We’ve been on several biking holidays to the Alps but we fancy a change – How does the riding in the Spanish Sierra Nevada compare to the Alps?

I’m also interested in this.

You wann awatch your step sonny. You’ll have TJ/mini TJ after you with those sort of posts and you DON’T want that 🙂

More reliable weather, fewer people, no chair lifts, more nadgery.

This is the number you require: http://ciclomontana.com/

I think…no, I’m sure I preferred Spain. It wasn’t quite the high Sierra’s – we went with Sierracycling, based in Fuengerola, so it was the hills and mountains around there.

So, benefits of Sierra Cycling over biking in Les Gets (IMO):

– Much better weather, and more reliable
– A really good variety of trails, nice and dry and dusty
– Some superb taverna’s seemingly in the middle of nowhere
– Really good range of resturaunts and bars for a post-ride beer
– Quite a bustling place (I went to Les Gets in early July and it was almost deserted)
– Easier to get to

The only drawback was no chairlifts, but the minibus often would take us a good way up the hill. The bonus of this is that I came home after a week hugely fitter than I was before. And I enjoyed the downs so much more knowing that I had earned them.

Just my 2p.

Both are good.

can also recommend ciclomontana.

not as tech as say verbier, chamonix etc
more pedaling up as no chairlifts
much cheaper though
great long lunches in the sun at local resataurants for next to nothing
chilled beers by the pool afterwards

nice for a change but the riding is better in the alps.
its more of a holiday than just full on riding in spain.

What they said.

Only spent a week there (Alpujarras), almost three years ago now – but at least three of the rides still rank among my all time favourites.

Was reading my friend’s Bikefax route guide the other weekend and it REALLY made me want to go back and ride there again.

Sierra Cycling The only drawback was no chairlifts, but the minibus often would take us a good way up the hill.

Kevin, Thanks for your kind words. Small correction – there is a chairlift just 10 minutes from our base in Belanmadena which allows bikes. 30 Euros per day gets you unlimited uplifts with plenty of purpose built descents.

Oh, I didn’t know that. We’ll be back!

alan-sierracycling – Member

Sierra Cycling The only drawback was no chairlifts, but the minibus often would take us a good way up the hill.

Kevin, Thanks for your kind words. Small correction – there is a chairlift just 10 minutes from our base in Belanmadena which allows bikes. 30 Euros per day gets you unlimited uplifts with plenty of purpose built descents.

😀

So, benefits of Sierra Cycling over biking in Les Gets

Les Gets is possibly the *worst* place I’ve ridden in the Alps. Geographically, it’s hardly really Alps either. It’s pre-Alps 😉

Sierra Nevada is good, but not as good (or as varied) as the GOOD stuff in places like Verbier and Les Arcs.

A group of us went with Sierra Cycling quite a few years back. Things that are unlikely to have changed that we thought were better than Morzine:

– the sea to swim in after a long day riding in the hills

– san miguel to sup after/during your ride (I don’t remember there being ale at the time)

– paella served on the restaurant overlooking the beach

– less rain, lots of sun

– the road link-ups weren’t tedious high altitude hill climbs but instead dusty trails between villages

– if you went out for a bit of a beer session and came back really, really late and couldn’t remember how to get into your appartment you could fall asleep in the garden without fear of freezing to death.

– the lap dancing club

Dunno about the Alps but another shout for Marco at Ciclo Montana.
Verbier meant to be awesome.

been on two bike holidays so far – one to Verbier and the other to Sierra Nevada with Ciclo.

Both were excellent holidays and each had there own good bits.

As said above i think the riding is much more techy in Verbier with longer descents but the weather is better in Sierra resulting in guaranteed dusty dry trails.

If i were to go again i wil be going back to the Alps.

We went with ciclo and it rained.

Not just rained, absolutely positively amazingly torrentially biblical style chucked it down.

…and it was ace.

The good bits:

The food was superb, stuffed to the limit.
The accomodation was superb.
The location was superb, bit of a trek from and to the airport, but so worth it.
The weather was a bit odd, I was expecting sunny spain, but got a bit like a warm Manchester.

The riding was excellent, but the best bit was the overnighter in Granada; imagine riding into Manchester at 5 o’clock on a friday, only to find that every lady had been transformed into a spanish supermodel.
With beer.
And tapas.