Why this ride
296 km from Entrambasaguas to Entrambasaguas, about 4 h 14 of riding. On the way it passes Vizcaya Bridge, Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz and back through Vizcaya Bridge. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
La Garma and Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 296 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 14
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Vizcaya Bridge → Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 80 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 80 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. La Garma
La Garma is a low limestone hill a few kilometres inland from the Bay of Santander, green with meadows and oak scrub, the sort of rounded Cantabrian hump you might ride past without a second glance. Inside it lies one of the most important prehistoric caves in Europe. Found by chance in the 1990s, the cave of La Garma contains not just paintings but preserved living floors from the Palaeolithic: hearths, bones, tools and the outlines of shelters left exactly as they were when a rockfall sealed the entrance thousands of years ago. It forms part of the UNESCO site of the Cave of Altamira and Palaeolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain.
Read the complete La Garma write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Garma is where the day begins. Next is Vizcaya Bridge.
2. Vizcaya Bridge
Few riders get the chance to cross a river hanging from a bridge, but at Portugalete you can. The Vizcaya Bridge, opened in 1893 across the mouth of the Nervión just downstream of Bilbao, is the oldest transporter bridge in the world: a tall iron structure from which a gondola, suspended on cables, glides from one bank to the other carrying cars, motorcycles, bikes and pedestrians in a couple of minutes. It was designed by the Basque architect Alberto de Palacio, often described as a disciple of Gustave Eiffel, to let tall ships pass beneath while still linking the two towns, and UNESCO listed it in 2006.
Read the complete Vizcaya Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vizcaya Bridge comes up 77 km in. 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
153 km in you reach Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz. Next is back through Vizcaya Bridge.
4. back through Vizcaya Bridge
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vizcaya Bridge write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Vizcaya Bridge, late in the day. Next is La Garma.
5. La Garma
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Garma write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at La Garma. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
La Garma to Vizcaya Bridge
La Garma → Vizcaya Bridge is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Vizcaya Bridge to Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vizcaya Bridge → Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz to back through Vizcaya Bridge
Cathedrale de Vitoria-Gasteiz → back through Vizcaya Bridge is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Vizcaya Bridge to La Garma
back through Vizcaya Bridge → La Garma is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.