Why this ride
From Portugalete it runs 622 km to Portugalete; allow about 10 h 13 of riding. It goes by way of Santimamiñe, Ekain, Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian and Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Vizcaya Bridge and Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 622 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 13
- 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
Basque Coast Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 49 km this is Basque Coast Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 49 km
- Named road
- Basque Coast Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Santimamiñe.
2. Santimamiñe
In 1916, a group of boys exploring a hillside in the Basque Country found paintings deep inside a cave, and Santimamiñe became one of the most important prehistoric sites in the region. The cave, near Kortezubi in the Urdaibai valley, contains Magdalenian paintings of bison, horses, goats and deer, made around fourteen thousand years ago, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of cave art of northern Spain. To protect the paintings, the cave itself is closed to the public, but a visitor centre offers a virtual tour that recreates the interior in detail, with guides explaining the art and the people who made it.
Read the complete Santimamiñe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Santimamiñe comes up about 49 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ekain.
3. 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
about 124 km into the recorded legs you reach Ekain. Next is Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian.
4. Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Imagine a mountain with a hole through it, and a medieval road running straight through the hole. The tunnel of San Adrián is a natural cave passage near the crest of the Aizkorri range, on the border of Gipuzkoa and Álava, and for centuries it carried one of the main routes between the Castilian plateau and the Basque coast. Pilgrims on the inland Camino de Santiago, merchants, armies and kings all passed through it, and a small chapel was built inside the cave. The old paved road leading up to it survives in sections, worn smooth by centuries of hooves and boots.
Read the complete Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian, about halfway. Next is Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro.
5. Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro
Every year on the morning of 29 June, the people of Haro climb a hill outside town and drench each other in red wine, and nobody has ever satisfactorily explained to me why this needs to happen at nine in the morning. The Batalla del Vino is the loudest expression of a town that lives and breathes wine. Haro is the heart of Rioja Alta, and just outside it the old stone bridge at Briñas crosses the Ebro, a medieval structure of solid arches that has carried travellers, mule trains and wine carts across the river for centuries.
Read the complete Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro sits at 208 km, about halfway. Next is back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian.
6. back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian comes up about 437 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Ekain.
7. back through 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
about 496 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Ekain. Next is back through Santimamiñe.
8. back through Santimamiñe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Santimamiñe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Santimamiñe, late in the day. Next is Vizcaya Bridge.
9. 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
The route ends here after 622 km.
Leg by leg
Vizcaya Bridge to Santimamiñe
Vizcaya Bridge → Santimamiñe is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Santimamiñe to Ekain
Santimamiñe → Ekain is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ekain to Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Ekain → Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian to Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro
Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro is 126 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro to back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian
Pont de Briñas sur le Fleuve Ebro → back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian is 126 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian to back through Ekain
back through Chaussée et Tunnel de San Adrian → back through Ekain is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ekain to back through Santimamiñe
back through Ekain → back through Santimamiñe is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Santimamiñe to Vizcaya Bridge
back through Santimamiñe → Vizcaya Bridge is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.