Author Topic: North to South Spain (via de la plata)  (Read 3633 times)

bikerwaser

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North to South Spain (via de la plata)
« on: October 23, 2012, 07:20:15 pm »
Hi All

i'm planning to ride from Santander(Northern Spain) to the south of Spain (Malaga or Sevilla) and would like any advice on the route if anyone has it. i've found the "Via de la Plata" but this only makes up part of the route i'm planning as it's a pilgrim route to Santiago and also is essentially a South to North (N/W actually) route so can't really follow the signs as they'll be facing the wrong way.
been looking at topography etc for the North part to link somewhere around Salamanca but would just like any advice anyone can give that has done the North to South of Spain or at least some of it.
would also like to know what the "b" roads are like from North to South with regard traffic.

Gracias  !!

BikerWaser


Andybg

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Re: North to South Spain (via de la plata)
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2012, 07:31:05 pm »
Might be worth having a look at the big Africa trip (website). The guy on there took one route from top to bottom. It may be helpfull even if it justs discounts some routes for you.

Andy

Fred A-M

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Re: North to South Spain (via de la plata)
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2012, 07:52:08 pm »
Funnily enough I was advising a friend about doing North South Spain just this w/end. Slightly confused by your route description.   Santander to Santiago to Salamanca to Sevilla? 

I've done the regions around Santander on several occasions and also did a comprehensive tour of Andalucia starting in Seville, finishing in Granada.  The minor roads (and do plan via minor roads) are generally very good for cycling and indeed would recommend you use them at all times if you want a relaxing trip - detailed maps are a must (1:250,000 ideally) - and many roads in Spain have been renewed in the last 5 to 6 years which makes for superb cycling surfaces, although I found it can take the edge of the sense of adventure/remoteness cycling on such pristine tarmac. 

You've given a very wide brief indeed, so best do some research as suggested by Andybg and come back with more specific questions.   

Another great tour-planning resource is Trento bike pages :  http://www.trentobike.org/  I'm sure there'll be plenty of trips around Spain on there to inspire you. 

The one recommendation I can make is to be sure to come the Sierra de Morena as you approach Sevilla, a beautiful area of semi-wilderness, now protected by a series of national parks, if you like that sort of thing. 
 

bikerwaser

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Re: North to South Spain (via de la plata)
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2012, 01:31:27 am »
as i said i plan to do North to South and the main central part is looking like i should follow the via de la plata

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.viaplata.eu/photos-via-plata/spain-map-small.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.viaplata.eu/&h=471&w=393&sz=23&tbnid=iTyjMMRzC_TkiM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=75&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dvia%2Bde%2Bla%2Bplata%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=via+de+la+plata&usg=__Ie_NANu0WzlNuB4cwQLTHfUk6JA=&docid=R-0EmwBm1WOXcM&sa=X&ei=KTWHUKepCsKe0QW3k4CoBQ&ved=0CDoQ9QEwAw&dur=290

but what i was asking about was how to link that into the trip. for instance the "via" runs mainly south to north but branches west after Zamora as you can see from the map link. i was wondering if anyone had done north to south(or south to north for that matter) especially from the Santander entry point so i could link it up with the "via" route or if there were other ideas.