Travelling north to south of Spain.

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It'd be worth having a butcher's at Toledo - a beautiful city about 75 kms south of Madrid. World Heritage site, don't yer know...?
 
Yes but do you realise just how hot. Have you ridden long days in heat before?
Suggest you time it so you're not hitting cities at busy times. DAMHIK.
If you get stuck in traffic you will bake.
I hit Seville in about 35 degrees. Feck it was hard work.
You're going to need regular stops if you want to stay married.
Strongly suggest you get camel backs.
What gear will you be wearing?

Yes. When I rode in Spain I found that as it got above 35C you lose the benefit of moving air having a cooling effect. Basically like being blasted by a massive hair dryer as you ride along. Soaked my neck tube in cold water at every stop.


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Yes but do you realise just how hot. Have you ridden long days in heat before?
...........................

Yes. When I rode in Spain I found that as it got above 35C you lose the benefit of moving air having a cooling effect. Basically like being blasted by a massive hair dryer as you ride along. Soaked my neck tube in cold water at every stop.


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Or, ride as the locals do..................jeans and t-shirts :thumb

Andres
 
The wife has her heart set on visiting Alhambra Palace so will be stopping there the night before meeting the rest of the family near Malaga.
She is on the net right now looking at 5 star hotels.
The heat is a bit of a worry but like you guys said you just have to stay hydrated.

Awesome there. It’s a little cooler as well!


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Jeans & T-shirts worked for us - just watch out for sunburn and friggin big insects.
 
Let's just check: Bilbao to Malaga, in three days (Sunday sailing) or two and a half days (Tuesday or Wednesday sailing). But including a trip to the Alhambra? is that right?

Alhambra first. As has been pointed out, you need to book in advance for admission to the palaces (otherwise, not that much point going) which work with morning or afternoon tickets and a particular time slot for getting into the Navacelles Palace - the real highlight. Don't miss your time slot. The whole Alhambra is at least a half-day visit and there is a lot of walking involved… I wouldn't want to do it in bike kit. Definitely not in August. I'd suggest booking an 11am slot for the Navacelles if you can, so you don't have to rush from the scrum at the main ticket office to the palace (a good 10 min walk away) at the start of the day. There is always a queue to get in, as well, so arrive with a bit of time – both for the main ticket office and the Navacelles.

You can do a morning visit to the Alhambra, have lunch there, look around a bit more and then still get to Malaga by the evening of the third day. But that would be the whole of the third day off the boat.

So that leaves you either two full days or a day and a half to get to Granada. If you're avoiding Madrid (which I'd agree is a good thing to do) I'd pass to the east of the city, which will give you about a 600-mile trip - broken up over two days is two 300-milers: easy enough for one, on the limit of what most pillions I've met would accept. If you're on a midweek sailing, getting in at mid-day, that could be pretty tough for your passenger.

Assuming you're taking the Sunday sailing, I'd go from Bilbao to Cuenca, Cuenca to Granada, then have your morning in the Alhambra and finish the journey to Malaga on the third day.

Bilbao-Cuenca: click for map
Not the route you'd perhaps do solo, but it's a mix of great roads and motorway to keep time in the saddle down to pillion-friendly levels.

Cuenca-Granda: click for map
Again, a bit of motorway to reduce riding time but mostly just great roads (there is one that's patched and a bit bumpy, like a normal British B-road; the rest are wide and smooth). Again, you'd probably be a bit more ambitious if riding solo but this would be long enough for most pillions, I'd think.
 
Dont mess around in the North. One fast run until you are south of Madrid.
Then:
When south make sure you do:
Ciudad Real to
Codoba
Then B roads into: Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema, stay overnight.
Go as high as you can get for a stunning vista.
Then Ronda and the biker road down to San Pedro.
 
Soak your T shirt and zip up your jacket at every fuel stop.

Gods Country:


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Or.....make it an adventure. Don’t book anything, buy a map and pick out a mix of mainer roads but mostly minor roads heading generally in the direction you want to go - but only until your next stop. When you Stop for coffee mid morning in any old town or village you pass through have a replan until you get a fixed price lunch at any of the hundreds of places you will see providing them. Replan your route. Then Mid afternoon pick a town that’s about an hour away and when you get there cruise around looking for a Posada or a hotel or hostel or Casa Rurale to stay the night in. Repeat for two or three days until you get there.

The adventure and rewards will come to you in spades.
 
If you're going to do Alhambra, yes, you need to book in advance and the early and late (cooler) slots go quickly. Get a hotel in Granada, leave your kit there and get a bus to the palace; there are plenty of them.
 
Jeans & T-shirts worked for us - just watch out for sunburn and friggin big insects.

I'm a jeans and t-shirt rider in that level of heat too!
No point in over-heating and risking dehydration and possible loss of control of the bike.
 
Make sure you do the A397 to Ronda. Go early to miss the traffic.

Maybe do it on the return journey. I prefer to ride it towards Ronda, mainly uphill, then stop in Ronda for coffee before deciding whether I have enough time to turn round and do it again. I rode it many times when I lived in Fuengirola and it was always brilliant, especially, as Aberdeen Angus says, when it is quieter
 
Maybe do it on the return journey. I prefer to ride it towards Ronda, mainly uphill, then stop in Ronda for coffee before deciding whether I have enough time to turn round and do it again. I rode it many times when I lived in Fuengirola and it was always brilliant, especially, as Aberdeen Angus says, when it is quieter

Good point..... I didn't mean do it on the way down. I meant do it while you're there.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.
I think we are just going to gun it straight down to the Mediterranean stopping half way overnight.
This will give us an extra day near Alhambra therefore giving us more options.
Thanks again for all the tips, we may do a similar journey later in the year when the weather is a bit cooler.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.
I think we are just going to gun it straight down to the Mediterranean stopping half way overnight.
This will give us an extra day near Alhambra therefore giving us more options.
Thanks again for all the tips, we may do a similar journey later in the year when the weather is a bit cooler.

Ive done this a few times now from Santander, - Bilbao -Madrid in from the north going clockwise and out at the south , first overnight stop around 20:00-21:00 at ocana on the other side of Madrid. Next day you are in andalucia, granada around lunch time.
 


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