A month or so back I saw an ad in Adventure Bike Rider for the “Riders of the Lost Trail” ( www.ridersofthelosttrail.com ) based in Cortes de la Frontera in southern Spain about 20 miles from Ronda (inland from Marbella) and decided to pack the trusty “round the world” 800GS and head on down. What a good decision that was!
Took the ferry from Blighty to Santander and stayed in Salamanca on the way down. A fantastic town with a Baroque square that puts the one in Madrid in the shade, two cathedrals, an art gallery running a Picasso exhibition while I was there, a motor museum and all the bars restaurants and tapas you could ever want! The route the whole way is all dual carriageway until you get into the mountains past Seville – 600 miles each way. National speed limit is 120kph which is about where the 800 cruises best with panniers fully laden so it kept me out of any “discussions” with the Guardia Civil who are mainly recruited from the Spanish Legion and tend to be anything but civil if riled! At this speed I was getting about 50mpg and with about as much carrying capacity as a 1200GS and sitting on an Air Hawk seat (Beemer bum is a thing of the past) who needs to do the trip on a “tractor”?!
Phil Wood who runs the “Riders” is a builder by trade but has been riding MX bikes since knee high to the proverbial and decided to set up the off road bike operation earlier this year with a fleet (4 at present) of Suzuki DRZ400s. He can supply all the kit you need; helmet, boots, gloves, armour so you can fly into Malaga with the minimum of luggage and take the train direct to Cortes on a truly scenic railway. There are literally hundreds of miles of off road trails of all degrees of difficulty to suit the pro or the complete novice and he is happy to tailor your ride out any way you want. Ride for just one day or stay for a week – or two in my case; I couldn’t tear myself away!
The rides through the Alcornocales cork oak forests are truly spectacular and the views from the mountain ridges where you look down on the circling eagles and vultures (if you come off you are easy to find!) and look out into the distance to Gib and Morocco are simply breathtaking. The trails are shared by walkers and horse riders but paths rarely cross as there is such a plethora of routes unlike the odd green lane back in the UK.
It’s worth taking your road bike down there too as the Ronda/San Pedro (on the coast) and Ronda/Algeciras (Gib) roads are to die for! In fact as a base Cortes is perfect as Seville, Cordoba, Marbella and Gibraltar are within easy reach. A big plus is the Hotel El Gecko (http://hotelelgeckoandalucia.com/ ) in the village run by Bill and Maxine and is only three doors down from where Phil keeps the trailies. Small (8 bedrooms) but cosy with a good bar and restaurant and fantastic views across the valley. Cortes is a typical “pueblo blanco” in the campo so not rock and roll city but a perfect place to relax with a beer or three after a day on the trail.
Great place for the “other halves” too. Horse riding, walking, sun bathing by the pool or catch the train (50 yards from the hotel) to Ronda for some shopping! Spring and late summer are best as it can get a bit ‘ot down there July/August.
For a biker’s break it is hard to beat.