Calpe, Spain - anyone been?

vermooten

Hi,

I'm thinking about where to spend a week in the winter. My mum & dad went to Calpe in Spain last February and spied the Euskaltel team training their asses off in the hills nearby. It strikes me then that Calpe is the place to go in Feb for hilly training rides in warm conditions.

Can anyone add anything to this?

Cheers,
Andy

Bonno

We went to Denia last year ( just north of Calpe )where i'd heard it was good cycling country from an article in the League of veteran racing magazine, unfortunately i came off my bike a few weeks before and couldn't use my arm properly so no cycling !! It seemed a nice place though.
The link to the article is http://www.lvrc.org/documents/veteran_l ... spring.pdf
Think its page 16.
Hope that helps, have a good one .

lambkin

I went to this area a few years ago in February. I cycled up to a village in the hills, near Fageca, from Alicante airport with my gear and under-estimated the distance and the terrain. Weather can be mixed especially up in the mountains but great cycling and you might see the almond blossom. The Coll de Rates route is worth trying if you are up for a challenge. Expect lumps wherever you get away from the urban sprawl of the coast. Circular routes can be longish because of the lack of roads in the mountains but if you are up for it the scenery is great with little traffic on the roads at that time of year. Take food and drink as cafe stops are few up in the hills.

vermooten

Thanks Bonno and lambkin! The article is good Bonno cheers. It looks on the map like it might be a nice place once you go away from holiday-hell.

RufyBear

Don't do it! Calpe is full of pensioners. Most apartments are long term rentals & occupied by pensioners.

Spent two weeks there (January & March) visiting family and it was a nightmare. Nothing open before 10 a.m. (except the cafe owned by a rugby supporting Frenchman & which we only found on our final day) by which time the best part of the day is over.

The only thing in it Calpe's favour was the train which takes you out of the town - towards Denia or Alicante. Go for Denia every time. Would have preferred to stay anywhere else along the coast.

By the way, saw CSC Polska team van outside the apartment one morning.

priory

in feb all along the coast it will be all pensioners I expect, so you can concentrate on the cycling.You may get good prices in the tourist areas in winter, especially if you take friend that does not snore.
I tend to cycle in the summer in that area, so I take or hire a rough bike with fattish tyres and use the unsurfaced caminos a lot.On the back roads the ability to carry on when the tarmac runs out is often handy.I took an old banana bike with good wheels and 32mm tyres on it this year.

Also , the baggage handlers might ruin your favourite bike. I watched one fall from the aeroplane to the tarmac just two weeks ago while waiting for mine to be loaded.

May I recommend Stanfords for a couple of 1:50000 maps of the area you choose? And phone the tourist info centres in the summer because they might shut in winter.There are probably back-road cycle routes recommended and signposted now and you may get maps for free.

Javeabik in javea is a good english speaking shop where you can hire or get info on the local teams of on- and off-road cyclists.
TerryJ

bigjim

I stayed all inclusive in Benidorm in February this year. Good cheap deal, Weather brilliant and content to cycle along the good B roads or the mental highway towards Calpe. Although saw a lot of training teams using it. As much food as you need and good clean accommadation to come back to after a days ride. Hotels will provide packed lunches. Fine if you want a fixed base. Which a lot of pro/amateur teams need and use at that time of year. Big Decathlon store just outside Alicante to purchase a cheap bike [cheaper than UK prices] or you should be able to purchase the usual chinese made mountain bike at the big hypermarket on the edge of Benidorm for 50 quid, fit a pair of slicks/pedals that you bring out in your case and dump the bike before you come home. Or keep the box and ship it home for £15 and flog it on e-bay. Easy. Enjoy.

Jim

ColinJ

vermooten wrote:

Hi,

I'm thinking about where to spend a week in the winter. My mum & dad went to Calpe in Spain last February and spied the Euskaltel team training their asses off in the hills nearby. It strikes me then that Calpe is the place to go in Feb for hilly training rides in warm conditions.

Can anyone add anything to this?

Cheers,
Andy

Hi Andy.

I've done 6 training camps in that area with Graham Baxter Sporting Tours, always in March though they do camps in February too. The weather in March is usually (but not always!) very pleasant though the February weather is almost that good. I prefer going in March because then it isn't such a shock to the system when I come home, and also the clocks go forward soon after that so it feels like spring is well on the way. It's hard enough coming home without an extra 4 weeks of winter to put up with!

The N332 coast road is busy but the road through Calpe drops off that and is much more pleasant.

Inland, the Tudons is a nice climb from just outside Benidorm. It goes to 1005 metres from sea level. The Col de Rates is nice from both sides. I also like the climbs to Guadalest, Confrides, and one out of Jalon to Bernia (though the descent is a bit grotty unless they've resurfaced it since March).

When I was there this year a guy was filming us and he has produced a series of videos for Cyclefilm. Some scenes will give you a feel for what the area is like (the hotel is Albir Garden, about 8 miles down the coast from Calpe) -

Camp Life Pilot: Train like a Cycling Pro
Episode 1: Breakfast of Champions
Episode 2: Not just Roadies
Episode 3: Tales from the Tarmac
Episode 4: Support Van
Episode 5: Rest Day
Episode 6: The Bike Doctor
Episode 7: Massage with Graham

If you can afford it, the easiest thing might be to let a company like Baxters organise things for you - Website here. You'd have the benefit of some other cyclists to ride with and someone to show you the way. Plus mechanic, massage and airport transfers.

Fat Head

inland from calpe, benidorm, denia, etc is good riding. the sierra aitana hills are the main range here. you have the afforementioned climbs including the one up to guadalest (this can form part of a very nice circular route), the col du rattes which i did a fortnight ago, and also a very nice climb up to tarbena.

on my recent visit i did a very nice loop starting from Tibi, through Ibi, up the Font De Roja climb, round to Xixona, then back to Ibi. This contained a lot of climbing!

i know the costa blanca very well for cycling and did a few climbs for the first time on my last visit. silky smooth roads and drivers who are very courteous towards cyclists....

Russell Smith

Just back from Gran Alicant (5 Miles South of Alicante) yesterday, there are some nice climbs and hills on relatively clear coastal roads ....

The Spanish seem to Ride MTB's though and not Road Bikes....

Cheap beer too.... :P

stevechambers34

the area around Nerja is nice with quite a few decent hills/mountains even quite nice and warm in February and March, still snow on tsome hills...Nerja is definately worth a visit, very traditional ,cheapish ,clean and friendly. I recomend Meson Antonio off Plaza Cavana for food, or the Jamaican bar further down near the front for good cheap menu el dia.

garyspain

You could try these www.vamoscycling.com they ride right through the winter but are 40 mins from the coast,depends what your after but the sierra nevada is a great place to ride