The TransAndalus is a 2000 km long mountain bike route which makes a complete circuit through the autonomous region of Andalusia

Andalusia

Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

 and runs the length of its eight provinces.

History

This project began in the year 2000. Antonio C. Álvarez and Juan Manuel Muñoz, cyclists from Huelva and lovers of bicycle touring

Bicycle touring

Bicycle touring is cycling over long distances – prioritizing pleasure and endurance over utility or speed. Touring can range from single day 'supported' rides — e.g., rides to benefit charities — where provisions are available to riders at stops along the route, to multi-day...

had the idea of creating a route for MTBs that passed through all of Andalucía, relying on the collaboration of volunteers who took charge of the documentation of each section.

In 2001 the project virtually disappeared, but in 2004 it was revived. A key figure was, and is, that of Fran Cortes, the project coordinator. Without his administrative skills the project would never have reached its present state. On its rebirth around ten Andalusian cyclists got into the act, and they each began to work on the zone which they had chosen. The route was mapped and put on online. The original website was www.i2-bike.com, later it was hosted at www.andalucia.mtbdigital.com. In 2005 a project name was selected along with its current web domain www.transandalus.org.

Characteristics of the Route

The basic project ideas are as follows:

• The route goes around the entire perimeter of Andalusía, crossing each of its provinces.
• It is not a typical 'tourist' route which connects the capitals of the provinces, but rather a 'rural' route. In the future, detours might be added to visit the cities. Places with great natural beauty are paramount, regardless of where they happen to be.
• It is a mountain biking route, avoiding paved roads wherever possible. When that is not possible, the roads selected have a minimum of traffic.
• It is necessary to keep in mind that this route is designed to be ridden with pannier bags or a BOB. Whenever various options are available, the easiest trails have been chosen.
• As far as possible, in order to simplify the work, the route takes advantage of already defined and signposted tracks: The 'Gran Recorrido', cattle tracks, 'Rutas del Legado Andalusí, etc.

It must be emphasised that the TransAndalus does not have an initial stage. The route is broken up into sections, with the intention being that the route should travel between two villages with at least minimal facilities for overnight accommodation. Thus every traveller can make the trip at their own pace, choosing where to begin and end, and selecting the length of each section made up of various stages.

Roadbooks

The basic information about the complete sections is available in the roadbooks, which consist of:

• Technical information: length, height variation, type of road surface (dirt, sand, etc.)
• Information about accommodation and services available at each village or town.
• Comments on the trip: natural environment (mountains, countryside, beach, etc.) and the roads chosen.
• Maps of the route.
• Features.
• A detailed description of the tour, with indication of the difficult points for navigation and the kilometer markers that you will find.

About

The TransAndalus is made and maintained by local cyclists who have each contributed their small part to this great project by sharing their knowledge of the roads and paths of Andalusia. Every collaborator that completes the documentation of their own segment will be recorded as the author of their own contribution, in recognition of their generous work, and they will be responsible, for better or worse, for the information that appears in that part.