Probly the wrog forum but.....

windsock07

...I am thinking of a cheeky week in Benidorm in December and was looking for reassurance that the weather in the Sierra de Aitana will be decent for cycling. Has anyone been over there around Christmas for a spot of training?

Also, which are the best roads in that area for quietness, scenery, lunchstops, etc.

Cheers Windsock

KeithG

If you make the topic subject a bit more specific (ie current climate in Benidrom??) you might get more luck with replies

ColinJ

windsock07 wrote:

...I am thinking of a cheeky week in Benidorm in December and was looking for reassurance that the weather in the Sierra de Aitana will be decent for cycling. Has anyone been over there around Christmas for a spot of training?

Also, which are the best roads in that area for quietness, scenery, lunchstops, etc.

Cheers Windsock

Hi Windsock.

You can't be guaranteed good weather in December even on the Costa Blanca. I've been to that area 6 times now in March with Graham Baxter's Sporting Tours and I've experienced 60 mph winds and the heaviest rain I've ever seen (it poured continuously for 5 days!!!). This year I had to go out a couple of times in leg warmers and armwarmers plus windtop it was that cold. Having said that, on average it has the best winter climate in mainland europe which is why so many pro teams train there.

Take a look at the stats here - not bad!

On 4 of my holidays (March) I've had absolutely great weather. One was mixed and one was very disappointing. The stats for December are not quite as good as for March, but I've spoken to people who winter out there and they told me that they often have really mild winters.

The Puerto dels Tudons goes up to just over 1,000 metres (the part of Sierra de Aitana that the public has access to). This might not be high by Alpine or Pyrenean standards but it is a genuine 1,000 metres of climbing since Benidorm is (obviously) at sea level. The Benidorm side is a really long steady climb and the other side is shorter but steeper. It's worth doing it in both directions.

The Vuelta has taken the peloton up the military road to the peak which is at about 1,500 metres, but if you try it you will probably get shot! At 1,000 m, you can get serious snowfall. Take a look at the pictures here! You could be lucky, you might not be...

The descent through Sella towards Benidorm is now fantastic since the road has recently been resurfaced. The surface was awful at the top before because it had been chewed up by snow ploughs - honestly! The descent on the other side was still really really bad this year - steep with loose stones and gravel, potholes. It's dodgy, so watch out!

I've just found a website with some nice routes and photos - take a look here.

One thing - I haven't managed to find any decent maps of the Costa Blanca. Nothing of OS Landranger standard anyway. The map I bought isn't a lot of use, but I rode with guides enough to get to know my way around.

I'm off to have a meal now, but I might post again over the weekend with details of some of my favourite routes out there.

ColinJ

Someone just emailed me a link to this video clip on YouTube - it certainly gives you a taste of what the terrain round there is like...

djmc

Ive been to Benidorm lots of times at Christmas. While the weather cannot be guaranteed to be good we always had it reasonably warm. The days tend to be really quite hot, the nights are cold however. At that time the sea is still warm enough to swim - warmer than in March. You could be unlucky and have it wet or very windy but normally the weather is good.

yourmom

Try typing "benidorm weather in december" into google

Cunobelin

http://www.weather.co.uk allows you to select a city or place.

On the page that opens is a "climate statistics" option.

THis will give Sunrise, sunset, mean precipitation and temperature.