Spain in December

[timmynich]

Hi Folks

My usual Xmas plans have gone pearshaped, so I'm left with a couple of weeks free over Xmas and New Year. So... my brain naturally turns to a possible bike trip. I don't want to freeze my arse off so I was wondering if anyone's done any riding round southern/eastern Spain at that time of year, and can give me a clue if it's worth even considering? Yes I've checked the weather average temperatures etc and it doesn't look too bad provided your near the coast. Drops a fair bit as soon as you head inland or hit higher ground, obviously.
My last decent trip away was June so I'm clearly desperate/unrealistic but two weeks off is two weeks off.
Any suggestions? Printable only please.

Cheers,
Tim

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Andalusia is superb this time of year. Accomodation is cheap too.

 

[Simon W]

Bikes are often launched in Southern Spain in November and February... Weather isn't guaranteed and I've had awful rain on some of them - but at least it was warm rain. Only had snow on one of them: apparently that was the first snow they'd had for 14 years, in the sierras around Arcos de la Frontera. However, if you get lucky with the weather it can be fabulous and the roads are always superb (though some are, like Bon Jovi, slippery when wet).

The trick will be getting down there: I have had awful weather in the Picos, coming out of Bilbao, in November and relentless gales/rain/sleet/hail across the plains of Castille y Leon. If you're going to fly-ride, talk to Mark at www.bmwmotohire.com before you go: he has self-catering accommodation as well as bikes to hire, will pick you up from Malaga and show you good roads. He'll also be able to tell you honestly what the score is with the weather. He also hires bikes for guys looking to go from Spain to Morocco... And that might give you even more of a chance of decent weather (though obviously you can get cold stuff in the high Atlas as well)

 

[luke scott]

Tim, the weather will be a 50/50 chance. If its dry then it will be warm, but the last few years have been total chance. Also it can be cheaper to ship the bike down to Malaga than ride it there so look into that. But great roads if you end up there.

 

[Harv]

Im out at the end of November and again for New Year...and expecting it to be dry!
Locals will tell you that its warm if the sun is shining!
Not as daft as it sounds...their winter sun has still got some heat in it.
The minute the sun drops it gets cold....High ground can drop in temperature dramatically too.....
Last 2 weeks in Jan and whole of Feb has been 'winter' in my experience over the last 5 years.
Hi

I took a picture of this visitor to my olive tree in December last year so cant have been that cold!

 

[Glyno]

Approx 300 days of sun throughout the year. Its got to be bad at some stage and for us around here its usually Oct Nov or April May times. Weve had very little in the way of rain for weeks now, in fact the summer temps have been extended into mid November. Apparently this region (Valencia) has had the hottest Oct in 95 years but we will suffer for it sooner rather than later. The sea temps are still up and that together with the cool nights, which are just starting, will give perfect conditions for a " Gota Fria " a heavy deluge causing widespread flooding and damage. If it happens it will be before Dec tho. Had some of my best days out during the winter months. Warm in the sun, cool in the shade but plenty of incredible riding roads. Enjoy your trip wherever you end up.

 

[patzx12]

Last Dec -Feb we had 7 weeks of perfect riding weather on the Costa Del Sol. We drove down but it would have been good riding down weather.
5 weeks the winter before that was perfect bar one week of rain.
Our ride from Galway - Marbella - Galway in Dec 2008 was not so good
See my old post:
http://ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?236805-le-Viaduc-de-Millau
But the weather was great down there.
I am fairly sure i will be down there again this winter, i will give you a shout if i am and if you are in the area you can join us on our Ronda Sunday morning ride.

 

[timmynich]

Cheers fellas!

Thanks for the informative advice - I think I'll chance it, so maybe see you down there after Xmas.
Luke, I'll definitely look into shipping the bike down there - never even considered it, but it would solve a lot of problems.
Pat, drop me a message if you're out n about. I'd love to tag along.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

Tim

 

[patzx12]

Check out Philgun on this site he takes bikes down on a regular basis.

 

[peterthebruce]

We have been in Murcia and now near Almeria since Oct 1st. We have had rain for the first time today. Every day so far has been sunny and in excess of 20C. October was very warm for biking - probably too warm. It is now cooler in November but still with the minimum of clothing required. As an earlier post stated, the heat is all in the sun. If the sun is out it is hot; after the sun sets it cools down but rarely to freezing temperatures. Earlier this year I travelled from Santander down to Valencia and then to Portugal from Jan to March. We had some windy weather across from Santander and some rain in Portugal but nothing like the cold weather we had when travelling in Germany in late May! On the whole the roads are dry and quiet. If you travel to Santander you might find the north of Spain a bit cool but after a day's ride you will enter into weather that would make most UK bikers jealous. Expect some rain but mostly you will find that the weather is kind to bikers in the south of Spain. Altitude makes a difference so stick to the coast - Valencia, Calpe, Benidorm, Alicante, Cartagena, Almeria, Nerja, Malaga etc. There are many mountain roads within a few miles of all these places and these mountain roads are a dry delight. The hardest part of the journey will be from home to the ferry port!

 

[patzx12]

That sounds great, a few years ago we took some rental GS and went up the high Sierras near Granada up to the skiers crisp cold mountain air and snow edging the clear road surface. Low single digit temperatures, its nice on the way down as the temp rolls up as we descended.

 

[bmwrover]

My wife and I will fly to Teneriffe December 13th, and a rental GS1200 is booked from the 16th to 20th.
Really looking forward to this.

 

[lee3119]

I'm off to Tenerife in January and I'm interested in hiring a GS too bmwrover. Is it expensive and where are you hiring from? I'm staying in Los Gigantes. Many thanks.

 

[bmwrover]

Hi Lee, we booked here, very professional, very good comms.
By coincidence the place is just down the road from our hotel, so I can walk ther on Monday morning to pick up the bike.
Its at Costa Adeje, so you need to drive down a bit from Los Gigantes.
Canary Moto runs a Land Rover Series III as a shuttle, so good taste there with the nice LR

https://www.canarymoto.com/

 

[lee3119]

Thanks very much. I will certainly be in touch with them. I've had a quick look at their site and it looks great with reasonable prices. Thanks for the help.


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[bmwrover]

Having a blast... bike is great metzeler tourance next sticks well. Wife is a bit motion sick off the twisties. Great biking vacation

written on the not so smart phone, so please excuse typo

 

[lee3119]

Glad to hear you're enjoying it.



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[Peirre O`Bollox]

The OP could always cheat, and ship the bike to Malaga
There was a stand at the NEC bike show for http://www.flybikefly.com/
Drop your bike off at 1 of several locations across the UK (David Hathaway haulage depots the parent Co for FbF) the week prior to departure, book a flight to Malaga from your local airport.
Pick the bike up the next morning from the local agent in Malaga, ride, enjoy.
Return the bike to the local agents, get in taxi .....fly home, then the bike follows overland by truck. then collect the bike the next weekend.

The down side?? ................. it costs £500 to transport the bike + flights
The upside?? ............ you max your riding time in the south

 

[somclan]

some dark clouds today

[/URL][/IMG]Some dark clouds in Andalucía

 

[Rockred]

Hi the weather will be a lot better at the weekend, enjoy your rides.