The mountains of the Sierra de Gredos lie to the west of Madrid and regularly feature in la Vuelta - the Tour of Spain. As well as providing the opportunity to tackle some interesting climbs on quiet roads, traveling west through the Sierra de Gredos leads to the fascinating area of northern Extremadura. The return to Madrid contoured the slopes of the hills to the south of the river Tajo, through some very quiet roads, eventually leading to Toledo and Madrid. The route was mostly very quiet. Two days of torrential rain in the middle of the tour resulted in a change to the planned route with brief journeys along busier roads.

As with many areas of Spain within reach of major cities, weekend visitors to the area mean that it is advisable to reserve accommodation for Friday and Saturday nights. During the week, booking is probably unnecessary although care should be taken to avoid the times of the village festivals. For example, in Burgohondo we were the only guests in the hotel. The previous week it had been full each night during the annual festival.

Maps used were from the 1:200,000 series of the Instituto Geografico Nacional. These were useful for the contour information, although for route finding, the Michelin 1:400,000 map was fine. The route was chosen by aiming to maximise the use of Michelin green roads (‘Scenic road’).

Some useful information was provided beforehand from the Tourist Information Office for Extremadura in response to an email enquiry. Enquiries to various other sources including Madrid airport were less successful. Tourist office details for any region of Spain can be found via www.spain.info. In response to an enquiry about Madrid airport, great assistance was provided through Juan Merallo of Pedalibre (see below). Juan also supplied some good advice regarding our choice of route.

Arrival/departure at Madrid airport and trains.
Madrid airport seems to be notorious in terms of ease of access for cyclists. A summary of alternative methods of travel is provided below, based on information correct at the time of the tour. This may have changed. For much of the information that follows, I’m most grateful to Juan Merallo of Pedalibre, www.pedalibre.org . Among their achievements as representatives of cyclists’ interests, Pedalibre have succeeded (after three years of lobbying), in getting some access for cycles on the Madrid Metro. The web site provides much useful information. The site is in Spanish so this may mean using one of the automated translation services via Google or Alta Vista. In preparation by Pedalibre is a report on cycle access to Madrid airport. This will be published at www.pedalibre.org as soon as it is available.

We wanted an easy start and chose to be driven to a hotel in Torrelodones, north west of Madrid from where we could start some pleasant cycling. This was low-stress but expensive, although at a fixed price may be attractive for a party of four say. Our return to Madrid used the train/metro method described below and this is highly recommended. Our advice to anyone that is determined to cycle to/from the airport is not to bother unless you want to take in a tour of Madrid. Swallow your pride! You are likely to have the best part of a day at either end of your tour taken up with not particularly pleasant cycling and the stress of busy roads.

If possible, time your arrival/departure for weekends or public holidays. Between 0600 and 1600 you can take your bike on the metro direct from the airport. This will connect you with the Nuevos Ministerios metro station and from there to either of the main railway stations Chamartin or Atocha. There are indications that additional times for travel to and from the airport will be available. Pedalibre can provide up-to-date information from info@pedalibre.org or the Pedalibre web site.

Outside of the above times you need to travel by other means to Chamartin train and metro station, which is nearer the airport. (Atocha station can be easily reached from Chamartin.). According to the tourist information office at the airport, bikes can be taken on the buses as luggage. This was not tested and Pedalibre indicate that getting buses to carry bikes seems to be at the discretion of the driver. Taxis apparently are unlikely to take bikes, which leaves either riding to the station (busy, stressful) or the transport service (expensive). Further details, including costs and other information, can be obtained via www.gomadrid.com.

If you do ride your bike from the station, getting onto a non-motorway road can be achieved by following the road outside international arrivals at terminal 2, keeping to the right and after a right hand bend a slip road lead up towards the area of Barajas. From there you’ll need a map and some strong nerves, although it’s not too far.

The good news is that from Chamartin station you can get to a good range of destinations with your bike at very low cost. Bikes travel free. The Cercanias train network will deliver you to places such as El Escorial to the north of Madrid or Aranjuez to the south. We returned from Aranjuez to the airport using the train plus metro in about one and a half hours. You just walk onto the train with your bike and there are various spaces where you can stand the bike. The Regional trains also take bikes and going north from Chamartin and south from Atocha, the arrangements for putting the bike on the train are the same. Going further afield on the Regional trains, for example Madrid Atocha to/from Extremadura, bikes go in a compartment at the rear of the train.

A map of the Cercanias network is available at www.renfe.es/empresa/cercanias/ and further information on train travel, including timetables is available via the Spanish National Railways site www.renfe.es.

If you need to stay near the airport on your first or last night, there are a few hostales in nearby Barajas. There is also the Best Western Villa Barajas and the Barajas Hotel. Both of these have a shuttle service to/from the airport. If you are traveling at the weekend, there are many accommodation options available in Madrid via the metro.