Antequera to Málaga - Escaping the Rain--In Spain - CycleBlaze

December 5, 2021

Antequera to Málaga

What a blustery day!

Not many photos taken to remember our last real ride in Andalucía (on this trip, anyway).  Leaving town, we first went up a steep street (I walked) to a striped church, theme back down again, but now we were on the opposite side of the Alcazaba.  Next, we were on a “Sendero Verde” that connected to A7075.  This was much better than retracing our route into town.

The church at the top of the hill
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On the Sendero Verde
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Looking back the way we’d come. So peaceful!
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Once we got on the A7075, though, it seemed everybody was out going somewhere.  I don’t know why, but weekends often seem to mean heavy traffic on minor highways.  There was no shoulder to speak of, so it was a tense ride. Uphill, of course, with the narrowest part also being the steepest. If it hadn’t been for the traffic, it would have been a nice ride…until we got to the wind.  I didn’t take any photos, but here are a couple of screenshots:

Approaching the point where, on the map (1:400000), A7075 bends sharply around the shoulder of El Torcal. In reality, it’s the first of many switchbacks. And we didn’t have weather like Apple’s camera car. El Torcal was completely socked in.
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I had to look up what the name meant. I had imagined it might mean “ice-breathing dragon” or something like that.
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When we finally got to the top, we saw where everyone was going.  There was a lineup of cars at the turn to go up El Torcal and people were being turned away and sent a bit further up A7075 to an overflow parking lot.  We had discussed riding up this famous climb but had decided to decide based on the weather.  At the time we reached the turnoff, El Torcal was still invisible in the cloud so we decided to skip it and continue to Málaga.

The descent would have been fantastic fun if it weren’t for the strong gusty wind.  The traffic had mostly dissipated at this point but the wind meant we dared not let it rip.   we both started the tour with fresh brake pads and worn rotors; new parts will need to be ordered as soon as we get home. 

We took a coffee break in Villanueva de la Concepción, at a different but equally friendly place as on our day ride a month ago.

It was sunny and warm here, out of the wind!
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We were way up there! I think that’s our road barely visible cutting across the top. The town is Villanueva de la Concepción.
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Scott AndersonDo you mean way at the top of that massive formation? I don’t think you were up there. That’s El Torcal, so that road would probably be the dead ended spur to the top, MA-9016.
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2 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Scott AndersonI guess I didn’t word that very well. We were pretty high and came down a long way to Villanueva. When I zoom in, I see what might be a road about a third of the way down the brownish part.
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2 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Scott AndersonI just checked. We descended about 500 m to Villanueva in 11 km. Had we gone to the top, it would have been about 250 metres more elevation and about 3 km further.
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2 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetYup. We’ve been past here twice now, both times on our way to Antequera thinking we’d bike up into the park. The first time we started in Malaga, and it was too hot and hard for our first day out. The second it was so windy going below El Torcal we could barely even walk safely. Next time though we’ll stay in Villanueva and go up for sure.
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2 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Scott AndersonKudos to you! We climbed from Malaga to Villanueva on our first day ride but there’s a lot of up after that. The wind was frightening even with some downhill speed.
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2 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetWell, we were just kids then. It was 2004, so Rachael was about 45 and I wasn’t even 60 yet.
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2 years ago

We continued on to our hotel, the Plaza del Castillo, out in its industrial park.  Our bike cases were waiting for us.

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Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 1,462 km (908 miles)

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David MathersCongratulations on a successful tour! Safe trip home.
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2 years ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesHey Jacquie, we are watching your return to Canada with the same intense interest as we watched your foray into Spain! We are wondering when we hit Vancouver if they will let us overnight and then get on a ferry as we cycle home to Victoria, to "quarantine" until their test result comes back. We assume you will have a vaguely similar situation. Let us know how it comes out!
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2 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Steve Miller/GrampiesFunny, so are we! Nothing like moving goalposts. We now have done our Covid tests and are waiting for the results. Fingers crossed!
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2 years ago