Before leaving to the east I wanted to capture the route I did through the valencian counties as I did with the route through Italy in the summer. First of all to be able to remember it myself in the future and see how was the first test I did with all the luggage, but also as a thank you to the people who have helped me and have welcomed me in this first adventure.
That said, the initial idea was to go by train to Valencia and from there start pedaling towards the interior of the Valencian regions, continue through Albacete, cross the Sierra de Cazorla and down to Jaén and even more to the village of my uncles near Antequera. I was looking forward to do this route to see my uncles and spend a few days with them. I hadn’t seen them for a long time. On the other hand, I also wanted to cross the Sierra de Cazorla because everyone has told me wonderful things about it. And finally the “vía verde del aceite” past Jaén also called my attention because it crosses very nice villages like Zuheros. In the end I couldn’t make it happen, both the weather and the inefficiency of public transport, especially Renfe, meant that I had to change the route and come up with a completely new one. In the region of Valencia it was also supposed to rain but the storms that crossed Cazorla and Andalucía weren’t supposed to arrive. Next I will explain in detail how everything went.
On Saturday December 4 I prepared everything to leave early on Sunday 5 from Sabadell and so I could take the only regional train from Barcelona to Valencia where I could take the bike with the panniers on without having to disassemble it and store it in a bag. As I said before, Renfe doesn’t make it easy if you want to travel with the bike, it seems that they force you to use the car or fly. They don’t seem to know how it works in other European countries like Germany, Switzerland or Austria where it’s very easy to take the bike on the train for long distances. Not to mention the train stations where in order to pass through the machines to validate the ticket you have to remove the panniers each time or the elevators where a bike does not physically fit. It was an odyssey right from the start and at 7 in the morning, but thanks to my parents, I managed it, it was a close call.
The odyssey continued in Barcelona to go from Plaça Catalunya to Sants. Once on the train to Valencia and with the bike already inside I could rest. 5 long hours of travel were waiting for me.
When I arrived in Valencia I rode around the old town with the bike and then I went to pick up the keys to Maria’s house from her sister. I contacted Maria through Warmshowers, an amazing platform that connects cyclists from all over the world in a disinterested way with the intention of sharing experiences. She agreed to host me at her house and so it was. She had left for a day trip and had already told me she’d be late. I decided to carry my bike and panniers up the narrow stairs to the second floor by myself. After sweating a lot and with very tired arms, I managed to do it. She arrived after a while and was surprised I managed. I liked her from the beginning and we talked about a thousand things. She has very interesting projects to promote the bicycle as a means of transport and as an integrating vehicle for migrants. Thanks for everything and for the dinner Maria, I owe you one! In the evening I modified the route for the next day following Maria’s advice and detouring through the Albufera to see it all flooded and it was a success. On Monday 5th leaving Valencia I met Cécile, a Dutch woman in her 60’s who was touring Spain and its Vías Verdes. She had a quicker pace than me and she made me quite tired being the first day, but it’s always nice to have company and good vibes. I hope she is doing great! She continued down the coast and I turned inland towards Alzira, Carcaixent and ending in Xàtiva.
As it was getting late, I decided to camp shortly after Xàtiva near an orange grove, and when I had the tent set up it started to drizzle and I had to eat cold cous-cous inside the tent, which always saves you from any trouble. It continued raining all night long and around 2 o’clock I was woken up by some electronic music coming from not far away. Luckily they stopped an hour or so later, but the rain didn’t stop. The next day I was faced with a dilemma: either continue camping with the risk of someone seeing me or get the hell out of there. I opted for the latter, but in the rain the tent ended up soaked. Luckily the rest of the stuff didn’t get wet and made my job easier. I decided to put the tent in garbage bags and pull towards Xàtiva station to see what to do with the trip.
That was the critical point, the moment to make a decision. There I realized that the forecast for the next few days in Cazorla was rain and storms and after getting angry with the people at the Xàtiva station for not letting me take the bike on any train going to Albacete, I decided to rethink the route and discover the inland regions of Valencia. Confirmed, getting the bike on a train in Spain is a nightmare.
I had to find a place to sleep and camping was not an option with the tent soaked as it was. The problem was that in the inland areas of Valencia there is almost no one active in applications where people offer to host travelers like Couchsurfing, Trustroots, Couchers or Warmshowers. So it was time to look for a hostel and pay. Being low season, but at the same time being a national holiday, the offer was scarce. I found the only available hostel relatively close in Moixent, Hostel la Batuta. The truth is that it saved my life and the woman who ran it let me spread my tent soaked in the courtyard of her parents’ house. In the room I also spread everything out to air it out and went to dinner at the only tavern open in the village that night. I took the opportunity to write to people in Ontinyent, Alcoi and Gandia, but I only had luck with the last one.
There was still too long a stretch if I wanted to reach Gandia the next day, so I decided to make an intermediate stop in Ontinyent where I booked a rural house in the old town, the casa de la Vila. As I knew that a fairly short stretch was waiting for me the next day, although with a good morning mountain pass, I took the opportunity to sleep a lot and get up calmly. I went to pick up the tent, which was already much less wet, and headed towards Ontinyent. I had to climb a pass with constant slopes between 8 and 10% to start the day, but as always happens when you climb, the views are worth it and the scenery rewards you.
After the pine forests came the vineyards full of rabbits, because in this area of Valencia they produce a lot of wine. It was time to continue climbing to Fontanars dels Alforins and then a long descent to Ontinyent. Before going to the old town of Ontinyent I decided to go to Pou Clar, an area of beautiful natural pools and very quiet at this time of year. I considered going to Bocairent but it was getting dark and it would’ve been a mistake, even though it’s a beautiful town. There’s a hellish climb and the next day’s route to the beach was long enough.
I left the tent drying in the dining room of the house that was empty and was all for me, and while I was under the shower I heard a band and the unmistakable sound of the dolçaina. It was the festivities of the puríssima of Ontinyent and there was music and dances of figures and giants in the street. I decided to take a shower at full speed and went down to the street to join the celebration. It was very nice, especially to see the dolçaines in their natural habitat, to see people dancing and having a great time. When it was all over I went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner because I really wanted to eat fried duck and I ended up totally full.
I took a night walk through the old town, but it was time to go to sleep soon again because the next day I had a long stretch to the beach to Aina’s house, who accepted to host me gladly. The next day I got up early, but I had nothing for breakfast and finding an open bakery was a real odyssey being a holiday. While looking for an open bakery I came across no less than 5 black cats, but I took it as a sign that everything would go smoothly that day.
With a full stomach it was time to climb towards Alfarrasí and the fog appeared. At the exit of Ontinyent, the views of the Serra de Mariola were spectacular.
Arriving at Bellús I had to turn off onto a track towards the Cova Negra in the direction of el Genovés. Some mountain bikers had already warned me that it was more of a hiking trail and to be careful, and indeed they were right. It was full of big stones and it started to rain, but with this bike everything is possible. It was time to continue climbing to Barxeta and with the impossible mission of finding a place to eat on a holiday. After asking several people, they told me that the only option was the restaurant of the sports center on the way to Simat de la Valldigna. I was charged 7 euros for a sandwich and a large water, but with a full belly and loaded with water I started the ascent of the pass between Barxeta and Simat. A quiet ascent without traffic with slopes between 5 and 8%.
The views were beautiful and the descent was very long until Simat. There I decided to go to see the monastery of Santa Maria de la Valldigna and what I found left me perplexed.
The fact that it’s in ruins makes it even more mysterious. I recommend you go if you’re in the area because the photos do not do justice to the atmosphere around the monastery.
After the monastery it was time to continue down through Tavernes de la Valldigna, which is the town where the Festivern takes place, towards the beach, specifically to Xeraco, where Aina lived. She loves anthropology, in fact she has studied it, and traditional music from around the world, especially Balkan music and told me to take advantage of the trip to discover the traditional music of the Balkans, which is beautiful. We talked for a long time but it was time to go to sleep early because the next day I had to get up early. Although Valencia is a huge city and with many people willing to welcome travelers, nobody could host me the next night, so I decided to finish the route and leave because both the afternoon of the next day and the day after it was supposed to rain a lot. So I decided to take the regional train to Barcelona the next day, which left at 4 pm. That meant that I had to get up early to get to Valencia before 4 pm and 70 kilometers were waiting for me.
I left early in the morning through the marjals towards Cullera where I made a pit stop for a proper breakfast. Then I continued north through the Albufera again, which was even more beautiful than the first time. Several roads were cut due to the fact that it was flooded, but there is always a way to get to the bigger towns.
I had to push the pedals to get to Valencia and a couple of grandparents on an electric bike that overtook me arriving in Valencia was the motivation I needed. I arrived at the station of Valencia ahead of schedule, but unfortunately I couldn’t get ahead of the rain that came to greet me the last kilometers. At the estació del nord of Valencia everything was in chaos because there were several delayed trains and the queues were immense. Luckily, my regional train was on time and in “only” 6 hours I arrived in Barcelona at ten o’clock at night. The only thing left to do was to take another train and get to Sabadell.
Even though I had to change the route halfway and had to shorten it, I think I made the right decision. It rained a lot in the south and although the intention was to test all the gear, including the rain gear, I already had the chance to do it. It isn’t necessary to be masochistic and I will have many rainy days during the trip to the Far East. I’m satisfied and I’m very happy with how everything went. I felt very comfortable on the bike and quite well physically, so I can’t ask for more. Now it’s time to review the inventory and better organize the panniers, although that’ll constantly evolve as I do more kilometers on the bike.
The truth is that it was a great idea to make this trip before going far away. I’ve been able to test almost all the gear and it’s helped me to realize what might be missing. Most of the gear was a success, we’ll see if I think the same in a few months. And the bike is incredible. Looking forward to start this new adventure and enjoy what the world has to offer.
See you soon!
