Spain is one of the richest countries to explore by bike. Each region has it's own appeal, and there is a bike tour for every type of rider here, whether you want to tackle the hilly and delicious Basque Country, cruise the Mediterranean landscapes of Catalunya, expore the moorish heritage of Andalusia, taste La Rioja wine country or complete the pilgrimage of the Way of St. James. Check out our cycling holidays in Spain below:
The central Portuguese Caminho ride deserves to be in every Mountain bike magazine out there. Don’t get me wrong, it is not the technical adrenalin blasting skinned knee big drop off a 20’ ladder adventure, but it is a legitimate mountain bike required blast. (although I did bloody my knee once). I was more than pleasantly surprised at the amount of dynamic terrain that we encounter throughout the ride.. This is not a road ride. We road from cobble stone, to dirt, to the street, to technical mountain single track. Around every twist and turn a new terrain was waiting for us. The climbs are legit but totally manageable and there was even cold beer at the top of the hardest and most technical climb. It was like it appeared out of the clouds..
Live Love ride… what can I say? these guys rock! They set us up with the adventure of a lifetime and every detail was seamlessly orchestrated. All we had to do was ride to the next town. Pedro set us on our way with the gear and information that we needed and then made everything work for us in the background… If you are considering a biking adventure, then this is the place and live love ride is the company.. it is a guaranteed life changer..
Cheers and “Bom Caminho”
After we were picked up from the airport and driven to the hotel, the magical adventure began. Riding the Douro Valley was just magnificent. The scenery and landscape could not be compared to anything I've seen before. Riding consisted of 35 to near 50 miles each day with elevations of 3,000-4,500 feet gain at an average 5-8% grade. On the last day of riding, the most difficult of all, we experienced a 16% grade that seemed to go on forever. Every day presented itself with great challenges wonderful pleasures and fantastic downhills that would go for 6-7 miles at speeds of 25+ mph. WOW!!
Our group was small with 7 riders plus 2 guides. The locations we stopped at were local places giving you a sense of real Portugal.
The people running the tour couldn't be better. They address every need from the group. We used carbon bikes from Scott that performed flawlessly even when riding on cobblestone which was in almost every town or village.
I can't speak highly enough about this adventure. However, that said, be sure to come well trained with lots of hill climbing under your seat because it's challenging everyday.
