Hervelo on Holiday

Liz Rainy Brown

…in search of some sun, cycling and smooth roads - we also found hills, more hills, and hills that went on for eight miles, even descending down a huge hill to see a Marina just to come back up! Some of us even (unintentionally!) repeated this on another day.. Oops!

Kindly arranged by Carolyn in conjunction with Matthieu and his wife Marion at Vuelta Costa Tropical, seven of us set off for a week long guided cycling holiday in Almunecar, Granada, España . We chose to stay half board at the Helios hotel, recommended by Matthieu, but did have the option of their rental house too. The hotel was ideal and they were very accommodating, from ensuring a large space for all our bikes to early breakfast if required. Some of us hired bikes, some bringing their own, Matthieu helped us all get sorted, changing saddles and pedals etc. The newbies to cycling holidays realised that when bringing your own saddle you don’t need to take the seat post (also prevents security needing to open your bag). Oh and getting pedals off your bike is no mean feat so having a travel set also can be helpful.

The plan was to cycle five days with a day off in the middle, however the last day was sadly rained off. We did however cycle over two hundred miles and approximately 17,000 feet taking in costal roads to Nerja, inland and into the mountains to Olivar, Itribo, Pinos De Valle, Frigiliana and the lighthouse at Torrox and of course daily cafe stops. It made for a fabulous holiday and great cycling. Thanks must go to Carolyn for arranging and of course to Matthieu at Vuelta. I would absolutely recommend it!