Roads, Planes, Trains and Buses

Beyond the actual cycling, you need to consider getting your bike to Spain, and getting it across some distances that aren't desirable cycles.

Planes

All airlines have different policies on bicycles - I chose the airline I used because they didn't specify bringing a bike bag or box. They were happy that all the sharp edges of the bike were safely covered, the tyre's were deflated and that the handlebars were turned and locked at 90 degrees from where they would normally be. Here's how it looked after this process. I used packing tape and scissors and airport security quickly confiscated the scissors going through security. They didn't cost much so I didn't mind but its worth expecting.

Buses and trains from the airport

Arriving at the airport in Spain presented further complications. It is at the discretion of the bus company wether they carry your bike or not, in my case, it was 'not'. I managed to get a train from the airport to around 10km from my hostel but really, really should have checked this out in advance!! I found trains in and around Rhonda, Marbella and Cadiz amenable to bikes on certain routes, though do be prepared to stand as you might have to support your bike.

The Roads in Andalusia

There are four types of road in Andalusia. No-go motorways, Autovia's, Country roads and Camino's. Your type of bike and confidence on a bike should dictate which of these you include in your route. If you are going to use a road racing style bike, forget about Caminos. You need something rigid with tyre's that can take a lot of abuse for these. I used a touring hybrid which covered these routes with a bit of care. If you are not too experienced you'll definitely prefer the service roads and the Country roads.

Calle (Street)

A few minutes from Marbella I experienced my first Calle. This is a rough concrete strip a few inches under water, which is completely legally considered to be a public road/way. This is not the last, or the worst of these that I covered along the route!! These can range from quality roads to dirt tracks to stream beds and made for some of the more interesting and bewildering parts of the trip.

C-Roads, Green A-roads, Orange A-Roads, CA-Roads.

A grade up from these are the regional rural routes which are just a delight to cycle on, particularly in this wonderful region. The speed limits are regional and generally a little lower than in Ireland, which makes for a much calmer and enjoyable experience. They seem to be marked by green, yellow and orange on the maps.

Autopistas, Autovias

A Roads - I found the distinction between these three pretty confusing!! But basically Autopistas are not for bikes, and 90% of the time Autovias have an allowance for bikes and the signs are very similar. This can be done two different ways. Either there is a hard shoulder which is clearly wide enough for a bike, or there is a service road which runs alongside, or close by the Autovias. These are the kind of roads where maintaining a steady comfortable speed which ensures that your bike is always nice and stable is an absolute must, for your own safety and for the other other road users. They are marked Blue on the map, and any road marked red is not for cyclists.

Navigation.

While at home its pretty easy to dial up google maps and follow the blue line everywhere, you just don't want to be entirely dependent on technology when you are 20km from everything and don't speak a word of Spanish. I recommend spending about 30 minutes a day in a hostel, hotel, cafe or anywhere with a electrical socket and wifi – sit there with a pen and paper and literally draw or write out the route you want to take. Arriving in spain I'd more or less drawn my six days routes in advance, with some things left open depending on how the trip progressed. Draw little pictures of the junctions, note the name of the roads, is there a hotel/gas station at the junction that you can use for a marker? Whatever happens, if all your technology stops working, you can still make it to your next stop, you'll have a list of the significant spots in between and you'll be a lot more independent.

My Route

My route was sort of self inflicted. I had friends in Marbella, friends in Cadiz and wanted to go and see Ronda because it looked nice on the internet. It was just a matter of seeing how cycleable the distances between these points were and could accommodation be found. Most cycle bloggers seem to recommend about 50km a day being a reasonable target. I absolutely agree with this for a holiday cycle. While I did a few super long haul days, 50km would have been really, really comfortable. Do beware though, sometimes 50km of Andalusia is 35km of climbing up a mountain in tortoise mode. My first two days spanned around 170km and while I was ready for that kind of distance, I still would recommend doing a little less and enjoying the scenery more. My daily average was between 65 and 70 and was 'challenging' at times to say the least.

You are going to need to figure out a route that is close to 50km a day and that will get you from point A to Point B in the time you have to spend on the road. Point A and B will most likely be airports so don't be afraid to factor a few train hops to make things work for you.

Next: Travel Checklists