Spain (local)

Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage route taken in honor St James buried in Santiago. There are numerous routes starting at different points - all ending in Santiago. The most famous is the French route starting on the French side of the Pyrennees. Due to limited time, we are riding only part of the route - from Leon to Santiago - a distance over 300 kilometers, in about 6 to 7 days.

Madrid, a cyclist's no man's land - Riding the French Basque Coast - From Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago in 15 days - The Galician Coast.

I had a wonderful time, everywhere I went the people were friendly, the drivers reasonably considerate, and the touring spectacular. Why the Extremadura? The Extremadura is a very interesting part of Spain for any American because the people in Extremadura have had such a profound impact on the history and development of America. It turns out that the two most famous (or infamous) conquistadors, Pizzaro and Cortez, both hail from the Extremadura. Many other Extremadurans joined them in the conquest of central and south America by the Spanish. Why? During the early 1500's, the Extramadura was a relatively undeveloped part of Spain, filled with minor nobility and controlled by absentee landlords. There were few prospects for a second or third son growing up in this region, and it was a tough neighborhood. The region had long been a contested area in the wars between the Moors and the Spaniards, it was dotted with walled towns, and inhabited by enduring people accustomed to hardship and violence. The opportunity for wealth and fame in the Americas was a magnet for aggressive young men who had few prospects for inheritance and were well trained to fight for what they wanted. Very many of them did achieve wealth and fame, very few of them died peacefully in their bed. They were prepared to live and die by the sword and their wits, most did so.

A 15-day tour of the Canary Islands, complete with maps.

Gran Canaria is one of the islands of the Canarian archipelago. The island is crowded with small, bending roads. Although the island is not very big there is much to cycle for more than a week. Because of the barranco's (canyons) riding is also very hard. I have been there for twelve days and stayed in an apartment in Playa del Ingles, the tourist centre of the island.

With photos, and useful and well-organized information.

Qu'est-ce que le cyclotourisme ? C'est de l'amour ambulant dont la nature est l'objet. Nous devons cette d´finition à Henri de la Tombelle , dans son manuel du cyclotourisme ´dit´ en 1943, et je n'en connais pas de plus satisfaisante.

Pour ma part, même si le cyclotourisme demeure une activit´ ayant ses exigences d'effort et d'endurance, il n'est pas question de devenir esclave de la moyenne kilom´trique. Dans la pratique du v´lo, je vois essentiellement une façon agr´able de se d´placer dans la nature, de d´couvrir des paysages, des r´gions, de r´viser sa g´ographie en allant sur place ressentir la profondeur d'une belle vall´e ou l'altitude d'une montagne. Le Pyr´n´es, lorsqu'on habite Toulouse, sont l'objet de nombreuses conversations entre amoureux de la nature. Très nombreux sont les adeptes des randonn´es durant l'´t´, et du ski durant l'hiver. Pour notre part, peu attir´s par le ski et occup´s à bien d'autres activit´s en ´t´ (du v´lo par exemple), ces montagnes, pourtant si proches, demeuraient ´trangères à nos p´r´grinations et du coup globalement m´connues.

Eine ausführliche Tourenbeschreibung unserer zweiwöchigen Radreise durch die großartige Wüstenlandschaft Andalusiens - zu Füßen der schneebedeckten Gipfel der Sierra Nevada. Besonderen Wert haben wir auf genaue Informationen für Radfahrer gelegt, wie Dauer der Tagesetappen, Höhenmeter und zurückgelegte Kilometer. Natürlich kein Ersatz für Reiseführer und Karte.

Unsere Etappen:Cabo de Gata - San Jos´ | Rundtour San José - Las Negras und zurück | Ausflug: Almería - Strände von San Jos´ | San Jos´ - Nijar | Nijar - Turillas - Mini Hollywood - Tabernas | Tabernas - Olula-Paß - Los Navarros | Gergal - Guadix | Guadix - Paß - Granada | Alhambra | Konditionstest: Granada - Parador - Granada | Granada - Beznar - Castel de Ferro | Castel de Ferro - Roquetals del Mar | Roquetal del Mar - Flughafen .

This is the (partly still under construction) report of a 10-days tour in Mallorca in October 1995. Includes weather information, a literature, photographs, the works.

The report of the 850 km trip Jose Roberto and his buddy Aurelio did in September 1995. Annoying and confusing Flash navigation, I didn't actually find much useful information.

This is a report about a bike tour which we undertook in Andalusia in September '95. We started in Sevilla, travelled down to Tarifa at the Strait of Gibraltar, learned a lot about forceful winds, crossed the mountains of the Serrania de Ronda to see Ronda, one of the oldest cities in Spain, directed our tires once again to the sea side towards Malaga, travelled on lonely winding roads and the beach promenades of the Costa del Sol and finally crossed the Sierra Nevada to terminate our journey in Granada, one of the most beautiful cities we've ever seen. The overall distance was about 700 km. We took two and a half weeks but think one should have a week or so more to fully enjoy the spirit of the region.

A beautiful tour, mostly off-road, with great photos.
Uphill and downhill sections in a beautiful landscape on the south slope of the Sierra Nevada with more white villages.Great views.After Ug?jar a 63-year-old mountain biker starts a roadside conversation on bicycling, this year's draught and possible climate change.Unlike me, he believes the Puerto de la Ragua is the only pass crossing the Sierra Nevada.

The report of a one-week training camp in Spain.
After 2 days spent on a bus, and a night in a Premier Classe Hotel in Rheims, France, we were ready to get on our bikes and stretch our legs. (There had been the temptation to get the bikes unpacked in Rheims and re-run the stage finish there from the 1985 Tour de France when Sean Kelly and Eric Vanderaerden had thrown punches at one another as they sprinted for the line ! But as it was dark, 1 a.m. and we were all tired it was decided to leave it until another time.) The camp was based in L'Estartit, a holiday resort on the Costa Brava approximately 100 kms north of Barcelona.

I visited Tenerife in December 1994 for two weeks. [...] We have cycled totally 1400 km, without getting bored. There are a lot of beautiful climbs. Tenerife is really an eldorado for mountain goats, without a flat kilometer.

If there is one single thing that made our trip to Spain worthwhile then it was the people. To put it simply they are the tops. Maybe because of the contrast from what we were used to, I do not know, but they do come across as warm, friendly, easy going people. This is especially true of small Spanish villages where everyday seems like a Sunday.

The report of a one-month, 3018km tour of Spain, beautifully illustrated.

Includes Logistics, a Map, and reports of tours Barcelona-Valencia, the Pyrenees, Malaga-Alicante and Granada-Gibralter.

With its sunny climate, fantastic coasts and mountains, one really can't go wrong with a bicycle tour of Spain. Since 1993, I've made three trips there and this web page is a conglomeration of those adventures. Aside from a short tour through the Pyrenees, most of the cycling I've done has been along the coast -- from the French border all the way down to Gibralter [...] Cycling the Mediterranean coast is a lot like biking the famed Pacific Coast highway in the US -- great views, fantastic beaches, stunning headlands, and not much traffic. Moreover, there are plenty of interesting historical and cultural sites to visit along the way, such as ancient forts and castles, cathedrals, old fishing villages, and the Salvador Dali museum.

Pour renouer avec le voyage itinérant à vélo, nous avions choisi une destination qui nous offrirait les meilleurs ingrédients selon nous : du relief et du dépaysement, et de la chaleur. Pour les premiers points, nous ne fûmes pas déçus, nous n'imaginions pas par contre devoir lutter contre le froid?et même la neige !

Les îles Canaries, au nombre de sept, forment un archipel au large des côtes marocaines. Nous visiterons les trois îles situées le plus à l'ouest : La Palma, la Gomera et Tenerife, la plus étendue, et sans conteste la plus connue et fréquentée (un peu trop d'ailleurs sur la côte?).

Ces îles sont d'origine volcanique, et offrent parmi les paysages les plus spectaculaires au monde.

A Fantastic Journey is the only real description of this ride, because that is exactly what it was. A journey into territory far away from the normal tourist routes. Where the only indication of the 21st century was the motor car. And where English is rarely been heard, let alone spoken.

Following our long cycle rides of the previous two years and because bad weather caused us to call a halt last year near Bayonne, we decided to continue our ride to Gibraltar. However we decided to change the route to take in more of the real Spain. It may not appear to some to be the best route. It certainly was not the quickest. It did however encompass many places we wanted to see. Some were Towns and Cities, some were geographic places such as Parque Naturals and Mountain Ranges. Our route took us through the following major cities and towns: San Sebastian; Vitoria; Burgos; Palencia; Toro; Salamanca; Bejar; Trujillo; Merida; Constantina; Seville; Arcos de la Frontera; Tarifa; Gibraltar.

An information site in various languages run by the Xunta de Galicia. Annoying Flash animations all over the place.

The suggested itinerary follows the spanish part of the ``Camino de Santiago'' from the Ibaneta Pass (Roncesvalles) on the frontier between France and Spain to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. It's 850 kilometres wich cross the whole northern side of Spain, from Pyrenees as far as the Atlantic region. 8 stages will be provided. The itinerary goes over an ancient pilgrinage route connected with the Catholic tradition of the veneration to the apostle St. James (Santiago), evangelizer of Spain, whose grave would have been discovered by a hermit in 813 d.c. in a place showed by a star rain (campus stellae).

Round trip to Andalucia. A 2600 km path through no paved roads, including the crossing of 35 km beach at Doñana National park.

Read also the minutes of the Spanish Senate session in which the law was discussed (in Spanish).

El Camino de santiago is the most important pilgrimage trail all over Europe. Gotescalco, Bishop of Le Puy, was one of the first pilgrims as far as we know, he did the trail in 950 AD (more than 1000 years ago!!). The first guide of the CdS was written by Aymeric Picaud, priest of Potou, in the XIIht century: Codex Calixtinus. Today, the CdS is called also GR-65 in the International Code, GR means Gran Recorrido or Grand Randonne. It starts in France and ends in Santiago de Compostela.

llega a Espa?a una herramienta que facilitar? a todos los aficionados al ciclismo la localizaci?n de cualquier informaci?n disponible en internet relacionada con el ciclismo, as? como su publicaci?n, prestando una especial atenci?n a todos aquellos recursos que se encuentren en lengua castellana.

More than 7000km of abandoned rail tracks have been converted to bicycle touring routes.

Has plenty of useful information, and links to some reports.

Un espacio dinámico y completamente abierto, un lugar para la unión de todos los aficionados al ciclismo, con especial atención a su faceta recreativa, al descubrimiento y aprecio de la naturaleza y al encuentro con otros amigos.

This group is ``geared'' to those who have ridden, or who are planning to ride, the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route across northern Spain, or any of the connecting routes. The group is planned to collect and share information about this tour and act as a resource for those who are contemplating it. The list is more intended for cyclists who will be using roads for most of their journey, perhaps with some short sections on the hiking path, as opposed to those on mountain bikes who are using the path the entire way.