Portugal 12th to 17th July 2006
 

On 10th July I will be flying from the UK to southern Spain to collect my Honda Transalp on which I visited Morocco over New Year 2005/6. I’ll be riding north through Portugal between about 12th to 17th July.

Are there any good routes that can be recommended apart from following the green lines on a Michelin map?

What about bike friendly campsites?

Anybody around for a beer of coffee and explore some good biking roads?

Cheers
ChrisB

Hi Chris

I live in central Portugal near the Spanish border. Would be happy to show you some fine roads around here and some trails if you're up for it. Depends on timing and if I have any guests staying (I run a small off-roading business).

Most campsites are bike friendly and there is very little bike theft if you are worried about leaving the bike outside whilst staying in a guesthouse.

Enjoy the ride.

Dave

Chris,
I'll send you an email soon....
If i'm in Spain i might come over there for a quick spin on my trusty R65. Otherwise i could be bringing the R80 (non-trusty) down from the UK sometime in July.
Sean

Hi Chris,
I will be at home near Malaga most of July, and I can show you some truly awesome roads in the area between Gib and the Portuguese border. If for some reason I can't make it, my favourites are:

• Marbella to Ronda (and then on past Ronda to Algonodales)
• Jimena de la Frontera to Ronda.
• Coin to Ronda, newly rebuilt (as you might have guessed, Ronda is the epicentre of a lot of superb biking roads).
• N433 north of Sevilla, running east-west through the Sierra Morena to the Portuguese border.
• N435, same area as the 433, running north across the Sierra Morena to Jerez de los Caballeros, then west to Portugal.

These roads are mainly fast scratching roads, but I also know a lot of narrower mountain roads - less speed, more scenery. I've only had my enduro bike a short while, so I'm still exploring the trails...

all the best
Nigel

Hi Chris.

I have a list of a few recomended camp sites in the Extremadura region of southern Spain as we were looking to take a few bikes across to Portugal for next weekends Rally/Baja Vodafone Transiberico in the area, sadly other commitments have taken precident so were looking at next year for that trip. I presume you going Santander- Plymouth with the new fast (and fantastically cheap at £80 each way) ferry if so please let us know what you think!!!

Jenna

Which ferry company
 

Which ferry company is that please, Jenna? A quick Google threw up rather a lot of links to plough through.

I was in Portugal in January and took the very long route specifically to cross the Millau bridge (in France) which is brilliant. If I go again in the summer, I'd like to go the quicker way and spend more time in Spain & Portugal.

Dave,
Have you got a web site or can you give any detail about your bikes and prices?
Stephan

Stephan

Yep, the website is www.endurorepublic.com
It's listed on the HU site.
Prices are 'under review' to encourage a few pre-summer bookings so PM me or email me through the site if you want to book and I'll give you a discount on the stated prices. Bikes are XR400s with electric starts. Similarly if you want any info on the Alentejo/Extremadura regions just drop us a line.

Agree with Nigel on the roads around Ronda - awesome. But really sportsbike territory and crowded in the summer. Nige - what time of year would you suggest is best for riding in the area?

dave

hi Stephan,

we always use Brittany Ferries for all trips out of the UK, their website for the Plymouth-Santander boat is ...

https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/i...m?articleid=68

last quote i have is

Bike and rider, recliner seat, return trip for £170. cabins being £38(shared) more each way This is on the new Pont-Aven cruise ship as well and not the freighter used by P&O so only 18-24 hours not 36!

Jen

Thanks, for the info. Jen.

Dave,

You are pretty much on the way between my friend who is moving to Tomiño, south of Vigo, and my mum’s place near Lagoa. No doubt I’ll be in the area again some time and I’d love to do some trail riding. The photos on the web site look really enticing.

I’ve already suggested it to a friend for January/February (off-season, when we could use the flat near Lagoa too.)

All the best, Stephan

Stephan

You're welcome anytime you want, just drop us a line via the website a few weeks in advance. Lagoa is a very easy 3 1/4 hr drive from here so it should work out very nicely.

Take care

Dave

Dave,
Of all the good biking roads around Ronda and the Sierra Morena, the only one that gets crowded in my experience is the Marbella-Ronda route, and even then it only really gets clogged up at weekends in high summer. On weekdays at any time of year these roads are good (and clear), but some of them climb up to well over 1000m altitude, and can be pretty cold from December through February. None of these roads ever get as crowded as British or Alpine roads. The best times of year are September-November and March-June, March is my favourite month because the winter rains have washed the roads clean and they are totally free of traffic. A couple more things: the Guardia Civil have a habit of patrolling the Marbella-Ronda road on weekends during the summer, although I have never yet been stopped by them. Also, the surface of the bottom stretch of the Marbell-Ronda road is starting to suffer a bit from heavy construction traffic; this should not put anyone off, because the road is fine further up; you have 50km of continuous twisties with good surface (and superb views, if you are not scratching...)
Nigel

Cheers Nigel

I was around the area of Ronda a couple of years back and had a great time on the road towards Jerez. It was high summer and certainly not as crowded as Alpine roads let alone British ones. However I would love to go back when they were quieter. I think I may take my Blade down around September time.

Thanks for the advice.

Dave