Why this ride
280 km from Zestoa to Zestoa, about 3 h 43 of riding. It goes by way of Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre, Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz and back through Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ekain and Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 280 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 43
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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.
Scenic road chapters
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre → Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 67 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 65 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ekain
In 1969 two young men exploring a hillside above the Sastarrain valley near Zestoa crawled into a narrow opening and found themselves in a gallery of painted horses. Ekain is one of the finest Palaeolithic painted caves in Europe, its walls covered with images of horses, bison and other animals made some fourteen thousand years ago with remarkable skill. The horses in particular are famous, drawn with shaggy manes and round bellies, so lively that they seem about to move.
Read the complete Ekain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ekain is where the day begins. Next is Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre.
2. Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Down in the Casco Viejo of Bilbao, where the old streets run in a tight grid beside the Nervión, the cathedral of Santiago stands at the heart of the Siete Calles, the seven original streets of the medieval town. It is a Gothic church, rebuilt after a fire in the sixteenth century, with a neo-Gothic façade and spire added later, and it sits so snugly among the tall houses that you often see it only when you are standing right in front of it.
Read the complete Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre comes up about 76 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz.
3. Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of the Basque Country and possibly its most underrated city. It sits on a high plateau, the Llanada Alavesa, surrounded by low mountains and wide farmland, and its medieval old town climbs a small hill in the shape of an almond, with the old cathedral of Santa María at the top. This is the cathedral the label refers to, a Gothic church begun in the thirteenth century as both a temple and part of the town's defences.
Read the complete Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 141 km into the recorded legs you reach Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz. Next is back through Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre.
4. back through Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre, late in the day. Next is Ekain.
5. Ekain
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ekain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Ekain. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Ekain to Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Ekain → Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre to Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre → Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz is 65 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz to back through Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz → back through Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre is 64 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre to Ekain
back through Cathédrale de Saint Jacques Apôtre → Ekain is 76 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.