Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

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apsykes
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Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by apsykes »

Hi! My plan for summer 2013 is to cycle from Athens to Cadiz, Spain along the route of the Eurovelo 8. I cycled the Eurovelo 5 from the UK to southern Italy in 2010 and I'm happy making up the route as I go along, in fact I think I prefer it that way (although if you know of specific routes I could follow, I'd be interested in knowing about them). What I would be interested in knowing however, are some interesting things that I could do along the way other than the usual tourist kind of stuff. If they are cycling related, so much the better. Do any of you live along the route? Do you know people who live along the route? Are there out-of-the-way places that I shouldn't cycle straight past? I wrote a book about my experiences along the Eurovelo 5 and it's my intention of doing the same thing again for my odyssey along the Mediterranean coast. Any information would be much appreciated. Many thanks. Andrew
This, by the way, is the route I'll be following...
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=20 ... 7026,33.75
And my own website is http://CyclingEurope.org :)
Andrew P. Sykes
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"A wonderful, witty account of a cycle tour across Europe" (CTC)
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IanSmitton
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by IanSmitton »

I've cycled most of the Spanish section and live in Valencia. The biggest piece of advice I could give you in Spain is not to just cycle along the coast. You can dip in and out, if you want to visit Barcelona, Peniscola, Valencia, Almeria etc.. some of the nicer places; but generally, the more interesting routes and towns are a bit inland. The roads are also not great for cycling right on the coast - especially in summer they will be very busy - much better to go on the quiter roads inland.
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apsykes
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by apsykes »

Hi Ian
Thanks for that; very good to get local information. My plan is, as you suggest, to keep slightly inland hopping (well, cycling) from place to place and not just in Spain but all along the route from Athens. Will you be in Valencia during August 2013? Could you give me a guided tour for a few hours?
Happy cycling!
Andrew
Andrew P. Sykes
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http://CyclingEurope.org
Author of 'Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie'
"A wonderful, witty account of a cycle tour across Europe" (CTC)
Anglian
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by Anglian »

Hello Andrew,

I just read your "Reggie" book last week -- nice to see you on here.

I used to live in NE Italy, in Udine.

As you cycle north-west from Trieste, you might consider visiting the village of Redipuglia, just north-east of Trieste airport.

Redipuglia contains the largest Italian military cemetery there is, dating from the First World War, where this area was the front line between the Kingdom of Italy, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the scene of some terrible fighting. The cemetery is worth seeing, it's rather awe-inspiring, as more than 100,000 soldiers are buried here, graves arranged in tiers up the karst mountainside. Each grave-stone bears the haunting inscription "presente" -- the response that the soldier would have given every day at roll-call, when he still lived.

Here's a link to an architectural description of it: http://mimoa.eu/projects/Italy/Redipugl ... Redipuglia

Cycling in Veneto (the region of Venice), and lowland Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, can be horrible -- it's flat with very straight, fast roads, and a lot of traffic -- this is one of the most industrially-productive parts of Italy. Plan your route carefully.

A friend did a cycling trip from Munich to Venice (well, further than Venice was planned, but read on) this summer, with his new wife, as their honeymoon. His touring bike was stolen in Mestre, whilst parked outside a police station, while they visited Venice (where, of course, cycling is banned). Touring bikes don't often get stolen, so this is remarkable.

If you do go into Venice, avoid the tourist nonsense in the East around St Mark's Square -- head for the north-west corner of the town, where you'll find the interesting old Jewish ghetto (Venice invented the concept). The area around the ghetto is generally non-touristy, inhabited by locals, and definitely the place to seek simple refreshment, rather than paying €8-€15 for a coffee where the tourists go.

Background info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetian_Ghetto

While in Venice, one should probably go on a boat, take one of the local bus-boats (vaporetti), rather than doing the expensive tourist thing. OTOH, the experience of taking a gondola is unique, so may be worth splashing out for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporetto

Good luck with the planning,
Anglian.
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apsykes
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by apsykes »

Brilliant! Thanks for that Anglian - just the kind of info I'm looking for.
I visited Venice about ten years ago so it will be good to have a different focus for my attention other than the usual sites. Having read 'Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie' you will remember Simone who I stayed with in Pavia (the guy who astonishingly moved himself and his girlfriend out of their flat for the night so I could move in!); he now lives in Venice so I'm planning on catching up with him again and have a personalised tour of the backstreets. Hopefully the Ghetto will be on the tour but if (for whatever reason) I don't manage to see Simone, I'll make sure that I discover it for myself.
I've added your info about the cemetery and Venice to the Eurovelo 8 Google map: http://cyclingeurope.org/the-next-adventure-201/
Keep those suggestions coming!
Happy cycling
Andrew
Andrew P. Sykes
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"A wonderful, witty account of a cycle tour across Europe" (CTC)
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by megilleland »

If you like natural sights, in my opinion, the better bits of the Eurovelo route 8 in Spain from north to south are:

Parque Natural Cap de Creus
The Costa Brava coast road between Sant Feliu de Guixols and Tossa de Mar
The C31 coast road between Garraf and Sitges
The Ebro Delta east of L'Ampolla/Amposta/Sant Carles de la Rapita - a unique area in Spain
Parque Natural de la Albufera de Valencia, south of Valencia to Cullera
Cosata Calida - La Manga/Cartagena around to Aguilas
Parque Natural del Cabo de Gata between Carboneras to Almeria
The Costa de la Luz between Tarifa and Cadiz

I agree with Ian, the route following the Mediterranean coast has been mostly upgraded to dual carriageaway/autovia or motorway/autopista and where you can cycle it is not much fun. The resorts expand greatly in the summer with tourists and their cars and traffic can be heavy along the coastal roads.

I went inland apart from the sections above and had a much more enjoyable time on the bike.
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CJ
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by CJ »

You will better enjoy the sea view, on those parts of the route where you ARE on the coast, if you instead cycle from Cadiz to Athens.

Note that Eurovelo 8 remains more of a concept than a reality and considering the financial straits in which all of the mediterranean countries now find themselves, it doesn't look likely to be finished anytime soon! There are nevertheless a few bits of cyclepath either side of big cities and nobody seems to mind if you cycle on sea-side promenades - in Spain at least, out of season at least.

This April I organised a CTC tour (for a group of 20) from Málaga that followed the coast for the first day and a half as far as Salobreña. From Google streetview I'd found all the bits of bikepath and cyclable promenade and worked out how to link them up with roads that were not too busy. It worked out really well until a few km after Almuñecar, where the coastal motorway wasn't quite finished (as I'd hoped it would be) so all the traffic was still on the N road. It would not have worked anything like as well in a westerly direction, becasuse then we should have needed to stop and cross the road every time we transited between road and promenade. The sections of bikepath were also always on the sea side of the road and would have be awkward to get to going the other way.

In 2010 I organised a CTC tour that included most of the coast between Cadiz and Gibraltar. But we used the Catamaran to access Cadiz from Rota and to escape via Puerto de Santa Maria, Jerez, Arcos, Alcalá & Vejer, not returning to the coast until Cabo Trafalgar. That's because local enquiries revealed that you couldn't get any further down the coast than San Fernando without cycling on virtual or actual motorways! From Cabo Trafalgar almost to Tarifa however, the coastal cycling was perfect. Caños de Meca is a lovely spot - perhaps the last unspoilt coastal resort in Spain without any high-rise builtings. Between Atlanterra and Bolonia it looks like you have to go inland, but if you're prepared for 1.5km of rough-stuff up from the Punta Camarinal Lighthouse, it's sea views and quiet roads all the way via Betis - until 10km from Tarifa where you eventually have no alternative to the N340. I chartered a boat from there to Gibraltar, but maybe the main road to Algeciras isn't too busy now there's a motorway from there to Jerez. It does appear to have shoulders - and spectacular views.
Chris Juden
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apsykes
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by apsykes »

Hi Chris
Thanks for the info and time taken to write it. Respect.
Good point about the direction of cycle but my mind is made up and I will be cycling west to east (even if it doesn't make sense!).
I am of course well aware of many of the Eurovelo routes being aspirational; my book (see below) was along the non-existant route of the Eurovelo 5 and I just made it up as I went along. I quite like it like that. Freedom!
I'll copy some of your other info onto the Google map that I'm creating; it's all very, very useful.
Thanks again.
Andrew
Andrew P. Sykes
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Author of 'Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie'
"A wonderful, witty account of a cycle tour across Europe" (CTC)
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IanSmitton
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by IanSmitton »

Hi Andrew,

Sorry for the late reply. Not sure where I will be yet in August because I have to travel around a bit, but if I'm in Valencia I'd be happy to join you for a section, show you a few intersting places.

A couple of other things; though you may well know these already. Spain is obviously very hot in summer, especially if you are away from the breeze on the coast, but you generally don't have to carry loads of water with you, because almost every town or village has several drinking water fountains (just head to either the main square or a park / childrens playground). Also, if you don't take them already, I would strongly recommend taking some kind of electrolytes in the heat. You can make your own really cheaply if you get some salt, potassium salt and magnesium tablets (best to get a recipe from the internet for the proportions), but these will help you maintain strength throughout the day, and also will aid recovery massively from one day to the next. When I go, for example, for a 100k ride around Valencia in august I take on about four litres of water, which leaves you really weak and dizzy if you dont replace the minerals as well.
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by apsykes »

Thanks Ian - I'll put you down as a 'maybe' and will be in touch nearer the time.
Thanks also for the advice about electrolytes etc... My cycle from the UK to southern Italy was cold (for the middle of summer) and wet. One of the main reasons for choosing the route along the Mediterranean was that the weather would be predominantly better than back in 2010 along the Eurovelo 5. Perhaps it will be too good...
Thanks again
Andrew
PS: Is anyone in Greece? Albania? Montenegro? Croatia? Slovenia?
Andrew P. Sykes
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apsykes@hotmail.com
http://CyclingEurope.org
Author of 'Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie'
"A wonderful, witty account of a cycle tour across Europe" (CTC)
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apsykes
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Re: Athens to Cadiz, Spain (Eurovelo 8)

Post by apsykes »

The map is coming along well, but still need more info about the eastern Adriatic especially Albania, Montenegro, Croatia & slovenia; any suggestions?
Andrew P. Sykes
0(044)7970278569
apsykes@hotmail.com
http://CyclingEurope.org
Author of 'Good Vibrations: Crossing Europe on a Bike Called Reggie'
"A wonderful, witty account of a cycle tour across Europe" (CTC)
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