Cycling in North Spain

The Lone Ranger

I am planning a trip to the Santander Area of Spain around October this year , is this area better for road cycling or MTBing, has any one cycled around this area ?

Ryedaleman

I stayed in Vincente de la Baccara, great fishing town. Diid some good rides from here into the Picos, hilly, even mountainous, with quiet roads.

rpmk

In 2006 I stayed on Orena, near Santilliana del Mar.

The weather varied between baking hot and torrential rain, and was only here for a week so I didn't get to do too much exploring.

There is a reasonable hill to climb over to get from Cabezon to Comilas, but the rest of the area is only moderately hilly ... nothing compared to the Picos (or so I'm led to believe!). There tend to be few "lanes" as we understand them ... most of the roads in this bit are larger roads, although the traffic is pretty light and drivers are generally courteous.

If I got the chance to go again (unlikely if it involves my wife on another 24hour crossing of the Bay of Biscay!) I'd definitely take the bike, but would make sure I went to the Picos too.

geocycle

There is a lot of road cycling in the area. The tour of Spain often passes and there are loads of roadies to be seen. Just south of Santander are the Cantabrian mountains, not as high as the Picos but some tough climbs. Try following the Miera valley or the Ason valleys to experience some challenging climbs.

That said, here's a site with some offroad routes:
http://www.cantabriaenbici.com/otono200 ... ta-en.html

cycladelic

I'm thinking of flying to Barcelona and then cycling north and west across the mountains.

Can anyone suggest a good map?

Also, is it best to get a train out of Barcelona into the countryside? And how about from the airport into the city?

TIA