West of Madrid
West of Madrid Heading towards Portugal, the scenery changes but the riding stays awesome
Coca Castle - just one of Spain’s historic gems
The plains of Castile & Leon can seem to stretch on forever… but in fact they soon give way to more entertaining roads as successive chains of hills and low mountains arc west from the north of Madrid, through Extremadura to the Portuguese border. The riding here can be truly exceptional – whether you want broad, fast, sweeping roads or tighter, more challenging ones. And as for culture, you’re truly spoilt for choice.
WHERE TO STAY
CIUDAD RODRIGO
Have dinner in the main square of this small, friendly walled town. It is unspoilt Spain at its finest. Routes 54 & 55 Hotel tip Parador de Ciudad Rodrigo
EL BARCO DE ÁVILA
Sleepy town on the north-west edge of the Sierra de Gredos and ideal for exploring the hills of Extremadura. Routes 56 & 57 Hotel tip Hotel Mirador de Gredos
GUADALUPE
A fabulous town surrounded by astonishing roads – but worth exploring off the bike as well, especially the huge monastery. Routes 52 & 53 Hotel tip Parador de Guadalupe
SEGOVIA
Spoilt for choice for things to see in Segovia, from the aqueduct to the Alcázar. A fabulous place to explore – and if you must go into Madrid, stay here and take the train in to town. Routes 50 & 51 Hotel tip Hotel Eurostars Convento Capuchinos
OFF THE BIKE
ÁVILA
If you want a walled city, you’ve come to the right place. Avila is a fabulously preserved old town with lots to see.
CÁCARES
The old town’s called Ciudad Monumental… tells you all you need to know. Fascinating, well-preserved and beautiful.
CASTLES
Lots of fantastic castles to visit. Start with Coca, Mombeltán and Manzanares el Real… but most major towns will have a historic fort somewhere nearby.
MÉRIDA
Forget Italy… if you want Roman history, come to Mérida. There’s a huge bridge, an aqueduct, not one but two theatres, a chariot-racing track and more… Just a stunning place to explore.
SALAMANCA
Think you’ve seen an impressive main square? Not until you’ve been to Salamanca. Plenty more to see in the historic core of this busy city, too.
SAN LORENZO DE EL ESCORIAL
A small town with a gigantic monastery – like Hogwarts, only bigger. San Lorenzo de el Escorial is beautiful and fascinating in equal measure.
TOLEDO
So much to see in Toledo – from the Moorish Alcázar to the Christian cathedral and the white synagogue, not to mention the walls, the bridges, the sword makers… Fabulous place. www.turismo.toledo.es
VALLEY OF THE FALLEN
A sombre memorial to the dead of the Spanish Civil War, Valley of the Fallen also features the world’s largest free-standing cross.
OUR MOTORCYCLE ROUTES WEST OF MADRID
50 SEGOVIA FORESTS
Start/finish Segovia
Distance 175 miles
Riding time 6 hours
This loop from the historic city of Segovia heads out through the nearby hills, climaxing with mthe climb through the thickly forested Sierra de Guadarrama.
Route map, Download the GPX files
51 SEGOVIA SIGHTSEEING
Start/finish Segovia
Distance 200 miles
Riding time 5.5 hours
A full day with lots to see – from the Valley of the Fallen and the huge Hogwarts-like monastery at San Lorenzo de El Escorial to mCoca castle. And that’s without detouring into historic Ávila…
Route map, Download the GPX files
52 GUADALUPE LAKES
Start/finish Guadalupe
Distance 226 miles
Riding time 6 hours
There’s only one word to describe the riding around Guadalupe: extraordinary. Stringing together scenic lakes, this route has a few straight stretches to give you a break from the madly twisty roads.
Route map, Download the GPX files
53 GUADALUPE TO GREDOS
Start/finish Guadalupe Distance 200 miles Riding time 6 hours It’s a cliché to call Spanish roads “perfectly surfaced” or “traffic-free”. But that’s the only way to describe the roads on this ride from Guadalupe to the Sierra de Gredos.
Route map, Download the GPX files
54 EXTREME-MADURA
Start/finish Ciudad Rodrigo
Distance 175 miles
Riding time 5.5 hours
Ciudad Rodrigo’s a strong candidate for our favourite stop on our photoshoot trip: a lovely main square, great restaurants, non-touristy. Real Spain. Better still, it’s the ideal jumping-off point for one of our favourite rides, through the wild hills of Extremadura. Sublime roads and beautiful scenery.
Route map, Download the GPX files
55 A TASTE OF DOURO
Start/finish Ciudad Rodrigo
Distance 210 miles
Riding time 6 hours
This route heads into Extremadura’s Sierra de Francia mountain range, then dashes across the plains to ride the fabulous, twisty road that traces the course of the Douro River on the Portuguese side of the border.
Route map, Download the GPX files
56 SIERRA DE GREDOS
Start/finish El Barco de Ávila
Distance 195 miles
Riding time 6 hours
This sublime day’s riding takes in the beautifully flowing roads along the north and south sides of the rugged Sierra de Gredos, crossing the mountains at the epic Puerto del Pico.
Route map, Download the GPX files
57 EXTRA EXTREMADURA
Start/finish El Barco de Ávila
Distance 170 miles
Riding time 6 hours
Want to ride the Extrememadura route from Ciudad Rodrigo and the Sierra de Gredos route from El Barco de Ávila? Easy: this version of the Extreme-Madura route runs from El Barco de Ávila... Must-ride road N-502 Ávila to Espiel This is a thrilling road climbing over the Sierra de Gredos at Puerto del Pico and delivering thrills all the way from Avila to Andalusia.
Route map, Download the GPX files
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.