The city of Nice seen from the surrounding hillside bathed in sunshine
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Home Travel StoriesTo The Southern Tip Of Europe

Good Weather, Good Scenery, Bad Surfaces

Ride Date 27 Sep 2025

By Andy Gray

Day 15 - Valdevaqueros to El Pedrosa 213 miles

(editor note - there's nothing on FB for day 14...)

Hot, hot, hot heading north!

Kept awake last night by dogs in neighbouring rooms barking and televisions so didn’t have a great sleep. Made sure to make plenty of noise as I was getting packed this morning! Left at 09:45 and headed east thru Tarifa and Algeciras before heading inland and north. That will be the last time I see the sea until the Channel unless I get very lost.
 
The first part skirted the Parque Natural de los Alcornocales and made it clear just how cycling mad Spain is. I’ve seen quite a few cyclists everywhere I’ve ridden during the week but weekends are a whole different kettle of fish. A very long section of the road had a cordoned off cycle lane and there were large groups of club racing cyclists using it. Through the day I saw 100s of them right up in the mountains.
 
My elderly Dutch neighbours, without a dog, were bird watchers and told me that the white storks are starting their migration to Africa and they’d seen flocks of 800 of them. I found a few who obviously don’t want to leave yet. 

Just outside a couple of the towns were well dressed gentlemen on horses heading into town. I have seen lots of horse ranches in Andalusia. They weren’t quite as dressed up as the picture I’ve included but close.
 
Soon I turned onto smaller roads and the regular warning signs made it clear this could be the worse conditioned road I’ve found in Spain. And it was! Potholes, the surface missing, rippled, cracked, disappearing off the side. Even worse than being at home!! The first road lasted 29km and the second 20km at 25-28C still wearing my wind shirt under my vented jacket as there was nowhere to stop. A fellow biker with pillion followed me along the first road and it must’ve been horrible for the pillion. I was getting thrown about and having to dodge all over the road. Not quite sure how the cyclists were coping.
 
Eventually I got onto a better road into the large town of Ubrique where it took me a few attempts to work out how to get through. Very pretty as all the building are painted white but very hot at 30C.
 
There was a great climb after the town that took me into the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park.  I kept swapping between the Provinces of Malaga and Cadiz in the morning before ending up in the province of Sevilla later on. 

After a brief stint on a larger fast road past Algodonales it was back onto a small windy road thru the hills where the paragliders were playing. Stopped in the middle of nowhere to eat my sandwich that I’d bought at a garage on the main road and didn’t see anyone else for the 15 minutes I was there.
 
The twisty roads ended just before the town of Coripe with a mirador where I stopped for photos. It had a wooden walkway and steps up part of the hill and I could not work out what the A-frame structures were for. 
 
When planning today’s route, I knew I had to go through the town of Moron, well Morón de la Frontera to use its full name!

This was the start of 80km of boring, hot flat land where the temperature reached 32C. Had to keep stopping to soak my neck buff with water. The best thing I’ve added to my bike is the cycle water bottle cage so I can drink regularly without stopping.
 
Sevilla passed by to the west of me and just after I crossed the east-west A-4 motorway leading to it, I could see hills again. This was the Parque Natural de la Sierra Norte which took me to my bungalow for the night near El Pedrosa. It is a group of 5 or 6 next to a restaurant and nearby petrol station. I checked in at the restaurant and was told to park my bike in front of the room. That will be handy in the morning when I need to load the bike in the expected rain. 

Now I need to wait for the restaurant to open for dinner at 21:00, not sure I’ll still be awake!

A trellis steel tower with 3 clumps of grass and twigs forming storks nests with storks still in them
These storks haven’t flown to Africa yet.
A rider on horseback in a smart spanish style suit and hat
The men I saw riding on the road had the hats and trousers but just a shirt, no jacket.
FIRME EN MAL ESTADO the sign say, bad road with a 50kph limit
They weren’t wrong about bad roads!
dry grass, hills into the distance, we can make out a town in the folds of landscape away in the distance
Ubrique in the distance at the end of the dodgy roads.
an information board with a map of the natural parque and some details in Spanish
Looking down into the spanish town from one of the hilltops, the town is surrounded by peaks
Ubrique from above.
A narrow tarmac lane curves between steep rocky sides with a few trees and dry grass
Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park.
Rocky mountain tops but with some trees, the road and street signs
Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park (again).
Andy's BMW in the spanish scenery, trees, grass, the narrow lane and blue skies
Nice quiet lunch stop.
A gold-yellow dragonfly squished into Andy's headlight
Sorry dragonfly.
Trees and rocks, hilltops and a road, we can just make out an arched bridge too
View from the Coripe mirador.
In the countryside, just on the hillside, a wooden structure that looks like a solitary unused wall
Not sure what there are for.
A sign, 6 strips of wood with spanish writing in different colours on each strip
WALK, RUN, BREATHE
TOUCH THEIR FLIGHT WITH YOUR HANDS
WALK THE ROADS
FROM CORIPE TO HEAVEN.
Wooden framed steps zi-zag a short ways up a hillside, Andy's bike parked in the space in front
Walkway for a view.
Mostly we see dusty roads and a roundabout, a few palm trees but away in the far hazy distance more mountains
I see hills again.
gnarled small trees, dry grass, but some of the earth has been tilled and is a dry dusty dark red
The Earth has changed to a deep burgundy red colour.
Selfie of Andy with helmet flipped up. The rocks behind are the same dark dusky red colour
And the rocks.
A bungalow, a room for the night with Andy's BMW parked outside the door on a tile patio
Home for the night.

Share your tales - click here.

A long Ride to Gien Big miles already on Andy's first day on the road. He's just getting settled into the ride and making his way south through France.
Smiling In The Rain It's a soggy wet day through France for Andy, but that won't dampen his spirits. He stumbles upon 2CVs and climbing walls, straight roads and twisties.
Into The Pyrenees With improving weather Andy is still heading south. It's all terribly positive, even the diversions are opportunities to explore. The Pyrenees continue to impress.
An Easy Day Around The Pyrenees Andy is taking it easy today. Just a casual bimble around The Pyrenees, across mountains and valleys, you know, the sort of easy ride we all do on a lazy day. Ever more delightful images too.
Stuck In The Cols - Painful! Andy is enjoying all the mountain passes on the French side of The Pyrenees - until he's "Route Barre" from getting back to the campsite. He's got the sniffles too.
Poor Poorly Andy The sun is shining, the air is warm, the surroundings are lovely. Andy is rather under the weather himself, it's not the best couple of days.
Andy's Local Ride Feeling a little better Andy's having an easy day exploring The Pyrenees. Scenery aplenty while dodging some rain.
Back On The Road And Heading South Again Having mostly recovered Andy's back on the road making big miles through ever more stunning scenery. A few notes then pictures aplenty that'll make you wish you were there.
More Wonders, Weird Food It's another day filled with fabulous things for Andy. Knights and bends in the road, mountains and flat bits, and a posh hotel with a sunset.
The Omnipresence Of Olive Groves Andy's definition of a shorter ride is only 250 miles... sheesh. This time between the fabulous scenery and glorious weather it's olive groves as far as the eye can see.
To The Most Southern Tip Of Europe Andy reaches the final destination of this trip. "You can see Africa from 'ere".
Good Weather, Good Scenery, Bad Surfaces It's time for Andy to start the return leg of his big trip. It's all sunshine and hot weather, the views are still good too. The roads... well they're not quite as good. You can't have everything can you.

Reader's Comments

Upt'North ยน said :-
Enjoyed that Andy. Made me think of the warmer, drier, nicer weather hopefully to come. Although the morning cutting back scrub and the lawns looking longer will bring with it the age old conundrum of ride or work. As the bike is currently buried and on a SORN it'll have to wait. There's a paint brush talking to me too. I need a holiday. A long biking holiday. We've got nowt planned, anyone else got any ideas.
At the moment I'm thinking either Dolomites or Northern Europe, unfortunately other things may get in the way. Pffffffftttttt.
23/02/2026 12:50:55 UTC

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