Why this ride
Repeated coastal bends, headlands and frequent viewpoint stops. It also links naturally to Vizcaya Bridge and Basque Coast Geopark.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Basque Coast N-634
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 115 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 17
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Access context
Check heat, mountain weather and seasonal access restrictions. Specific flag: rain; traffic.
Seasonal context
Apr-Oct
Scenic road chapters
Basque Coast Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 22 km this is Basque Coast Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 22 km
- Named road
- Basque Coast Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Zumaia
Zumaia is where you go to look at time. On the cliffs just beside the town, at Itzurun beach, the sea has cut through layer after layer of tilted sedimentary rock known as flysch, thin bands of limestone and shale that stack up like the pages of a book and run into the water in long ridges. The rocks span a huge stretch of geological history, and geologists come from all over the world to study the layer that records the end of the Cretaceous, the period when the dinosaurs disappeared. That makes this one of the great natural clocks in Europe, and it is part of the Basque Coast Geopark.
Read the complete Zumaia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zumaia sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Lekeitio.
2. Lekeitio
Lekeitio is the kind of fishing harbour that makes you slow down whether you meant to or not. It sits on the Bay of Biscay coast of Bizkaia, behind a sheltered cove, and it has a town centre of about seven thousand people packed between the sea and a ring of green hills. The first thing you notice is the island, San Nicolás, which lies just offshore and joins the mainland by a causeway at low tide, when the beach opens up and the whole town seems to walk out over the sand.
Read the complete Lekeitio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lekeitio comes up 21 km in. Next is Bermeo.
3. Bermeo
Smell it before you see it: Bermeo announces itself with diesel, salt and grilled fish. This is one of the main fishing ports on the Basque coast, a town of about seventeen thousand people whose harbour is still full of working boats, with tall old houses stacked behind and the fish market and the old fishermen's quarter in plain view. The Basque fleet has gone out from here for centuries, and the town takes its anchovies and bonito very seriously. If you see marmitako, the tuna and potato stew, on a menu, order it.
Read the complete Bermeo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
43 km in you reach Bermeo. Next is Bilbao.
4. Bilbao
Bilbao was an industrial city for most of its life, an iron-ore and shipyard town on the Nervión river, and then in 1997 it reinvented itself with a titanium-clad museum that changed how cities think about culture. Frank Gehry's Guggenheim sits right on the riverbank, curved and glittering like a ship that has run aground, and its success gave the whole place a new confidence. You will notice that the older parts of town, the Casco Viejo with its seven original streets, are still very Basque, loud and unpretentious, with bars full of locals at lunchtime and counters stacked with pintxos.
Read the complete Bilbao write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bilbao, late in the day.