As per topic – can the hivemind come up with any decent routes that would take in some good riding but not be too over the top. Reason being as one of my friends is riding from Xabia, Spain to Manchester, UK in aid of the Motor Neuron Disease charity. Any help and advice on the journey or equipment needs will be appreciated!

I have a friend who cycled from Warwickshire to Spain a few weeks ago… I’ll see if he can help!

Did this earlier in the year (well 150k south of Valencia back to st malo. I’m no roadie so got a London rd Planet X to do it on, trained like a demon for 4 months and travelled light (pannier, bar bag and a lot of water). Went straight up through the middle, Pamplona, Bayonne then west coast France to arcachon, nantes, Rennes. 80 miles a day average was comfortable except for arse chaffage. Spain was monotonous at times but nicer than France. Navigation was key, resorted to Michelin road maps for useful scale, as garmin practically unfathomable for route planning.

What time of year? Through the middle of Spain might be ok in spring and autumn but searingly hot in mid summer or freezing in winter, centre is also hilly.

rode from Bayonne to St Malo in june. followed the Velodyssey route up to La Rochelle, then lane to Nantes then followed the Rance river up to St Malo.

very quiet nice route, hardly any traffic, non on most days.

Have a go on this site

http://cycle.travel/

Pretty good at identifying good cycling routes, but needs a detailed eye over what they suggest to pick up anything of interest worth seeing along the way. Also worth a bit of additional research once its suggested a route, just so you can schedule in feed options along the way (usually requires diverting to a town).

Pistonbroke isn’t wrong. April in central Spain was still sunburn and 2 litres of water days. Big long climbs and long stretches with nothin but vines and juggernauts.

Keep going north.

Díd it in the opposite direction as far as the Spanish side of the border in August, cut short by bereavement. The riding through France as mentioned following the Velodysse route and then heading inland before La Rochelle through Angers to Caen is uneventful but efficient. There are some wiggly bits but going hill hunting will take you a long way off route. The voies vertes network is extensive and takes you down disused railway lines, mostly with good surface and few gradients. On the Spanish side our route would have taken us across the pyrenees via Irún to Pamplona which looks like the easiest way with a loaded bike. From there wiggle down to Teruel and to the coast before Valencia. From there its flattish to Javea. The weather for us in August was worse than expected with few sunny days although it would have been hotter further south. Nonetheless I wouldn’t worry too much, just pack accordingly and enjoy!

If your friend decides to ride up the Mediterranean coast to the French border at La Jonquera, they will see that the N340 forms the vast majority of the route, HOWEVER, don’t slavishly follow this road as big chunks of it are used by freight to avoid tolls on the AP7 motorway. I live near km 1100 on the N340, south of Tarragona so can advise on low traffic,decent quality alternatives in the section between Castellon and Barcelona. We may also be able to help with a bed, depending on timings.