Let me out let me be gone: Badlands (well, some of it) cycle 2024

We only cycled a part of the Badlands route, and my respect for those who get to finish it has no limit. It's equally brutal and breathtaking, you can't understand the extent of its wildness unless you get there, and none of the pictures we took managed to capture its beauty and vastness. I feel privileged to have seen a part of it, but no way I'll ever race it!!!

Day 0 - Granada
Saturday 21 September

The flight was late and we landed in Málaga at noon, ate a sad salad while waiting for the 1.30 pm bus that took us to Granada shortly past 3pm. It was Saturday and it felt like the apocalypse, there was not a soul around nor cars in the 30 min it took us to walk to the apartment where we were staying, which was a shit hole given we paid £140 for it (for the record, H&H suites Oasis Granada, the only place we could find that let us keep the bikes in the room), but oh well, sometimes you laugh sometimes you cry. The kitchen was shared with the other room, it felt a prison, nothing in it...we went out quickly to visit the city. At 6pm we got the bikes delivered - Veleta and Gorafe, in honour of the places we (hoped we) would visit - brand new!! I had a bit of a problem with the weird shifters but that was a tomorrow problem!

We then went for dinner to a buffet where I stuffed myself with peas and then we walked to the centre. It was packed full of people but really enjoyable. We got back and slept like logs (we woke up at 4am that day).

Day 1 - Granada to Guadix, 76km and 1730m up
Sunday 22 September

The best part of the day was leaving that apartment. It gets light at 8am so we couldn't leave before then, and we also woke up past 7... but even then having breakfast in the kitchen (I could hear the man in the other room snoring...) meant making a lot of noise, I feel so sorry for that couple, they looked like decent people!

We left at 8.20am and straight after I had to stop so that Paul could teach me how to use the shifters. Then at the first red light we got another cyclist, we chatted a bit, he told me his route for the day of which I knew nothing, but at the end we went up the same way, and it was steep! The first 50m by the river were a dream and then the endless relentless insane climb started. I have no clue what the gradient was but def more than 10%. At least it was on tarmac and we gained elevation quickly.

Leaving the room oh yeah!

The Alhambra in the background, what a sweet goodbye

We then got on a gravel road and it was a bit of dodgy area / potential for dog attacks everywhere, but thankfully there were none (I love Spain!!) and eventually we got back on a road and then on a nice but steep gravel road to Puerto Lobo, above 1000m. There were a few people around and a lot of cyclists (but where are the ladies?) and it felt like all a climb but the time was passing fast.

I loved this gravel road, it reminded me of the Trans Andaluz

Reaching yet another top

There was another down and then up before a longer descent. By the time we got to the point that you crossed a road (packed full of road cyclists, def more of them than cars) it was noon, we climbed more than 1000m but only covered something like 36km...oh dear, or better, señor dame las fuerzas! We were both quite peckish and it was time for our huge bocadillo de tortilla, eaten on a bench just above the road, with all the (pro/lycra looking) cyclists laughing and waving, I guess we looked unusual, and very hambrientos!

Lunch spot

Belly full, up we went for another long climb, which for once was well graded and just really pleasant to cycle. There was nobody around, but at some stage a car passed and the man got off to speak to us. It was really a lovely person who needed a good chat, and who likes foreigners - the day before in Granada we saw a guy in a car shouting abuse to a couple who was just walking because they were "tourists". He was lucky he didn't get me or I would have kicked his ass badly. It seems to me that things are starting to get a bit out of hand, but shouting at random people is not the solution to any problem.

Anyway, we had a good chat with that man and said goodbye and kept going to the Mirador at over 1600m (I thought we were climbing to 1850m so when I saw the top that made my day!), from which we could see mountains and desert, just stunning.

The climb was almost over and a long descent on dubious gravel started (it was not a fast cycle today, I wonder if I was slower going up or down...at least we didn't get any punctures). We reached the bottom and then got started on yet another shorter climb and from there we went down to a small but charming village called Policar, and there was a bar, the only one we found all day. We stopped for a cold drink, the lady was lovely and welcoming. We got 2 lemon sodas, which came with a tapa of bread and ham... which ended up being eaten by a very thankful cat, and a huge plate of patatas bravas, all of this for 9.50 euros!

Policar, stopping at the only bar along all the way

We had a lovely stop there and recharged for the last bit, which started with a long descent on a paved and empty road, then we pushed the bikes up to the Mirador de la Fin del Mundo, what a place that was!

Not a single car, this is my place!

I bet Lachlan was averaging 25km/h here...

I thought the thing about troglodytes is that there is not much to interpret...

From there it was a short 10km to destination, and I would never have thought that Guadix would be so lovely. The hotel we are staying, Hotel Yit Abentofail, it's a dream, can't believe we have an amazing room, and half board, for only 115 euros. Compared to yesterday it's all another story. And people here are so lovely and welcoming.

We had a good walk around town, to the cathedral, Roman theatre, sunset at the cuevas, and just loved it all. It turns out Guadix was used in many films too, which I can well believe as there was definitely a Far West feeling in the landscape. Dinner was at 8.30 and it was nice (... adding to the potatoes diet), now it's past 10pm, I haven't stopped a second and I can't wait to hit the bed. Let's see what tomorrow will bring!

Day 2 - Guadix to La Calahorra, 94km and 1300 m up
Monday 23 September

Despite staying at the best hotel ever, we both slept quite poorly...maybe because there was no blanket and it was a bit chilly (I used the towels as blanket but Paul's poor bum got cold), and the stomach was not too happy either.

As we were getting ready for breakfast I had the best show: first a cat laying on the roof in front of our window, looking at the pink sunrise, then all of a sudden hundreds of birds stormed into town (we saw them the evening before leaving town at sunset). What a way to start the day!

At 8am sharp we were the first at breakfast. There was no croissant or pastries but we got toasted bread with the tomate rallado, me another one with tomato and avocado, slice of tortilla and muesli. I basically had lunch for breakfast but in hindsight I'm glad I did...

Reluctantly we left shortly past 9am and headed out of town, on a road which was much busier now than on the Sunday. We stopped at the Dia to get our lunch as we knew we wouldn't find much along the way.

Finally at 9.30am (me starting at 9.30????) we headed off. We left the road shortly after and took a gravel one which eventually took us to the Gorafe desert. It was a slow cycle, the gravel was very inconsistent and rocky at times (I was so scared to destroy the tyres on the sharp rocks...) but absolutely stunning, like the pictures don't give it justice. We also cycled past the Sanctuario San Torcuato from where there was a descent that took us on a kind of river bed, followed by a steep ascent which amazingly we managed to cycle all.

This amazing cycling infrastructure was in the middle of nowhere

It was 11am and we did 27km...morale was low but then we were in heaven and we had all day so who cares. We kept going and Paul spotted a bunch of vultures, with such a dramatic background it all looked so surreal, like are we really here? We were on a kind of dry plateau for a while (we met nobody all day) and eventually we got on a paved road, like perfectly paved and deserted. We also saw a deer that looked like a small chamois, beautiful.

It was noon and we were both quite hungry so we stopped by the ruin of a house to eat bread and guacamole, with the wood forks we got from the bar at the airport. The Guardia Civil passed by and slowed down, until I gave the thumbs up and they left (this reminds me of the story of Omero, a YouTube guy who raced the Badlands, got stopped at night by the Guardia Civil and had to explain to then what he was doing, I can just picture their faces and still laugh at this and def don't envy him!).

Are we really here?

We kept going and as the descent started we got to the Mirador of the Discordancia Angular de Gorafe (we keep laughing at the name) and we stopped to take it in and for a few pictures, it was really from another planet.

The sign says: Discordancia Angular de Gorafe

We then kept going on a fast descent and slowly pedalled the last few km uphill to Gorafe, where we hoped to stop at the bar, but we saw it too late and we went to the small shop first and ate something at the square. A man with a tractor packed full of walnuts discharged them all on the floor to dry, what a show that was!

At 1pm we set off and pushed the bikes up the slope that was the longer version of the one from the Mirador del Fin del Mundo of the day before. As we climbed the views got better and better, I was actually glad to walk so to take them in. On the top it was a kind of arid plateau, with the Mirador del Llano de Olivares shortly after.

We then joined a deserted straight and paved road which we followed for a while. We still had 50km to go, and the rest was not as dramatic as in the morning, and it was misty in the distance so we missed all the views of the Sierra Nevada, shame! The rest was kind of bumpy, bit on roads bit on gravel of mixed quality, until finally we saw destination, clearly visible 20km before thanks to the distinctive Castillo on top of the hill. There was also a movie set along the way, definitely Far West here!

We passed through many abandoned villages, I wonder how they were back in time

The goats / deer that we kept meeting along the way, from the desert to the mountains

Road all for us

The movie set

The last few km were a total drag, I was so done! We arrived at the hotel Hospedaría de Zanete, 4 stars, which is quite stunning, but yet not as good as the one from yesterday. We checked in, washed and went to check out town, which was very pretty but deserted. We got a snack from the shop as we were both hungry, then dinner at 8pm which was a bit of a disaster...they forgot we were vegetarians (people staying in the hotel tonight =3), I ordered tempura, not knowing what it was and in my head I had lentil soup, so I ended up skinning each single vegetable, then vegetable lasagne and some dessert. It was a while I hadn't been sick for eating too much, and badly! Good stuff tomorrow we climb up the pass and burn calories!

Hope we'll both sleep well tonight and Paul's ass doesn't get cold (we have a blanket!)

Destination in sight!

Paul waiting with the bikes while I was on the check in, or looking for anybody to show up...

Our hotel, beautiful and empty

Day 3 - La Calahorra to Berchules (Trevalez), 61km and 1666m up
Tuesday 24 September

We'll remember today for a long time. Things didn't exactly go as expected, but somehow it all worked out for the best.

Being a 4 star hotel we expected breakfast to be a good one, but when we went to the bar there was no buffet...it was the kind of bar workers stop by on their way to work. At the end we had coffee and tostada with tomato and jam, and it was a lot so all good (plus I stuffed myself as a pig the night before...).

We set off at 9.15am, in an empty town and misty landscape, but at least it was not super cloudy and it was better to climb with that temperature, because it was a 14km climb, and a steep one to Puerto de Ragua at 2000m. What a beautiful climb it was, nobody around, surrounded by pines and all we could hear was the singing birds. We stopped at the Mirador and although we couldn't see far away because of the mist, it was unique indeed.

At 11.45am we reached the pass, and it was a huge one with picnic areas and forests all around.

The hotel has a garage just for bikes

The reception area was quite spectacular too

Steep climbs mean great views, well, apart from the mist

It was not too cold and I wondered if I needed the jacket. Thank goodness I put it on as the long descent was freezing! It was smooth tarmac and steep and jeez it was cold. After 18km of it we got to a village called Laroles (we entered the Alpujarra region, and somehow all of a sudden there were villages everywhere with stuff and people!) and we stopped at the first café to warm up and eat as we were both quite hungry. Paul got chips and me a huge plate of roasted veggies, finally! They went down a treat and they warmed me up.

From there the profile seemed ok, we knew there was more climbing but we thought it would be a gradual one and not too much of it... Turns out we ended up climbing another 800m in total, of steep never-ending climbs, it felt like I was Sisyphus and my destiny was to steeply climb forever to get nowhere.

The views were truly stunning, but 30km of that was a bit too much... We passed through many villages, all by a steep face and all on a way up. We stopped once for a rest, then 9km to destination I totally bonked on a climb and we stopped to eat the bread and guacamole. That helped, and we knew it was only 9km to destination so I took it stoically. After a turn we could see Berchules up a slope on the other side, pity there was another descent before the final 4km killer climb started, by the time we got to the sign of the village I was done, and the irony was that the place we booked was on top of it, like 50m up, which I swear felt like 150m.

We got there at 3.30pm, the place was shut, nobody around, I called twice and they hanged up on me. The village looks like shit and dodgy, there was nowhere else to stay there anyway, Paul found a taxi number from Trevelez, 24km up the road (we'd have had to cycle there tomorrow, and it would have been more of the same stuff), so we called the guy who said he would arrive in 40min. In the meantime someone showed up from the apartment, and we said no thanks we found another place, like can you answer the phone or leave a note?? For what we knew you may not even exist! They wanted to charge us anyway and I promise if they do I'll put on a fight (they did, the fight continues...)

Anyway, the taxi man was really nice, he gave us so much information of the local places that it felt we hired a guide, plus cycling that road would have killed me.

This village is so cute (despite being the Spanish capital of killing pigs...) and it's the highest in Spain they say (1750m). It's cloudy and cold here, which they say it's unusual for this time of the year. We had a great dinner finally: soup and delicious lasagne and tomorrow it'll be extremely short, which is good so we can get ready for the big climb to come.

The view from our freezing room, thank goodness there was heating

We were amazed at how much stuff they grow here

This oil came from a village we cycled through the day before, Paul loved it

Checking out the birds situation

Day 4 - Trevalez to Capileira, 24km and 500m
Wednesday 25 September

The sky is clear!! Thank goodness there was heating in the room as the evening was freezing. The forecasts were not great for today either but as soon as the sun came out it got hot again yeah!

We had breakfast at 8am with granola and yogurt and banana, then tostada with tomato, peach and melon. We tried to waste time and left at 9.30am, right in time for the sun to reach the village.

We walked down to the main road, probably 100m of elevation, honest the villages here are crazy, took a few pictures (should have got the sign "long live the pigs!") and then started on a steep climb. We were still contouring the mountain, the views were not as dramatic as yesterday but with all the time in the world, and with the sun, it felt great, like cycling was really enjoyable. We stopped at the first village and then started a descent.

It was all a bit bumpy, as usual, then we reached a village called Pitres and looked for a bar, the only one open. It had a lot of character and I felt sorry for the woman who was dealing with everyone, and we were a few, all alone. There were empty mugs and plates everywhere. As usual shortly after we arrived everyone left...

It was 11am and we treated ourselves with tostada with tomate and avocado, plus 2 coffees, all for 7.20 Euro. We only had 9km left, which started with a descent down to a Mirador from were we could see Capileira and the Pico de Veleta. At that moment the taxi driver from yesterday stopped by and showed us the way tomorrow, quite a coincidence and hopefully a good omen.

We were both shiting ourselves at the idea of the climb tomorrow, questioning if we had it in us to get it done, but as soon as we saw it against a clear sky we knew we had to go for it.

We took a few pictures and left when a bus of tourists pulled in. We reached the bottom and got on the road to our final destination: 4km of guess what? Steep climb...on top of that there were many cars around, overtaking with little space (you can spot the foreigners from local drivers) but at 12.30 we made it to town and went to drop the bikes at the hotel.

The village is touristy and a bit weird, like not too many good vibes which were confirmed when we went for lunch... almost 2h to get served by the rudest of the waiters. I can't wait to leave this place!

At least the hotel is nice, we have our own terrace and we finally managed to wash our stinky clothes. Now we need to relax and recharge and get ready for the big day tomorrow...I'm equally exited and scared!

As if we were not exercising enough

This is life

Capileira and Pico de Veleta in the background, we have to get there!

Thinking: how do we get up there?

The well camouflaged goat

Our hotel, elevation 1500m

Our room with terrace at the Hotel Los Llanos

Cyclo trumps, with pseudo clean stuff hanging to dry

Checking out the huerto

Day 5 - Capileira to Granada, 84km and 1800m
Thursday 26 September

Tension was palpable when we woke up at 6.50am. It was still dark and the bats were flying around for their last round before going to sleep. We were already packed and at 7.30 sharp we were at the buffet staffing ourselves with any kind of food. We then finished packing and headed to the bikes, all like a well oiled machine, we were on a mission with no time to waste. Pity that the lazy lady who was supposed to be at the reception was in the restaurant getting her breakfast... Paul found her and we eventually got our bikes. The sky was clear, the bikes packed, off we went at 8.20am. It did feel like the start of a memorable day.

Thankfully the hotel was already on the top part of town (if you have been in this part of the world you know what I mean), elevation 1500m. We had to reach 3200m, game on!

Slowly but steady we got on the paved road that was climbing at an average 6 to 7% gradient. As we climbed among trees we could start to see the sea, and whit the crystal clear sky and perfect views it was a pleasure to be out, it definitely felt like we were up to something huge.

The section of paved road was longer than expected, which was great, but eventually the gravel started. It was not the best, like washed out and rocky in parts, but we managed to stay on the saddle, while the time and km were passing below the tyres (because as we know both space and time are curved :).

There were not many cars around, which was great as the dust they lifted was awful, on top of the dry air that we could feel in our lungs. After about 13km we got to the barrier that stopped cars, yeah! We were still in the tree zone and as we climbed we could see more sea, and Morocco!!!

It was more than 1h 30m since we started and we stopped for a bar, but the air was so dry that I was struggling to chew.

We were still in the treeline and could smell the pine forest, and nobody around. We didn't waste much time as we were on a schedule (8km x hour our target), off we went again and finally we passed the treeline, at about 2300m if altitude. There were cows around but not much else.

Can it get better than this?

We could hear the wind roaring, and as soon as passed a Mirador and got on some ridge it was so strong and cold that we had to stop to put on arm warmers, headband and jacket, even if it was sunny. With the wind, the steep gravel and low gear, I really struggled to keep balance, but somehow managed to. We passed the Mirador from where we could see Trevelez, that was quite cool! Shortly after we saw a bunch of rocks and stopped there for shelter and to eat some grissini with pipas. We didn't feel hungry because of the elevation (2800m) but they went down well. Two guys on electric MTB passed by, 2 of the few people we saw all day.

We kept going and at 11am we reached the hikeabike section. Steep and rocky and with the thin air it was a pleasure to walk and not cycle it! It felt surreal to be up there in such a rocky landscape after so much lush vegetation, and the views were getting wider and wider, we were indeed on the roof of the world.

Yeah! time to push the bikes!

I only drink coke when I'm up to something like this, I should have brought a gallon!

After an hour we reached flattish ground and managed to cycle a bit, at 3000m!!! Last time we cycled so high we were in the Rockies. It got too rocky though so we pushed again, contouring the mountain, which was more of a massive, with a few ups and downs. It was endless and there was always another bit after a turn. At noon we stopped to eat half of our cheese sandwich, and kept going on and on. We met a guy on an electric MTB coming down and he stopped for a chat, he said we were almost there and just 2 turns left... 2 turns my ass!! Finally at 2pm we reached the top. There was also a mama goat with the baby wondering around, that made my day.

I guess the lunch spot had quite a view

We would occasionally cycle, but the rocks were really sharp and we didn't want to tear the tyres

The first time we have a glimpse of what's in the other side

We could see the pass from there, thinking it's over, but I swear it was still a looong way to get there

Finally at the pass, looking at the Pico Veleta

We stopped before crossing the pass as the wind was blowing from the other side. We finished the sandwich, put on all the clothes (leg warmers and base layer) and off we went for the descent. The views from there were crazy, we could see Granada and the low ground, and the mid mountains at 2000m which looked like dwarfs.

It was really wild on the top, the first short bit being gravel which turned into a badly broken down tarmac with a lot of hairpins. When we got lateral wind it was a struggle to keep balance, when headwind it was so strong I didn't even have to break. We went down slowly to the sky resort at 2500m, where the proper road started and cars were allowed again. At the barrier I played limbo to the amusement of the lady working there.

Honest, the pictures don't remotely give the idea of what we had in front of us

The road was getting better and the countdown of the elevation (not km) started: 2000, 1750, 1500, 1000 and with it we took off layer after layer. Still windy though, at times I was not even breaking because of the wind.

At 3.45pm we reached a village at the bottom called Genial, and we stopped at a bench to recover from the endless descent and to eat the pouch of grains that we bought in Guadix, finally! It was actually delicious, and I didn't have to drag them around anymore (500gr)!!! We also finally threw away the disposable forks and knives that we got when having lunch at the airport ... highly reused, they didn't look good!

From there it was 10km to Granada, and the pleasant surprise was that the first part was on a beautiful and flat gravel cycling path along a stream and in the shade of trees, and pretty empty! We then entered the outskirts of Granada on a quiet road and then suddenly we were in the centre. Somehow we reached our hotel at 5pm sharp, without accidents nor getting lost.

The beautiful sensation of finishing a great trip, let alone an epic day, with nothing going wrong, just priceless!!

Ruben came to pick up the bikes at 5.30pm and we had a nice chat, he was glad the trip went well and we (and the bikes!) made it back in one piece.

Bye bye Gorafe and Velete, you did an amazing job

Our room, def better than the apartment we staid on day 1

Finally we could relax and just chill out, just the thought of no more cycling and climbing felt so great! We went to celebrate with an ice cream, then a walk by the cathedral, then a nice (and amazingly cheap) dinner at some Moroccan place, followed by a walk to the Mirador San Nicolas just in time for sunset. From there we could see the Alhambra and the Pico de Veleta in all its splendour, we were up there just 6h before, mind-blowing!

Last day - Torremolinos

I woke up so wasted as I slept bad, not even the coffee at breakfast woke me up, but the walk to the bus station kind of did. We got the bus to the Málaga airport and then the tram to Torremolinos where we are having a very chilled out day, waiting for the heat to ease a bit before heading to the beach.

The beach was not as hard and easy to walk on as we hoped, but we still enjoyed the long barefoot walk, it's the tradition at the end of our trips!

We then had the end of the trip celebratory beer and pizza, followed by evening walk on the promenade, and cherry on the cake, the morning we left we were awoken by a beautiful orange sunrise. Life is good!