Sierra de Gredos cycling vacations
Our Spain cycling Vacations
Catalonia family self guided biking vacation, Spain
Customised road cycling tour in Girona, Catalonia
Cycling tour in Catalonia for food lovers, Spain
Cycling tour through and taste Catalonia!
Segovia cycling tour in Spain
Cycle Historic Segovia's spectacular plains and mountains
Gredos self guided cycling vacation in Spain
Pristine mountain cycling in Central Spain
Cycling vacation in Valencia region, Spain
Experience Valencia's best on this self guided tour
Self guided cycling vacation in Spain
Discover the many aspects of northern Catalonia by bike
Catalonia vacation, cycling and relaxation
Cycle vacation based from self catering accommodation Palamos
Budget biking vacation in Spain
Self guided cycling vacation as you live like a local
Family cycling and water sports vacation in Spain
sea kayaking, padel boarding, snorkelling and a sailing trip
Cycling The Camino De Santiago vacation
Self-guided cycling through the ancient pilgrim route
Self guided cycling vacation in Valencia, Spain
Valencia, the true Spain of vibrant culture, food and wine
Andalucia self guided cycling vacation, Spain
Cycling in the surrounding hills of almond and olive groves
Catalonia self guided cycling tour, Spain
Customised self guided tour in beautiful Girona, Costa Brava
Catalonia cycling tours, beach & mountains
Ride along beaches and climb mountains from Spain to France!
Cycling on the Costa Brava, Catalonia
Exploring Costa Brava on edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
Cycling and yoga training weeks in Spain
Yoga and cycling to increase fitness and wellbeing. All ages
Camino de Santiago cycling vacation
Ride the passage of the pilgrims
Catalonia cycling & wine tour, Spain
Gastronomic, olive & wine tasting cycling trip in Catalonia
Family biking vacation, Andalucia Spain
Cycling in the surrounding hills of almond and olive groves
Alicante to Valencia cycling vacation in Spain
Self guided cycling vacation along the Spanish coast
Marseille to Barcelona cycling vacation
Camargue, Canal du Midi and Catalonia
Biking tours in Catalonia, Girona to Barcelona
Discover the art, culture & scenery of Catalonia
Catalonia cycling tour, Dali & Gaudi
Experience Catalunya with stunning vistas & amazing culture.
Challenging road cycling vacation in Spain
Bespoke road cycling vacations in Almeria, Southern Spain.
Catalonia cycling vacation
Discover Catalonia´s inland and coastal beautiful sceneries
Catalonia guided road biking tour, Spain
One of the best places in the world for road cycling!
Cycling vacation in Catalonia, Spain
Discover pretty medieval villages and coastal paths
Southern Spain road cycling vacation, 6 days
Bespoke road cycling vacations in Almeria, Southern Spain.
Sierra de Gredos cycling tour in Spain
Cycle Pro-Vuelta routes and discover Wild & Wonderful Gredos
La Rioja cycling vacation in Spain
Self-guided cycling tour through the vineyards of La Rioja.
“Empty” Gredos
The year Sastre won the Tour, Sierra de Gredos didn’t have much to celebrate. It’s one of the three most depopulated provinces of the country, and is essentially still in post-war decline. Young people, and especially women, leave; there’s no industry for them here. Villages shrink every year. In 2019, one village lost four – or 20 percent – of its handful of remaining inhabitants.The area is a prime example of what has been labelled 'La España Vacía' – ‘empty’ Spain, a national crisis of rural degeneration which has sparked a social movement, and waves of protest in Madrid. Madrid is, after all, just a couple of hours down the road from Gredos. Traditionally, the Sierra de Gredos was a weekend jaunt for Madrid hikers, but they mostly come in the summer vacations, leaving the area struggling out of season.
Aside from the broom, there aren’t many living things that can tough it out on the high slopes of the Sierra de Gredos year round. It’s bitter in winter, its cities characterised by forbidding walls, its slopes snowbound. “The barren plains, the rugged mountains of Castile,” says Marlene, who is on the board of directors for the region’s Chamber of Commerce. To the average Spaniard, this area is traditionally seen as “cold and hostile”. But it’s also “the real Spain, because this is where Castilian comes from”.
But in the last five or ten years, the perception has started to change. And it’s all thanks to Gredos’s yellow jersey – its gorgeous mountain bloom.
Broom with a view
New hope
Change is slow to come, but Marlene, who visits the area frequently from her nearby home, often returns with anecdotes about new developments. There’s the hotel that, inspired by patronage from Go Cycle Tours, started creating special packages, and now finds its weekdays booked out with adventure travelers. Then there’s the woman in her 70s, living in the smallest village, who is convincing local shepherds to revive merino wool production. “She’s convinced a number of shepherds to put coats on their sheep to protect the wool... She’s a force of nature.” Young people are coming back “to make cheese”, and politicians are starting to sit up and take notice. “They signed a political pact in Gredos for repopulation, and a political commitment to repopulation in the area a couple of weeks ago,” Marlene says.This year, Marlene’s preparing for the next Piorno Festival bike ride. “We call it the leg breaker,” she says – of course, it sounds better in Spanish: the ‘rompe piernas’ in the ‘piorno’; Carlos Sastre would be proud.
Our top Spain cycling Vacation
Catalonia family self guided biking vacation, Spain
Customised road cycling tour in Girona, Catalonia
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements