Thinking about doing a North to South Spain late August early September

[jacobean]

Spain is an absolute cyclist's delight.

Here are 3 practical tips:

-For your middle of the day siestas, stake out the local church. Their numerous exterior alcoves can be a great place to take refuge from the blazing sun.

-Restaurants will have the "menu del dia". This , normally 3-course package, is what the locals will be ordering and it is normally a lot cheaper than the rest of the menu.

- For accommodation in big cities and towns, booking.com is great. However, sometimes lastminute.es will pip it at the post with a better deal.

BTW, how are you getting your bikes to Gijon?

[Therealsouthstander]

Thanks again for some more great Information.

Regarding our bikes getting to Gijon...We decided that hiring bikes over there worked best. We live in the North of Scotland and decided the ferry to Santander and back would eat into nearly 6 days of our holiday..Flying from Aberdeen to Northern Spain would require 3 flights so wasn't willing to risk that. This and the logistics of taking a bike box to one place and returning from another was another factor. The hire bikes will get delivered to our hotel in Gijon and picked up from Cadiz. Rent for 2 weeks and the 3rd week is free gives us a fair bit of flexibility...It was an easy decision to be honest.

[MrsHJ]

Thanks again for some more great Information.

Regarding our bikes getting to Gijon...We decided that hiring bikes over there worked best. We live in the North of Scotland and decided the ferry to Santander and back would eat into nearly 6 days of our holiday..Flying from Aberdeen to Northern Spain would require 3 flights so wasn't willing to risk that. This and the logistics of taking a bike box to one place and returning from another was another factor. The hire bikes will get delivered to our hotel in Gijon and picked up from Cadiz. Rent for 2 weeks and the 3rd week is free gives us a fair bit of flexibility...It was an easy decision to be honest.

Could you share the rental details please - it’s often difficult to track down a location that will rent bikes for a fortnight and finding an a to b arrangement for dropping them at a reasonable price/at all. Whilst I like taking my own bike I’m not against renting- it’s just usually prohibitively expensive or just not practical.

[Therealsouthstander]

We like to take our own bikes too but with 3 flights the risk is huge. Luththansa used to fly from Aberdeen and when they did , the bike policy was for just to turn up at the airport and hand over the bike. No boxes, no taking off pedals and turning the handlebars etc. Pick up your bike at the destination airport and ride. This worked great for me and never had a problem. Saying that , I never tried it on more than 2 flights at a time and always via Frankfurt. Touring bike are made of tough stuff

I was looking at 2 companies that rent bikes in Spain with delivery and collection to and from different locations. Both Portuguese ironically.

I went for the first company as I preferred the bikes

www.cycling-rentals.com

www.bikeiberia.com

[Tiggertoo]

I have had poor experience with renting bikes for a tour, so often the darn things just didn't fit right.

[Therealsouthstander]

Really ? You must be an ' in-between size' ? I've never had a problem that adjusting the saddle wouldn't fix..

[jacobean]

I have had poor experience with renting bikes for a tour, so often the darn things just didn't fit right.

Did it a few times. Always worked out fine!

The only problem being some rental shops will give you a less-than-comfortable helmet.

[simonhill]

If you're using a bike route, it shouldn't be a problem, but I found that I would sometimes come upon motorway type roads where cycling was banned.

I usually roughly plan by eye, then work out the fine details the evening before. A few times I found on the only direct road up a valley, or bridge over river, etc cycling was not allowed. Lots of road building has taken roads out of our use. This resulted in a few long diversions. Google earth and street view are useful to see if a road is usable.

Have you planned your route into Cadiz? I would recommend the bike ferry from Santa Maria. Only a few € for pax and bike, although when I took it they said it was too windy and I had to take the bus, but bike OK.

Otherwise, you can cycle on the causeway beside the motorway and rail on a good gravel bike path. I'm not sure about the other 2 bridges. It shows a separated service lane on the northern bridge on Google earth, but it was closed when I was there. I couldn't see any cycling signs yes or no.

Cadiz is a good example of a city accessed by motorways making cycling in or out a bit tricky.

[Therealsouthstander]

I haven't really looked at our route in to Cadiz yet so thanks for pointing this out. The ferry option sounds like a good idea.
It looks like it's around 100 miles from Seville to Cadiz with hardly any elevation gain. Did think about doing that in one day but thought there might be a nice Town/ Village on the way to spend the night .Also I'm sure a hairdryer like wind will be blowing..Any recommendations are welcome.
I've never been to Cadiz or that part of Andalusia before so unsure where to spend a few nights at the end of the tour, again any recommendations we be most welcome..

Thanks again

[simonhill]

The countryside between Sevilla and Cadiz isn't that pretty. Flat rolling lands with large fields, but easy enough to cycle, even on the main roads.

There are a few small towns that are pleasant enough - often on hills with old fortifications and cobbled streets. Lebija was such a one. Half old town (great little hotel), half new, complete with a Lidls. However, I would recommend Jerez - home of sherry. A surprisingly big city with a scenic old town centre, complete with an alcazar. Wander the streets and stop off for tapas and a glass of sherry. Be warned though - it ain't like your granny served before Sunday lunch.

Anyway, this is the end of your trip and a lot of pedalling to do before you get there.

[Therealsouthstander]

Many thanks Simon. Jerez sound like a good plan. The other Town that looks quite nice is Arcos de la Frontera.

The only bit of the trip that I need to plan is the start and finish , this is so i can arrange for bike to be dropped off and Collected. Saying that with the 3rd week rental being free we do have a decent buffer...

[Therealsouthstander]

So we did it and what a trip it was...Incredible.

We started in Gijon and headed to Oviedo and ended our first Day in the Asturian Mountain Town called Saint Martin. This was on the advice of a local guy from Gijon. The next day we climbed the awesome puerto de ventana. A climb of 25km ranging from 8% to 19%. It was a bit cloudy but when we reached the top it cleared up nicely..I cant recommend this area enough. We then decended into the beautiful Leon.. It was a day to remember.

We then spent the next 2 days cycling towards Salamanca and spent 2 nights in this wonderful City. One of the days we covered 90 miles.

As we headed towards Extremadura we both fell in love with this region with Hervas being our favourite Town. We found an amazing place to spend the night.

As we headed further South we found this beautiful Cortijo just outside Llerena and didnt want to leave. So we didn't and spent 3 glorious days here. It left a big day to Seville through the amazing Extremadura countryside. We took the long way on local advice.It was great advice...Magical day..As the day went on the temperature nudged 40 Deg C so plenty of water stops were required. We arrived into Seville feeling remarkably well so stayed for a few days and even went to the football- Real Betis v Villarreal, which was wonderful.

We then successfully navigated our way out of Seville but the cycling was fairly unspectacular but arrived into Jerez which we really liked, especially the sherry.

This left us an easy day to Cadiz until we arrived just outside. Bikes weren't allowed to cycle into Cadiz according to a local Petrol station so we headed for the ferry at Santa Maria but the ferry wasnt running due to high winds...So bus it was.. Wasn't the way we planned for it to end but what a trip. Cadiz was lovely too and our bike hire picked up our bikes without issues.

Cant recommend this route enough... 10 days cycling in total.

Any questions, fire away

[simonhill]

Interesting they are still using the high winds excuse for the ferry to Cadiz. They said that to me in March. It certainly wasn't very windy. I heard from someone that there is a problem with the ferries. Maybe it's down to costs??

Luckily they run a replacement bus which takes bikes. Sad to miss the ferry, but good views from the top of the bridge.

A small part of what sounded like an excellent trip. Well done and thanks for the report.

[brianleach]

Cadiz is a good example of a city accessed by motorways making cycling in or out a bit tricky

As is Bilbao as I recall!!