Spain south to north

[fraefreuchie]

Hi

I am booked to cycle from Narbonne to Marseille where I will catch a RyanAir flight to Seville on April 9th with my Dawes super Galaxy in a CTC poly bag and my panniers as hold and hand luggage. I am planning then to follow la Ruta via de la Plata from Seville via Merida, Caceres and Salamanca where I will divert to Vallidolid then join the reverse of the Camino Frances from Burgos to Logrono to Pamplona and over the Pyrenees to St Jean pied de port, Pau, Toulouse, Carcassonne to Narbonne. I will be carrying my Vango spirit 200+ tent but hoping to alternate between camping and hostales.

Any comments, suggestions messages of support or tips welcome.

Brian (aged 61)

 

[b1ke]

We rode the Via de la Plata in October of last year in reverse, coming down from Santander, over the Picos to Mancilla and picking up the de la Plata near Benevente. We went all the way to Seville, then on to Tarifa and over to Morocco. We were on a fully loaded Hase Pino tandem (www.thespokeandwords.wordpress.com) so avoided the off-road option. Instead we rode the N630, which is a fairly quiet road, since they've built a motorway just to the side of it. The N630 is a good option if you tire of the off-road sections. We stayed in albergues most of the time.

We loved Spain. Expect hills, but also expect great architecture (Seville, Salamanca, Zamora old town), generally courteous drivers and friendly people. I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

 

[MarkF]

Sections of the real RVP are very dusty and very b.o.r.i.n.g, the adjacent roads are nearly as quiet and provide more amenities..............beer. You will have a great time, your route in Spain is stress free, wonderful cycling.

I did a large part of that route North to South, the link has info & prices and rubbish:- http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1&page_id=307954&v=i

 

[fraefreuchie]

Thanks for the links and the encouraging words. The problem with south to north is it is uphill all the way!

 

[MarkF]

The problem with south to north is it is uphill all the way!

Yep, at 50+ I still think way that too.

 

[b1ke]

The problem with south to north is it is uphill all the way!

I suppose it is. We climbed to around 1500 metres coming over the Picos in the north, but didn't really drop back to sea level until we reached Tarifa. That said, it still felt like a slog after the Picos going north to south. We did have a persistent headwind though.

 

[albal]

Did the similar route south to north last year: www.crazyguyonabike.com/gibjog2013. Incidently the route i took from Valladolid to Burgos, (took a detour as the 620 from Magaz does not have a road running along side the 'new' road.) was the best of the tour. Enjoy it.

 

[fraefreuchie]

Did the similar route south to north last year: www.crazyguyonabike.com/gibjog2013. Incidently the route i took from Valladolid to Burgos, (took a detour as the 620 from Magaz does not have a road running along side the 'new' road.) was the best of the tour. Enjoy it.

Thanks I've really enjoyed reading your journal.
Sorry it has taken so long to thank you. I made the mistake of changing my broadband to BT!!

 

[jay clock]

I also did that route. see here for full write up www.crazyguyonabike.com/julian2012 - in terms of camping I had moved onto hostales by then, as Spain was much less well set up for it than France

The bit from Sevilla northwards for 500km on the old main road is wonderful.