From San Sebastian to Santiago de Compostela, there is a ride and itinerary to suit every type of rider. Hugging the bold and strong Bay of Biscay, enjoying its fine beaches and unique 'spanish coastal culture' whilst stepping inland to discover the traditional beauty of Basque Country with their own Euskera language, into Cantabria, the home of Santander Banco founded in 1857, though more beautiful are its mountain ranges in Picos de Europa national par
Castilla Y Leon surrounded in by mountains Sistema Iberico to the east, Cordillera Central to the south, Cordillera Cantabrica to the north, a diamond for cycling
Asturias beams quality from all directions, Oviedo the base of Angliru, Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa, the seaside beauty of Roman Gijon and the Camino di Santiago; this leads one into Galicia, its capital Santiago de Compostela, this is the 'land of the 1000 rivers' and unforgettable coastlines.
"Don’t come to the Camino looking for answers. Instead, come with an open heart and you may be surprised by what you find."
Cycling in Northern Spain
THE BASQUE COUNTY Probably best known as the home of bike manufacturers Orbea and BH, a rich and alive cycling culture and the location of the pro race Tour of the Basque Country ( Basque: Euskal Herriko Itzuli) held in early April and part of teh UCI World Ranking calendar. Next door in the Province of Navarre is the birthplace and home of one of the world's greatest cyclists, Miguel Indurain.
ASTURIAS The home of Los Lagos de Covadonga (HC category climb), te toughest climb on the World Tour the L’Angliru (1245m ascent, average gradient of 10%), La Camperona which is rumoured to feature in the 2018 La Vuelta. The Clasica Lagos de Covadonga is one of the best known sportives in Spain, wth well over 3000 participants (110km and 2000+m of climbing). And not related to cycling, Fernando Alonso F1 Driver is from Asturias!
GALICIA The main attraction being The Camino De Santiago (Way of St. James), a stunning pilgrimage route, followed for which has been followed by pilgrims for over one thousand years. One should not miss a ride out to Fisterra (Latin FINIS TERRAE, meaning 'Land's End'), being the final destination of pilgims. Next door in the region of Castilla Y Leon the 2014 UCI Road World Championships took place in Ponferrada.
Riding
Northern Spain has idyllic weather and conditions from May to October, the closer to the ocean you are, the cooler it is. During this time, you may need a gilet, but you can pretty much well wear summer cycling gear. Any level of cyclists can visit this region as it is easy to customize tours based on the type of terrain you are wanting. There is everything from flat to rolling green hills, coastline trails to very difficult, world class climbs!
The Vuelta
Northern Spain is often predominant in La Vuelta with some great stages in the past 3 years 2015 won by Aru passing trough Vitoria-Gastei, Sotres Cabrales, Luarca and Burgos 2016 won by Quintana passed via Bilbao, Lagos de Covadonga, Lugones, Cistierna, La Camperona, San Andres de Teixedo, Viveiro 2017 won by Froome passing Caso, Santo Torbido, Los Machucos, Gijon and up L'Angliru
History
Spains history dates back to the Early Middle Ages. In 1516, Habsburg Spain unified a number of kingdoms that were disparate. In 1813 a modern constitutional monarchy was introduced.The Reconquista period is the most famous in Spain, beginning with the Battle of Covadonga (718 or 722), followed the 711 where Christian military forces Islamic conquest of Iberia, here a group led by the nobleman Pelagius defeated a caliphate's army in the mountains of northern Iberia and established the independent Christian Kingdom of Asturias.(Source: Wikipedia)
Languages
There are 5 official languages, these being: Spanish (Castilian): official countrywide Galician: spoken in Galicia, western border of Asturias and Leon Basque (Euskarian): the single Pre-Roman language in the country, spoken in Northern Spain and Basque Countr. Origin unknown Aranès: can be head in Val d'Aran, in the Pyrenees. Dialect of Occitan language. Catalan is the own language in a large territory whose main part is in Spain , but also in Andorra, France and Italy (Sardinia island).
High Altitude Wonders
Close to the Pro's at La Vuelta
Roads etched into canyons
"There is no night life in Spain. They stay up late but they get up late. That is not night life. That is delaying the day." _____________________ Ernest Hemingway
