Venturada is a small municipality about fifty kilometres north of Madrid, just off the A-1 motorway to Burgos. It sits on the first rise of land where the plain begins to climb towards the Sierra de Guadarrama and the Sierra Norte de Madrid, and from the hills around it you get long views back across the plain to the city and forward to the mountains.
The landscape is dry and open, with fields, holm oak scrub and granite outcrops. To the north lies the Sierra de la Cabrera, a jagged ridge of granite that looks surprisingly dramatic for its modest height, and beyond it the valley of the Lozoya and the reservoirs that supply Madrid with water. The villages of the Sierra Norte are among the least developed in the region, with stone houses, slate roofs and a slower pace of life.
For riding, Venturada is a gateway. The roads north and east lead into the Sierra Norte, with winding routes through hills and along reservoirs, while the A-1 provides a quick route north towards the Somosierra pass and on to Burgos. The M-608 and other local roads offer pleasant riding through the foothills. Surfaces are generally good, and traffic is light away from the motorway, although weekends see plenty of Madrid riders heading out.
Fuel and food are available along the A-1 and in nearby towns like El Molar and Cabanillas de la Sierra. As a start and finish, Venturada is convenient, close to the city but with immediate access to the mountains.