Cycling in Marbella

greenspurs · 10-09-2014 2:40pm #1

Anyone cycled around Marbella?
i am going there soon and i really want to go for a few spins while im there.
Anyone done it ?

neris · 10-09-2014 3:13pm

was a thread a few weeks ago about cycling on the costa had some suggestions

greenspurs · 11-09-2014 2:19pm

did a search.. can only find topics from 2/3/4 years ago ?

markusz · 11-09-2014 2:32pm

i just came back from Girona and did all my research on Strava to find climbs and routes.

strava.com/segments/explore#location/marbella/type/cycling/min/4/max/5/surface/undefined/center/36.543761,-4.905481/zoom/11/map_type/terrain

strava.com/activities/search

you are in great climbing part of the world. get out early to avoid the heat.

freddie_ · 11-09-2014 5:54pm

I am just back from the area and enjoyed some savage cycling. I was staying about 20k away from Marbella but on a few occasions i cycled from there.
The best route i found is to park at La Canada shopping centre and take the road that goes up behind it starting from the round about. If i remember correctly it starts as a 2 lane road (A 355 i think) but changes into a single lane fairly quickly. The road will bring you up to Ojen, Mondo Coin etc, you will have plenty of choices on where to head once you get to Mondo. Its a lot of climbing but if you want a extra challenge cycle into Ojen( the main road bypasses it) and follow that road until you join the main road again.
I also cycled up to Ronda which is a long long steady climb, goes on for about 26k i think (A-397). Another class route. The advice i was given was not to cycle into the town itself but stop at a large cross shaped iron sculptor( ya cant miss it). For this route i drove to the bottom and just parked on the side of the road and had no problem.
The other routes i did were out of Fuengirola which might not suit.
In all the cycling we did i must say that both my wife and I couldn't get over how patient and understanding the motorist were with cyclist. My wife was very worried about that but couldn't sing their praises enough by the end of the holiday.
If you want anymore info just let me know.

Freddie

greenspurs · 17-09-2014 11:17am

Thanks Freddie.
great info... What kind of distances were those routes?
I have been up to 180km, and i love climbing so that doesnt bother me, just would like a rough guide as to how long i would be out ?
Re. water food etc.... bring some and stop along the way when need to ?

freddie_ · 17-09-2014 3:05pm

Hey

Most spins i did while on holidays would have been under 80km ( That breaks down into 40km straight up climbing and 40km straight descending!) but the weather was in the high 30's when i was there so wasn't able to do much more in that heat. Once i late starting and ended cycling in the midday sun(41 degrees) and it was not a good experience!
I used to bring 2 bottles on my bike and 1 in my back pocket and 2 bananas. In that heat i didn't have much interest in food and had to force myself to eat!
The good thing about heading up to Ronda you can then add on as much as you like km wise by heading right towards coin or left and in most cases the last 30km home will be a descent.
If you look at Strava or Mapmyride you can get a couple of routes to help get you started.
Hope that helps and feel free to ask if stuck.

neris · 20-09-2014 10:04pm

Im been forced down end of october for a family bash and seriously debating sticking of the booze for the week. Did you bring the bike with you and how much extra it cost? Shopwise on the climbs are there shops to stop off at or is it literally marbella - ronda and nothing in between? Also just out of curiosity where abouts were you staying?

greenspurs · 24-09-2014 4:08pm

im going to hire the bike out there.. Felt.
im hiring the helmet and a gps with some routes uploaded (dont fancy wandering aimlessly)
im staying in Marbella itself.

freddie_ · 24-09-2014 4:55pm

I brought my bike with me, think it was 40euro each way with Ryan Air, much prefer my own bike than a rental. ON most routes there are places to stop, but there is only one between Marbella and Ronda. I was based in a place called Calahonda which is half way between Marbella and Fuengirola.

If you renting a bike make sure to bring your own shoes and pedals- they charge a lot for the small extras. The more measurements you have from your own bike will also help.

In relation to using a GPS. I have not heard of a shop renting out one but that could just be me but i honestly don't think you would need one. It would be far more difficult to get lost than to not!!

greenspurs · 24-09-2014 5:08pm

€10 per day for the Gps... might get it for one and see if i need, Better looking at it , than looking for it

krissovo · 25-09-2014 1:44am

I spent 3 months there from April, had to buy a compact chainset after a week as the only options are the mountains.

There is a stunning route if you head towards Puerto banus and take the road to Istan, some nice climbs but scenery makes it a lot easier. Once there just keep going and enjoy the mountains. I found the only real routes were heading in the the mountains, i did cycle to Gibralter one day down the motorway (only way to leave marbella, all roads turn into motorways). Nice easy route with some climbs as you get nearer the rock but the road turns from a auto vista to auto pista ( or something like that) to real motorway so the route was challenging.

Great bike shop in Puerto banus, Aloha bikes.....got good deals on the chainset and tyres (matched wiggle prices and included fitting). Also rented high end mountain bike and hit some awsome off reading trails on the way to Istan.

I did 2 group cycles with a club, every Saturday they head towards Istan or Rhonda from Los Naranjos in puerto banus. Well worth a spin, lovely people, a mellowish pace but good company.

Edit: take the promenade to puerto banus from Marbella as a warm up and warm down along the beach. Great scenery, lots of stunning tanned ladies which are easy on the eye wearing next nothing to help ease the tired legs after the hills.

twowheelsonly · 25-09-2014 1:59am

Slightly off topic (location??) but also in Spain...

This guy dropped us back to Alicante Airport after a recent holiday in the area. He's Irish but living near Torrevieja (Costa Blanca) and has accommodation for 10/12 people and as a keen cyclist himself has great local knowledge and plans routes for people depending on their standard - from casual trips up the most advanced. He also has routes mapped that he sends to people to enter on garmins etc so you land all ready to go and can supply a support car for 100km rides etc.

Just throwing it out there for anyone on this thread that may be interested - no relation/attachment to myself, he was just the taxi driver that brought us back to the airport.

Facebook page (Orihuela Costa Cycling Camp ) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Orihuela-Costa-Cycling-Camp/642162952501358?fref=ts

Cycling in Marbella

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