cycling across spain

[talon]

any thoughts on east to west v west to east? suggested start/finish points? anyone done it in either direction? all thoughts welcome!

 

[Pottsy]

I'm interested to hear about this too.

At a guess, west to east should be preferable for prevailing winds, which can be important.

 

[YahudaMoon]

Hi. I haven't cycled across Spain though I did a 220 km DIY audax circuit in Alacante about four year back.

It what seemed like a climbed all the way out from the coast with long roads and a bit of a dust bowl. I just kept hitting small towns/villages, or whatever you call a village down there. Loved the Spanish cafe stops I found with real coffee and home made cakes :-D

Getting back was fantastic as it seemed like down hill all the way. I noticed a lot of Spanish cyclist wear the full skin suits as to keep the sun off. Plenty of cyclist to direct you the way if you get lost as I did even though I had a map

 

[talon]

I'm interested to hear about this too.

At a guess, west to east should be preferable for prevailing winds, which can be important.

thanks for that - this had been my guess, just wanted confirmation!

 

[Edge705]

Wasnt there a post on here recently where a couple of guys did it at xmas I think they did south to norf might be worth a look.

 

[elduderino]

Can't say I've done East to West but I did do South(ish) to North in November. I'd rate Spain as one of my favourite touring destinations in Europe. Smooth roads with wide shoulders, minor roads had very little traffic and stunning scenery too. Every town/village had a fresh water tap which I found invaluable. Spain was rather photogenic, so flick through my journal for a rough idea of what's in store if you like http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/spain2010

 

[talon]

thanks for that. hubby did north to south about 20years ago, so looking for new route and hoping to stay in hot sunny weather. did you find lots of campsites or camp rough?

 

[elduderino]

thanks for that. hubby did north to south about 20years ago, so looking for new route and hoping to stay in hot sunny weather. did you find lots of campsites or camp rough?

It was 25 degrees in the South in November. Campsites were plentiful around the coast, but a bit of a scarcity otherwise and the distances were quite big between the ones that were inland. I only had 9 hours of daylight to play with at the time of year I went, so I ended up camping rough 11 out of 13 days. There was no shortage of 'Pensions' though as an alternative to camping.

 

[MarkF]

Spain is great for cycle touring, very quite (compared to the UK) back roads, considerate drivers and fanatastic A roads that yes, have very wide well surfaced shoulders, these are also compartively quiet due to EU funded parallel motorways. Other bonus's that I like are plentiful rooms that are so inexpensive that I don't have to take camping gear (weight) and most villages having a drinking water supply for travellers.

I've done Asturias, Cantabria, Catalonia, La Rioja and Andalucia, C2C has always been a dream for me and this June I am doing Bilbao to Malaga via Santander, Salamanca and Seville, part down the Rua del Plata.

 

[jay clock]

Ok, so a bit of a thread resurrection. I may have a couple of weeks off in Oct/early Nov and having done Spain north to South (and France on the same trip) a couple of years ago I am vaguely looking at Lisbon eastwards to somewhere like Valencia or Alicante (basically wherever the best flight options are.

Did the OP ever do it, and has anyone got any nice routes in Spain. I would prefer point to point

 

[172traindriver]

Can't say I've done East to West but I did do South(ish) to North in November. I'd rate Spain as one of my favourite touring destinations in Europe. Smooth roads with wide shoulders, minor roads had very little traffic and stunning scenery too. Every town/village had a fresh water tap which I found invaluable. Spain was rather photogenic, so flick through my journal for a rough idea of what's in store if you like http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/spain2010

Excellent journal. Really impressive.

 

[mark c]

I would second what MarkF said, we have just come back from hols in Spain and found that they pass cyclist with consideration, i look fwd to taking my bike there one day.

 

[jay clock]

I have done north to south (UK to Gib, here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=TC&doc_id=11271&v=Oc ) and loved it. Am aiming to stay in the southern half if I can wangle a trip there as Oct starts to get chilly up north!

 

[Dorabjork]

Has any of you biked between Alicante and Barcelona ? (our best flight options) We are planing a three week trip with about 14 days of biking, no camping.

 

[jay clock]

I have done Alicante to Valencia. North of that no. But there are lots of bits of quite unattractive bits of coast. But with 14 days you can divert left right and centre and avoid them