Madrid to Lisbon by Road Bike

The average elevation gain is +1527 m/day (the maximum gain is on Day 9, with +2400 m). On Day 1, we will transfer by vehicle a short distance out of Madrid's urban area. From here, we can continue our journey by bicycle all the way to Portugal! We ride a total of of 1126 km and climb +18600 m over 12 days of cycling, with a rest day on Day 6. Our average distance per day is 94 km (the maximum daily distance being Day 4, with up to 124 km). The ride difficulty steps up gradually over the first three days, varying from +800m to +1500m/day. Days 4 and 5 raise the bar for distance and elevation as we enter the heart of the Sierra. Day 6 is our well-deserved rest in La Alberca. We ease back into cycling on Day 7 with a more moderate day, followed by big rides on Days 8 to 11 as we make our way through the Portuguese mountains. Reaching the Atlantic, enjoy coastal joyrides of approx. 100 km and just over +1000m per day as we near our destination, Lisbon! We will transfer into the city at the end of the last ride and celebrate our achievement with a final dinner before saying goodbye on the morning of Day 14.

The trip is fully supported, and your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain means that you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of water and refreshments along the way.

Suitability: This is a challenging cycling tour that caters to experienced road cyclists with good physical fitness. You should be comfortable with daily climbing of +2000 m or more over consecutive days, and be able to handle your bicycle well on narrow roads with steep descents and hairpin turns. While the days vary in difficulty, and the tour includes a rest day, each day of riding will bring significant climbing challenges, potentially with extreme mountain conditions such as heat, cold, high winds, and rain along the way. Of course, we will always have support vehicles available in case you need a lift!

Biking conditions: The rides are chosen to be ideal for cycling, meaning heavy traffic will be rare, but it’s always possible to encounter vehicles along the way. We will also ride into historic town centres and other settlements, which will mean navigating among numerous vehicles and other obstructions. Road surfaces are generally tarmac, but may include some rough broken asphalt, occasional gravel sections, and cobblestones. Steep, extended descents on mountain roads mean that control of the bike and ease with braking will be a must.

Riding in the mountains, we can expect a wide variety of climates and temperature swings from hot to cold, as well as sudden changes in the weather. Appropriate cycling gear for mountanis, including layers and waterproof apparel, will be essential.

We generally ride rain or shine, but based on the guide’s discretion or your level of comfort, modifications to the planned route can be made. It’s all part of the adventure!

Hotels: We have carefully selected quality hotels to bring out the best in our surroundings while offering warm, welcoming Iberian hospitality after our demanding rides. Central locations in medieval towns and port villages allow us to engage in the local life, while swimming pools and spas give us the chance to rejuvenate in comfort. We will spend two nights, including our rest day, in La Alberca’s Abadia de Los Templarios, which features a magnificent terrace and fine spa treatments, situated near the many activities of the town itself. Our final night hotel in Lisbon, The Marques de Pombal, is located within walking distance of the city’s many attractions, including the cathedral and port area.

Bikes

Because some people can't imagine going on a trip without their own beloved bicycle, we do not provide them as part of this tour. However, you can hire bikes locally for the price listed in the tour pricing section.

If you bring your own bike, please make sure it is a road bike in good mechanical order, and that you bring any specialty/spare parts that might be needed for your model of bike.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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