Spain - North to South??

The black art of moving from A to B on foreign soil
bjohnson
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Spain - North to South??

Post by bjohnson »

I'm riding from Santander or Bilbao in March to a spot near Malaga in the south of Spain.

Can anyone recommend a route or places worth a visit between north and south. I'll be riding solo on my Multistrada, so any recommendations need to be tarmac based!

As my time is a little limited, the route down needs to be reasonably direct and take 2-3 days tops, same on the way back up, which may restrict routes.

Any recommendations would be well received to help plan my route.

Thanks
skinny
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by skinny »

Set satnav to avoid motorways and tolls, then enjoy! Salamanca is a worth while stop, or do a right and take in the Pico's de Europe :laugh: :cheer:
jackdaw
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by jackdaw »

Rode N to S down the Western route a few years back. Reckon there's something to see in all the cities along the way. We overnighted in Merida which has extensive remains of a Roman garrison. Ronda, further ddown is also an historical old town with aan attractive setting and wonderful local roads.
Pompier
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by Pompier »

We have driven down in March the last two years. Up North it can still be cold so we head straight down the middle from Santander.
The motorway that goes straight down and round Madrid then towards Granada is toll free (apart from first little bit) & goes really high through mountains and is very scenic itself. And very little traffic in March.
You can then spend more time on the fab roads around Ronda,Granada (Sierra Nevada) hopefully in warmer weather.
If not there are some amazing towns like Salamanca, Cacares, Merida, Avila to name a small few.
The Ride magazine Spain routes might be worth a look to get some ideas.
Sure you will enjoy whatever
Tim Cullis
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by Tim Cullis »

The western route is more interesting with Cáceres and Merida.

If you decide to go through the middle and skirt round Madrid, check out the Consuegra windmills and castle
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motorbike
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by motorbike »

bandanas reales..(desert) worth a visit on route if you are going down the west side
ChrisA
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by ChrisA »

There are fantastic roads to ride all over Spain, places like Avila are great to see but well known and part of tourist itinerarys, some of the best times I have had in Spain is in small villages away in the hills where no one speaks English .Set your satnav to Lost.
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Scott_rider
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by Scott_rider »

I've done that journey three times. The most direct route is on the motorways but they're not motorways as we know them in the uk. Your Mulistrada will be in heaven (thumbs) .

We do it in two days with one stop-over for the night in Madrid. The route is basically Santander, Bourgos, Madrid, Manzanares, Jaen, Granada, Loja, Malaga. I think it's mainly the E5 motorway with some diversions along the way.

I can't vouch for the individual towns but the route is awesome, if you like fast motorways (thumbs) .

It's got everything from high-mountain tunnels, sweeping corners, and super-fast straights across the plains (somewhere south of Madrid if I remember correctly).

There are clearly much slower and probably much more scenic routes but for a quick motorway route North to South in two days then it's superb.

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Peirre
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by Peirre »

Take a look at the N330 which runs over the hills (1700m) starting south of Zaragoza at Alcaniz past Teruel down towards Murcia. The road is listed on the best biking roads website
http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcyc ... 37311.html
http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcyc ... 08040.html
Tim Cullis
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Re: Spain - North to South??

Post by Tim Cullis »

motorbike wrote:bandanas reales..(desert) worth a visit on route if you are going down the west side
Er... east side to the NE of Zaragosa. :)

I've just done a long overdue of my page on Spanish routes which includes downloadable GPS files including a loop of the Bardeñas Reales.
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

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