Last month I crossed Spain in 14 days on a MTB, with only 1 backpack. Solo and mainly offroad. From Malaga to the French border. It is incredible and surprising to see how different the regions are in Spain. I made some photos and will make a small movie during the winter months. Link to photos The exact route can be found on Link to route Enjoy.
1750km and 30.000m+ during 2 weeks. Some days of 160km/day and 12h on the bike, but it's more than worth it; you guys live in a magnificent country!!!
I landed at Malaga airport, the bike in a cardboard box. At the entrance of the airport I re-assembled the bike, and in the toilet of the airport I changed clothes. From thereon I got to the French border, to catch the airplane 14 days later to get me back. The bike got home with a Dutch company travelling from Santiago to Amsterdam. On Wikiloc and other sites I downloaded many gps-track and assembled them to get a trip that would get me from south Spain to the north in 2 weeks time. The main goal was to see what the inland of Spain looked like. Here we think Spain is Barcelona, Mardrid, the costas and paella. I had only a backpack (10kg) with the absolute minimum of clothing, repair tools, and camera. I slept in hotels, hostal, B&B... which I found using a smartphone at the end of the day. No reservations. After a good shower I washed the clothes and dried them so I could wear them the next morning. Food was a problem, since my track avoided cities and villages. In the very small villages I crossed, there was no store or restaurant. There were some days I didn't eat during the day, so I was very hungry and lost some kilos. Water wasn't a problem (camelbak of 2L and transparent bottle of 750ml) since there are many fountains to fill up the camelbak + pills to disinfect the water) As for tires I always use tubeless Continental Protection (Mountainking of X-King). Each trip I made with these tires, I was astonished about how good they are. Of course I have spare inner tubes which I rarely have to use. Before the beginning of the trip, the bike needs to be in optimal condition.
I've just finished the movie of this amazing trip across your country. It wasn't easy to make a movie of 15 minutes of such a great journey in a country that has to offer so much. Hope you will enjoy it!
So you rode thru sierra Gorda in Loja... amazing landscape IMHO. Congrats! Así que pasaste por sierra Gorda. Un paisaje alucinante en mi opinión. Enhorabuena.
Yes, Sierra Gorda was one of the highlights, but Spain has many spectacular places!! I will try to return this year, to explore even more beauty of your country!!