Central Spain

Moving further inland and the riding gets better and better, despite the distance from the coast

The N330a: if those corners look inviting, remember that the whole road’s as good as this. Central Spain can be brilliant.

I expect the CV-580 to be a decent road, as it was recommended by one of Triumph’s test riders. The first few miles are good — and then it gets better… It climbs like a rocket, leaving a twisting tail of Tarmac up the steep sides of the hills. Then it roars across a scrubby plateau, deserted straights linked by just enough corners. But then, as the River Xuquer comes into view, the road starts to descend again.

There are two massive understatements in the previous sentence: first, it’s no mere river that appears — it’s a vast gorge, its towering rocky ramparts flecked green here and there by hardy trees, the river almost lost in the shadows at the bottom. Second, the CV-580 does not merely ‘descend’. This isn’t going down a flight of stairs. This is the stuff of legend. It runs out along the edge of the abyss, folding into a hairpin before carving it’s way downwards in steady traverses that echo the sinuous shape of the river far below. Another hairpin and then it’s falling in broad arcs cut into the cliffs. It gets to water level as it slices through the village of Millares, before it climbs to Dos Aguas, where we stop for a drink and try to decide if it’s as great a ride as France’s Gorge du Verdon: I say yes, Weeble’s not so sure.

We can’t argue the toss for too long, though: we have a long way to go today and it’s all on proper roads. From Dos Aguas we carry on along the CV-580 (still awesome) to pick up the CV-425 and the N-330. This is another one of those utterly brilliant Spanish roads that manages to pack fantastic riding into a supremely useful bit of road planning as it runs more-or-less straight between Teruel at its northern end and Almansa in the south... Except, it’s anything but straight with plenty of elevation changes too.

Then at Manzaneruela we detour onto the N330a: a gem of a road with a perfect surface and every corner you could want, packed into five fabulous miles. “This might just be the best road of the trip,” says Weeble. “When we’ve finished taking pictures, can we just ride it again?”

OTHER ROUTES IN CENTRAL SPAIN

58 TOO GORGE-OUS

Start/finish Jalance
Distance 180 miles
Riding time 5.5 hours
This route links two of our favourite roads – the CV-580 and CM-3201. One clings to the cliffs of a spectacular gorge, the other leaps across one in a cascade of hairpins. A better day on a bike is hard to imagine.
Route map, Download the GPX file

59 MORELLA, CHERRY PICKED

Start/finish Morella
Distance 220 miles
Riding time 6.5 hours
Morella’s a fantastic historic walled town. The only catch: the garage is a walk from the hotel. This day’s ride swoops through an astonis

hing landscape, visiting other fascinating towns.
Route map, Download the GPX file

60 ZOOM-MORE-AH!

Start/finish Zamora
Distance 245 miles
Riding time 7 hours
The plains of Castile & León are mostly flat and are mostly crossed by straight roads. Ah, but if you head towards Portugal from the historic city of Zamora you can find plenty of brilliant bends to enjoy.
Route map, Download the GPX file

61 KEEP IT REAL

Start/finish Ciudad Real
Distance 210 miles
Riding time 6 hours
The Cabañeros hills are crossed by some madly twisty roads – the best of which are used in this flowing, rewarding ride. Note that there aren’t many towns or villages here – it’s just unspoilt nature – so it’s a late lunch stop.
Route map, Download the GPX file

62 GUADALAJARA

Start/finish Guadalajara
Distance 195 miles
Riding time 5 hours
On the north-east fringes of Madrid is the smart town of Guadalajara. This relaxed route flows out through the surrounding hills and past the Castillo del Cid at Jadraque.
Route map, Download the GPX file

63 TOLEDO

Start/finish Toledo
Distance 215 miles
Riding time 6 hours
Sitting on a bend in a river on the plains south of Madrid, historic Toledo is surrounded by some pretty flat, straight roads – great for a relaxed pillion ride. Especially as they eventually lead to some hillier areas with better, twistier roads…
Route map, Download the GPX file

Please note: This page contains the route files for The RiDE Guide to motorcycle touring in Spain and Portugal which came free with RiDE magazine in July 2018. These website page are not regularly updated, so please check all critical information before you travel. All route files are in .gpx format. Garmin and BMW users can download the main file, which contains all the routes and our recommended hotels as separate waypoints. TomTom users can download the individual routes and use the Tyre software to convert them. For many routes we also have Google Map links. However, as Google Maps will not plot routes over seasonally closed high Alpine passes (such as those in the Pyrenees) when they’re shut, these may not work for every route all year round.