Touring - Have you cycled in Spain??

I'd like to locate folks who have cycled in Spain recently......last year or past 2-3 years.
mainly to find if the "Anticycling" legislation passed in about 1999 or 2000 has been noticable hindrance to riding in Spain

i did spain in summer 2003 and didn´t know any anticycling laws, nor did i encounter any problems.

Hey, I live in León (laying in the Camino de Santiago), Spain, and haven't heard anything about anticycling legislation. Spain not being the centre of the cycle-touring universe, the "Camino de Santiago" sees many tourers all year round and there is quite a supportive feeling towards them. Only thing is that helmets, phosphorescent vests (jackets) with reflective stripes, and lighting in the wee hours, are now compulsory... along with regulation of cyclist groups now allowed to ride in pack formation, not only in single rows. The thing about helmet and visibility were something the insurance companies lobbied for and got to regulate. Good outcome all in all I think. Drivers tend to be more considerate to conspicuously geared cyclists according to my experience.

All the best and good trip.

I found a blurb in I believe the Trento bike pages referring to some restrictive legislation.
But am happy to read that it doesn't seem to have made any diff. Glad to hear it.Bud and I looking to a great month in Spain, mid MAY. Further ?. Are fuel canisters for small portable liteweight stoves available. Are there sporting goods stores such as GO Sports in France located in Spain. Sounds like a really dumb ? I know but want to bring my own JetBoil otherwise will wait and buy one in Spain

i think there´re widely available, remember i saw some in my local decathlon and a sporting goods store. decathlon has like 44 stores in spain. where are you headed?

Land in Madrid. there 5 days then train to Barcelona, and bike along the coast to Gib and Tarifa, seeing all the old cities,cross the Straits for 2 Days in Tangiers, back to the mainland, Seville, Cordoba,Valencia, Granada, Ronda, Stiges and a whole lot more. 30 days in all. Mid may to mid June05

That sounds like an awesome trip. I'm so jealous! My wife and I did Ireland last summer and we were hoping to do Spain this year but doesn't look like it's going to happen. She has no vacation until August and I have the summer off EXCEPT August!

I live in Spain (close to Barcelona) and cycle almost everyday - usually 300 to 400km per week. The cycling here is fantastic. Don't worry about any anticycling legislation - this is Spain - legislation isn't taken too seriously.

Thanks tbtpeter

"""this is Spain-legislation isn't taken too seriously""""

Made my evening, haven't laffed so much in a long while

a question for you......bikeing maps....available, helpful, or should we rely on Michelin maps?

For Spain I used the Michelin Spain & Portugal Tourist & Motoring Atlas, unwound the spiral binding and just used those pages for my route. The scale is 1:400 000 and it shows the main mountain passes with heights. It also folded nicely in half to go inside my handlebar bag map case.

http://www.mapsworldwide.com/maps_5237.htm

You can also get quite detailed maps from the local tourist information centres for each province you pass through.


The more you spend - the faster you go - the less you see.

Many thanks. I located it at the local Borders Book Store

I've done Irun - Finisterra - Tuy - Lisboa in Setember/October of 2004.
Didn't heard anything about strict laws...
Only situation was somewhere in Asturias where was told by a "guarda civil" to put the helmet on...
Nice small roads on Galicia ;)

Land in Madrid. there 5 days then train to Barcelona, and bike along the coast to Gib and Tarifa, seeing all the old cities,cross the Straits for 2 Days in Tangiers, back to the mainland, Seville, Cordoba,Valencia, Granada, Ronda, Stiges and a whole lot more. 30 days in all. Mid may to mid June05


Sounds like a great trip. I'll be there around the same time, mostly in the north and along the west coast and Portugal. Does anyone have any idea how long I should expect to spend on the Camino de Santiago by bike, at the quickest (which will naturally be faster than I'll take it.)? I just want to get a feel of how much time I should expect to invest in the mountainous regions.

[...]Does anyone have any idea how long I should expect to spend on the Camino de Santiago by bike, at the quickest [...]
The whole Camino de Santiago, from the French border to Santiago, not spending much time delighting yourself with monuments and landscape, would require like one week and a half at 150 km/d in the flat land and 80 km/d in the last hilly part. The really montainous stretch and also the most reputed for beauty is the last third of the whole track, starting from León. You can very easily do it in a week.

By the way, tbtpeter: we may have a good laugh with Spanish trafic legislation not being taken seriously, but everyone'd better abide by it because a) it goes for the cyclists' own security, and b) unobservance of it carries severe fines. Please, don't mislead people with empty clichés.

All the best.

I cycled in Spain before the anti cycling laws..Seems the laws were promogulated after some pro cyclists died when hit by motorists...Seems the laws stated no cyclists has the right of way at any time..?

I cycled in Spain before the anti cycling laws..Seems the laws were promogulated after some pro cyclists died when hit by motorists...Seems the laws stated no cyclists has the right of way at any time..?
Cyclezealot, with utmost respect: that is utter nonsense (out not knowing the actual facts). There is no 'anti-cycling law' for a start, nor anything similar whatsoever; then, as a result of some road casualties with pro cyclists overrun when training on the road, the legislation established several new points to be observed on top of the already existing ones, which I mentioned in a previous post to this same thread, namely:


Cyclists must wear a helmet and reflective vest (waistcoat) when riding on open road (this builds for security and visibility).
Cyclists are allowed now to ride in pack formation, and not only in single rows (this builds for visibility).
Cyclists are allowed now to ride on the shoulder or on the road itself, depending on their own security assessment (this builds for security).


Never, ever, has ever been mentioned even the remotest possibility of banning cyclists from streets and roads. The fact of there being people talking about it as an accepted reality nibbles on my nerves. Spain is very cycling-friendly mainly because of the nice weather in good portions of the country, and many people in rural areas and cities have used bikes as their means of transport for years in the dire post war past. There may not be many proper commuters nowadays, but indeed there are many weekend amateur roadies, offroaders and family randonneurs, along with a solid love for the cycling competition as one can see during the "Giro d'Italia", "Tour de France" and "Vuelta Ciclista a España" season, with people brimming with excitement waving at the passing riders on roads and not missing a single daily stage on tv.

Besides, hard shoulders on nearly all roads are quite generous, compared to those in France, for example, where in many cases are virtually non-existant.

Last, as a result of the mentioned casualties, the extensive majority of drivers are more respectful and careful towards cyclists either in town and on the roads. Of course, one can find the thug sample acting as a jerk in their cars, but this is rule everywhere in the world.

Anyway, all the best.

I do recall the story in Trento Bike pages as posted by travlinguyrt..I was sort of upset by it..AT the same time, my reply was really more of a question than a statement...Not sure how reliable Trento Bike pages are. ?

We will be careful and abide by any laws, and yeh the Trento Bike pages were kind of vague. Based on other stories I'm sure we wil have a fine time in Spain. The people, the wines, the sights, the weather how can we miss

Hello,

My first time posting in bike forums. My boyfriend and I would like to try a 5 day bike tour in Spain, ending in Seville. We are thinking Ciudad Real to Seville, which would be approx. 40 miles a day. Would this be a nice trip? Where could I find a good route? Did I mention this is our first time bike touring?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

For your first tour an unusual start and finish. The direct distance between Ciudad Real and Seville is 195 miles which given your 40 miles a day appears to make sense. This is along the main highways and to cycle all that way would give the wrong impression of cycle touring. You need to get off the main highways and onto the minor roads. This is your first problem as there are not many options in this part of the world, and the villages and towns are far and few between. Cordoba is a must see on this route and you would need a day to visit the main sights. Seville is also a major attraction and you could spend 2 days visiting the sights and enjoying the city. So you need to consider how much time for cycling and sightseeing. How are you getting to Ciudad Real?

The route I would take would be:
Day 1 - Ciudad Real to Almodovar del Campo (33 miles)
http://www.ayto-ciudadreal.es/Ciudad_Real_en_imáge.45.0.html
http://ultra.eupmt.es/~marcasda/almodovar.html
Day 2 - Almodovar del Campo to Villaneuva de Cordoba (50 miles)
http://orbita.starmedia.com/~aytoalmodovar/
http://www.villanuevadecordoba.com/
Day 3 - Villaneuva de Cordoba to Cordoba (50 miles)
http://www.turismodecordoba.org/
Take the Paseo Virtual por Cordoba
http://www.turismodecordoba.org/index2.asp
Day 4 - Cordoba to Carmona (64 miles) or Cordoba to Lora del Rio (50 miles)
http://www.turismo.carmona.org/index.en.html
Day 5 - Carmona to Sevilla (25 miles) or Lora del Rio to Sevilla (41 miles)
http://www.sevilla.org/frames.htm
also in English

Total 222 miles and an extra 5 miles a day.

The route is on quiet highways except for the entry into Cordoba (ok) and Sevilla (not very pleasant).

There are two short stretches of 'Via Verdes' (green cycle ways along disused railway routes) - one out of Ciudad Real and the other from Carmona to just outside Sevilla at Alcala de Guadaira.
http://www.ffe.es/viasverdes/viasv_htm/vv_poblachuela.htm
http://www.ffe.es/viasverdes/viasv_htm/vv_alcores.htm

If you would like further help e-mail me (see profile)