved even if the road numbers have changed!

We went through France and crossed the Pyrenees from Laruns (south of Pau) on the Friday morning and headed down to Zaragoza. You could join the route here from bilbao. We skirted Zaragoza and went down the A23/N330 to Daroca*

We then crossed across to Molina De Aragon on the A 211/CM213.

Then the FUN really began - we went down what I can only describe as the best road I have ever, ever ridden** - the CM210 from Molina De Aragon to just North of Cuenca where it meets the N320. We stayed in Cuenca on Friday night.

We left Cuenca on Saturday morning and headed South down the N320 toward Albacete. we then turned South west on the N322 toward Balazote (lots of bendy roads after Balazote which were clearly biking roads as all the police bikes we saw at a petrol station soon after Balazote had tyres like they had been on a Donington park Track day!). we followed this road to Ubeda then turned off to head south Jodar and on to GuadaHortuna - wwe were then due to turn East on the A323 which was unfortunatley dug up awaiting new tarmac - the short detour that was sign-posted was OK for a GS but not for the guys on more road focused sports tourers that were with me. we carried on down the A 301 to just South of moreda and turned East along the A340 where it joined the A44 just North of Granada. We skirted around Granada. Our final destination was a hamlet near the town of Alcaucin so we cut down to Alhama de Granada (a beautiful little spa town with an impressive gorge) on the A338/A335 and headed for Ventas Zafarraya. It's worth taking a deep breath before you cross the pass you are now going from Granada province to Malaga province and the winding road that snakes right down to Velez Malaga gives you views of the Med and across to Africa on a clear day. You're at about 900 metres at Ventas Zafarraya and in 15 miles will be at sea level. Keep following the A 335/A356 to Velez Malaga and turn East to head for Malaga on the caratera (possibly the worst road in Spain). We were at our final destination just a few KM from Ventas Zafarraya by 6 p.m.

Where possible we tried to stay off motorways and really only used them to circle big towns that we didn't want to go to.

Have a lot of fun, we did, but please be prepared for the heat it was searing at times.


*We didn't want to go on the Autopista that heads to Madrid but actually could have done and got off at J231 and headed down the A 202 to Nuevalos and pick up the CM210 there then join the route above at Cillas..

** i know we all have our own definitions of great roads but i put this one up against the great Alpine passes and in particular Grossglockner near Innsbruck, the Adriatic highway from Trieste to Dubrovnik and the n260 between Sort and Andorra.

 

[Morticia]

How about a trip up to Competa, its about an hour from Malaga, very twisty mountain roads and stunning scenery...went trail riding which was based there the other year...fantastic place. Also is you can get into the national park, the gravel trails are amazing.

Have a great time...Malaga city is fantastic to walk round or you can take a segway tour of the city too

 

[Two wheels good]

Ole

Trujillo. Fabulous plaza mayor, statue of Pizarro, lots of museums if you fancy. Definitely worth a visit if only for a pit-stop.

Parque National de Montfrague. Eagles, vultures, great vistas

Sierra de Gredos. mountain twisties, if a little bumpy

Buen viaje

 

[Allan Davies]

Try this if your in the Tremp area (just below Andorra) you will not be dissappointed and will be praying for a nice staight bit of road by Berga

Head towards Conca De Dalt on the N260 towards Andorra then off on the C13 towards Talarn and then onto Tremp, take the C1421b towards Isona I Conca Della (small village) Then take the L511 towards Boixols and keep on this meany, till La Rosa then take the L401 (changes too LV 4241) till Berga get off and have a coffee as you will need it after about 75 miles of the best tarmac and twisties, and I mean twisties,( my mate has ever ridden and he's been biking for 30+ years) then once refreshed get ready for more Take the C26 out of Berga to Ripoll then N-152 briefly till you pick up the Gi-401 towards Gombren (even smaller village ) over the Col Merolla (Gi-402) onto La Pobla de Lillet take the Bv-4031 over the Col de la Creueta and that should take you out onto the N152 and then N260 to Andorra.
As I said of the beaten track but well worth the days ride it will take you to do it,

We stayed here before we set off for the ride, Talarn near Tremp, http://www.casalola.info/index.html Really small Village with only two bars, one with a superb patio view. We ate in the Casa Lola. Really nice and the rooms all had a litle kitchen and nice views.

 

[Gipsy]

Often said before but you can't go far wrong with the green roads on a Michelin map. Personally I prefer to find my own gem places to stay and roads to ride, rather than use other's suggestions.

 

[MIKE R]

Many thanks for all your inputs. Travelling down and back on my own, meeting my wife (who is flying out) for a week in the middle

I've gone against my earlier thoughts, but here is the plan. All hotels now booked.



Sail Portsmouth-Bilbao arriving Tues 29 Aug

Tue Salamanca
Wed Segovia
Thur Merida
Fri BikEspana
Sat-Fri Just outside Marbella with wifey
Sat, Sun, Mon BikEspana
Tue Toledo
Wed, Thur Fri Hotel La Pisa in the Picos
Sat Ferry from Bilbao to Portsmouth



Really looking forward to it now!

Any ideas of good routes between the various points are gratefully received.


Mike

 

[MIKE R]

Many thanks for the ideas, many of which match my planned route!

Mike

 

[beetee]

Lovely place...


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[Fishnbiker]

Riding to Malaga

I can't speak much for the North, only been to Segovia & Avila north of Madrid. Most of my experience is in the south. If ending up in Malaga, you will be passing by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, some of the best twisties in the country. I suggest any secondary road west of Guadix or Almeria that goes between the coast & Granada. I spent a half year on the coast in Almunecar just so I could ride the roads around there. A4050 is one of my favourites. Along the coast from Almeria to Algeciras is 4 lane in most places. You will find sections of the old coastal highway going through each village. Scenic, but slow. Try bouncing up into the hills to ride on the high plains before another twisty down to the coast. A67 from Ronda to Marbella is another fine choice.

Just remember the siesta timing, all villages shut down mid day