Bike Touring Spain: The Easy Way
I am always up for a burly and rugged challenge, but there is certainly nothing wrong with a smooth and mellow ride, sometimes…
PUBLISHED Jun 19, 2014
One afternoon, while wandering the streets of Granada, we met a couple from San Francisco who are touring throughout Europe for the summer. They were within 30 minutes of boarding a train to France in an effort to make up some lost time. As passing touring cyclists usually do, they offered us a few things they no longer needed. I always thought of this pastime to be the equivalent of a decluttering ritual— an act of offloading place-specific things on the perfect recipient. Sometimes things of value are exchanged, sometimes it’s just a clearing place for information that might help the other cyclists in their travels. In Malawi, we met a French cyclist en route from Cairo. During that transaction, we took on a few SIM cards for countries further North and a nice waterproof map of Tanzania. In Zambia a German fellow gave us his collection of Malawi maps, and we gave him a map of Zambia and some road recommendations.
The booty that we took on from the couple in Granada included a paper map that outlined walking paths, Via Verdes (greenways), and trails throughout Andalucia. So after our big bikepack on the Transnevada, and a short respite in Granada, we mapped out an easy route that factored in a train ride, a Via Verde and some rolling hills through the foothills of the Sierra.
![Andalucia, Spain Bike Touring Off-road Trails](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-07-GR48-20-740x493.jpg)
![Bikes on Train in Spain](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-01-493x740.jpg)
![Bike touring Spain, Ronda](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-02-740x493.jpg)
![Bike touring Spain, Ronda](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-03-493x740.jpg)
![Bike touring Spain, Ronda](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-04-740x493.jpg)
![Ronda artifact](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-05-740x493.jpg)
![Ronda antique car](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-06-740x493.jpg)
![Bike Touring Ronda, Spain](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-07-740x493.jpg)
![Bull, ROnda](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-09-740x493.jpg)
![Bike Touring Spain, Ronda](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-11-740x493.jpg)
![Ronda, Spain](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-12-740x493.jpg)
![Descalzos Viejos](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-14-740x493.jpg)
![Bike Touring Tent - Fy Creek UL3](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-15-740x493.jpg)
![Damp Cloth COoler, Bike TOuring](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-16-740x493.jpg)
![Map, Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-17-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-18-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-19-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-20-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-21-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-22-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-23-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-24-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-25-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-26-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-27-740x493.jpg)
![Bicycle Touring the Via Verde de la Sierra](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-29-740x493.jpg)
![Seville, Spain](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-31-740x493.jpg)
![Seville, Spain](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-32-740x493.jpg)
![Bikes, Seville, Spain](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-33-740x493.jpg)
![Bikes, Seville, Spain](https://bikepacking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-06-cyling-spain-34-740x493.jpg)
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