Our David Jones just got back from a 6 day tour of the mountain climbs in Southern Spain. He said he had been riding the ones that the Vuelta a Espana uses, including the famous Sierra de la Pandera and Pico Valeta (both Haute Category) plus numerous cat 1 and 2s along the way (you can see his Strava 31 May to 5 June)! He’d trained specifically for this for 12 weeks knowing that “being 72 I knew I’d need something extra, and it all paid off. The tour culminated in the Valeta, a 43km climb through the cloud cover into clear skies and then eventually the snow topped Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s the highest paved road in Europe, although it’s more like CX course at the top, not to mention ice to contend with! For me though the Pandera was the high point [sic] – 15kms of HC climbing with three sections of 15%, one being 1.5km. Total ascent during the 6 days was over 10,000m and I’d ridden 442 kms through beautiful mountains among cork forests and olive trees. Very little traffic, good road surfaces mostly, and the vehicles he did see seemed to respect cyclists – what a contrast with here sadly. This was a supported tour with Cycling Country – a superb, small outfit based near Granada and with whom I’ve toured before – they will also customise whatever degree of support you require.”
So how about it Oxonians – message David because he would love to return for a bespoke trip with their support – any takers out there?
