We went from Bilbao in the north to Espona on the Mediterranean coast, between Málaga and Gibraltar. As always Pedal Nation were fantastic in the way they looked after us and made sure we always had we needed. Just Ace! Up in the north the roads surfaces were very good. As we got further south the road surface quality varied from aweful to good. Because of riding in low populated areas we were often on main roads, but they had a generous hard shoulder free from rubbish that we could use and all the cars left a very wide space when passing. The tour had days of up and over mountains with fantastic views. Other days of traversing across mountain ranges, Spiderman style. Then other days of running along the flat valley/plateau. Running along the flat area often had incredibly very long, and I did say LONG straight roads that were very hard because they were tedious and often into a head wind. One day had a long, gentle down hill run twisting around the contours through a wooded area. The road was good quality and very quiet providing some fantastic downhill runs. The last day was the zig zag day as it was all about weaving up and down mountains. A couple of warm up mountains and the final mountain into the storm cloud covering the top of the mountain. The mountain was 1,000 metres high and cycling up the mountain the temperature was in the low 20s and we got soaked in heavy rain but getting near the top we cycled into the cloud itself. Once inside the cloud it was near zero visibility but the rain stopped - because it does not rain inside a cloud! Over the mountain top and coming down I was greeted by the hot Mediterranean sun lifting the temperature into the 30s Cool experience cycling all the way up and into a cloud! Some really great days cycling with fantastic views, support from Pedal Nation and a wonderful experience.

Another excellent trip with Pedal Nation. A great route, with some very good places to stay along the way. Guides were very helpful and flexible in their approach throughout.

This was my third tour with Pedal Nation so they must be doing something right. In particular I like having my bike taken to and from the start and therefore only need cabin baggage, which speeds things up at the airport. The trip went smoothly and we had good hotels every night. I could see from the itinerary that it would be fairly tough for me (at 74) but I managed to do the route and saw some wonderful scenery. Highlights included Segovia with its wonderful Roman aqueduct and Ronda with its 54m high arch bridge linking the two halves of the city. A remarkable sight and I had time to do the river walk along the gorge. Food was good and plentiful, but the Spanish do seem to skimp on vegetables for some reason. Members of the group were friendly and interesting and happy to share a wheel. Weather was a bit variable but some cloud and occasional rain kept the heat down without spoiling the ride. In general the conditions were good. Would I change anything? Probably not. There were some variable surfaces here and there but no potholes and we avoided rough cobblestones apart from the occasional village. I was fine on my 30mm tyres. Our guides were very good and kept a discrete eye on progress without being too ‘present’. They had some good suggestions for restaurants too. All in all it was an enjoyable and successful tour and I shall be riding with PN next year.

Very well planned and organised by High Places, our driver was very polite and accommodating to all our needs, suggested Homestay and hotels were excellent recommendations. I highly recommend High Places and their ground agents in India for their knowledge, experience and efficiency in providing a smooth running and enjoyable tour.

Excellent trip. A pretty tough challenge to cycle LEJOG but it was achievable, and wonderful, thanks to the support of the group. Beautiful, amazing scenery. Great food. Good hotels. Huge thanks to Sean and Dom, who looked after us perfectly.