San Vicente is one of the grandest Romanesque churches in Spain, and it sits just outside the walls of Ávila, near the Puerta de San Vicente, with a broad porch and a pair of towers that never quite match. It is named for Vicente and his sisters Sabina and Cristeta, who according to tradition were martyred here in the early fourth century, and their tomb, an elaborate Gothic canopy, is inside the church. The carvings on the west door are among the finest in Castile.
The church is built of the same golden granite as the walls, and in the late afternoon it seems to hold the sun like a stove. Step inside and the air is cool, with the smell of old stone and candle wax. The granite and the high roof give a sense of weight and age, even for a rider more used to roads than to art history.
The ride that starts here goes to the Hayedos of Ayllón, the beech forests northeast of the Sierra de Guadarrama. It is one of those pairings that Spain does well, with a medieval fortress city at one end and a quiet mountain forest at the other. The route crosses the plateau, with its long, fast roads, then climbs through oak and pine into the hills. Autumn is particularly beautiful, but pack waterproofs in any season and expect mist in the beech woods.
Ávila has everything you will need in terms of services, including petrol stations at the edges of the city and plenty of cafés near the walls. Ask a local about the best chuletón, and try the hot chocolate, which is thick enough to stand a spoon in. If you plan to see the basilica, go in the morning when it is quiet, and make sure you have change for the car park.