Andalusia in December
Discussion
A couple of months back a gap opened up for me between jobs that meant I was able to take the whole of December off work. If this was any other time of year then this would have been an ideal time to do something I've always wanted to do but sadly never managed to find the right opportunity - a cycling holiday with some mountains in Europe!
Being relatively stubborn and with the realization that this opportunity was unlikely to present itself again in the short term, I decided to go ahead anyway with choice of destination focused on the places in Europe which were most likely to allow me to cycle up to high altitude in the middle of Winter without being freezing cold. This led me to the Tabernas desert in Andalusia and given this isn't somewhere that I've seen too much written about online compared to the typical European cycling destinations I thought I'd add a write up here for the benefit of PH!
This area of Spain has typical sea-level temperatures of ~15c in December and over 300 "sunny" days a year with limited rain. Ideal for what I had planned
So last Monday I took a mid-morning flight from Birmingham to Malaga and after landing drove 200km from the airport to my base in Almeria with a short stop on the way to pickup my hire bike for the week. I had three days of cycling planned in the Tabernas desert (Europe's only desert)
With the weather on the first day looking a little cloudy I decided to do the easier of my three planned routes which had a maximum altitude of ~1000m in order to assess the weather conditions at that level before committing to the more difficult routes. The main climb of the day was "Puerto de la Virgen" which rises to an elevation of 1,070m, which whilst pretty small compared to the other climbs I had planned later in the trip was already higher than anything that can be climbed in the UK!
The weather was excellent at a solid 15c all day and with most of the day being sunny so following on from that over the next couple of days I was able to cover a couple of bigger climbs - the Puerto de Velefique (18km @6.2% with a peak elevation of 1,825m) and Calar Alto (23km @6.3% with a peak elevation of 2,146km). It was a little chilly above the clouds at the top of Calar Alto - jacket and gloves needed on the way down as the temperature dropped as low as 4 degrees!
There is a lot more information on Andalusia here which was the inspiration for my route choices and where I got my routes from. I did their "Alto de Velefique from Tabernas", "Calar Alto cycling climb" (backwards) and "Puerto de la Virgen and Valley of the blocks" routes which are all on the site
One thing I would change - Almeria is not the liveliest of places so if heading back to the region I'd perhaps look at staying somewhere different (albeit there isn't a huge amount of choice in the region!)
Some pictures from my trip
As this is Pistonheads this post wouldn't be complete without a picture of my hire car - Ford Focus Active 1.0!
Being relatively stubborn and with the realization that this opportunity was unlikely to present itself again in the short term, I decided to go ahead anyway with choice of destination focused on the places in Europe which were most likely to allow me to cycle up to high altitude in the middle of Winter without being freezing cold. This led me to the Tabernas desert in Andalusia and given this isn't somewhere that I've seen too much written about online compared to the typical European cycling destinations I thought I'd add a write up here for the benefit of PH!
This area of Spain has typical sea-level temperatures of ~15c in December and over 300 "sunny" days a year with limited rain. Ideal for what I had planned
So last Monday I took a mid-morning flight from Birmingham to Malaga and after landing drove 200km from the airport to my base in Almeria with a short stop on the way to pickup my hire bike for the week. I had three days of cycling planned in the Tabernas desert (Europe's only desert)
With the weather on the first day looking a little cloudy I decided to do the easier of my three planned routes which had a maximum altitude of ~1000m in order to assess the weather conditions at that level before committing to the more difficult routes. The main climb of the day was "Puerto de la Virgen" which rises to an elevation of 1,070m, which whilst pretty small compared to the other climbs I had planned later in the trip was already higher than anything that can be climbed in the UK!
The weather was excellent at a solid 15c all day and with most of the day being sunny so following on from that over the next couple of days I was able to cover a couple of bigger climbs - the Puerto de Velefique (18km @6.2% with a peak elevation of 1,825m) and Calar Alto (23km @6.3% with a peak elevation of 2,146km). It was a little chilly above the clouds at the top of Calar Alto - jacket and gloves needed on the way down as the temperature dropped as low as 4 degrees!
There is a lot more information on Andalusia here which was the inspiration for my route choices and where I got my routes from. I did their "Alto de Velefique from Tabernas", "Calar Alto cycling climb" (backwards) and "Puerto de la Virgen and Valley of the blocks" routes which are all on the site
One thing I would change - Almeria is not the liveliest of places so if heading back to the region I'd perhaps look at staying somewhere different (albeit there isn't a huge amount of choice in the region!)
Some pictures from my trip
As this is Pistonheads this post wouldn't be complete without a picture of my hire car - Ford Focus Active 1.0!
Lucky you, looks great ... you really couldn't have picked a better winter to get away from the UK. 15 degrees seems like a long way away over here 
We are now regulars to the South of Spain with plans to move out there in the next 2-3 years permanently. We'd like to set up a cycling tour business based on the Costa Tropical where people can enjoy the excellent temp, some challenging riding whilst having a base with some great restraurants etc ... having been to and around Nerja, we think its the idea location.
So my advice would be to try a little further West to Nerja on your next trip ... quiet roads, stunning views etc. You're on the doorstep of 'The Goats Path' (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28879806) and whilst you might not be able to get to a decent altitude due to snow in December, if you're there in Spring or Autumn, a ride up into Sierra Nevada is well worth the effort as Pico del Valeta has the highest paved road in Europe (3400m). I say paved, the last 2k is gravel bike territory ...this September, I made it to the top on 34mm tyres ... my Mrs didn't on 28mm tyres (see below, a shell of a woman who is a tiny dot)
We are now regulars to the South of Spain with plans to move out there in the next 2-3 years permanently. We'd like to set up a cycling tour business based on the Costa Tropical where people can enjoy the excellent temp, some challenging riding whilst having a base with some great restraurants etc ... having been to and around Nerja, we think its the idea location.
So my advice would be to try a little further West to Nerja on your next trip ... quiet roads, stunning views etc. You're on the doorstep of 'The Goats Path' (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28879806) and whilst you might not be able to get to a decent altitude due to snow in December, if you're there in Spring or Autumn, a ride up into Sierra Nevada is well worth the effort as Pico del Valeta has the highest paved road in Europe (3400m). I say paved, the last 2k is gravel bike territory ...this September, I made it to the top on 34mm tyres ... my Mrs didn't on 28mm tyres (see below, a shell of a woman who is a tiny dot)
JEA1K said:
Lucky you, looks great ... you really couldn't have picked a better winter to get away from the UK. 15 degrees seems like a long way away over here
We are now regulars to the South of Spain with plans to move out there in the next 2-3 years permanently. We'd like to set up a cycling tour business based on the Costa Tropical where people can enjoy the excellent temp, some challenging riding whilst having a base with some great restraurants etc ... having been to and around Nerja, we think its the idea location.
So my advice would be to try a little further West to Nerja on your next trip ... quiet roads, stunning views etc. You're on the doorstep of 'The Goats Path' (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28879806) and whilst you might not be able to get to a decent altitude due to snow in December, if you're there in Spring or Autumn, a ride up into Sierra Nevada is well worth the effort as Pico del Valeta has the highest paved road in Europe (3400m). I say paved, the last 2k is gravel bike territory ...this September, I made it to the top on 34mm tyres ... my Mrs didn't on 28mm tyres (see below, a shell of a woman who is a tiny dot)
Would love to go back and do that region. Good effort on PV, that is some climb!We are now regulars to the South of Spain with plans to move out there in the next 2-3 years permanently. We'd like to set up a cycling tour business based on the Costa Tropical where people can enjoy the excellent temp, some challenging riding whilst having a base with some great restraurants etc ... having been to and around Nerja, we think its the idea location.
So my advice would be to try a little further West to Nerja on your next trip ... quiet roads, stunning views etc. You're on the doorstep of 'The Goats Path' (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28879806) and whilst you might not be able to get to a decent altitude due to snow in December, if you're there in Spring or Autumn, a ride up into Sierra Nevada is well worth the effort as Pico del Valeta has the highest paved road in Europe (3400m). I say paved, the last 2k is gravel bike territory ...this September, I made it to the top on 34mm tyres ... my Mrs didn't on 28mm tyres (see below, a shell of a woman who is a tiny dot)
Nerja is a great call. Always been a favourite of mine. The gravel tracks in the Alpujarras are endless and the tarmac is pretty good too. I might have to pay a visit when you get set up though I think there might already be a couple of operators out there. There certainly were pre covid but I haven’t checked since. It’s a bit of a drive to get into the mountains from there but once you are there they are stellar.
Have you considered Orgiva? More central to the mountains and might be worth having a hire base there?
Have you considered Orgiva? More central to the mountains and might be worth having a hire base there?
Stephanie Plum said:
Nerja is a great call. Always been a favourite of mine. The gravel tracks in the Alpujarras are endless and the tarmac is pretty good too. I might have to pay a visit when you get set up though I think there might already be a couple of operators out there. There certainly were pre covid but I haven’t checked since. It’s a bit of a drive to get into the mountains from there but once you are there they are stellar.
Have you considered Orgiva? More central to the mountains and might be worth having a hire base there?
Yes the avialable gravel rides are amazing ... only ventured on a couple but you could spend so much time on them and see very little of the same routes twice. Have you considered Orgiva? More central to the mountains and might be worth having a hire base there?
There are a few operators out there already, hoping we can offer something different. We have been to Orgiva ... definately more central but the town itself is probably a little harder to accomodate people for the off the bike stuff. Whilst people might want to ride for 3-8 hours, there is a lot of the day left, so ensuring people have a choice of places to walk to eat and drink is also important. Plan is to transport everyone to a location to start/finish the ride on days where its properly deep in SN rather than force them to do a 12 hour epic
JEA1K said:
Yes the avialable gravel rides are amazing ... only ventured on a couple but you could spend so much time on them and see very little of the same routes twice.
There are a few operators out there already, hoping we can offer something different. We have been to Orgiva ... definately more central but the town itself is probably a little harder to accomodate people for the off the bike stuff. Whilst people might want to ride for 3-8 hours, there is a lot of the day left, so ensuring people have a choice of places to walk to eat and drink is also important. Plan is to transport everyone to a location to start/finish the ride on days where its properly deep in SN rather than force them to do a 12 hour epic
I'd agree regarding Orgiva, we have a training camp out there each Spring, stunning riding and scenery but not much to do off the bike. A great alternative to Mallorca though if you wants something a little less touristy.There are a few operators out there already, hoping we can offer something different. We have been to Orgiva ... definately more central but the town itself is probably a little harder to accomodate people for the off the bike stuff. Whilst people might want to ride for 3-8 hours, there is a lot of the day left, so ensuring people have a choice of places to walk to eat and drink is also important. Plan is to transport everyone to a location to start/finish the ride on days where its properly deep in SN rather than force them to do a 12 hour epic
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