If you want to relax near the sea and enjoy a good holiday, Castellón is your cycling destination. Kilometers and kilometers of roads and paths for you to fall in love with a territory that will make you forget the cold accumulated during this year of Covid.
2020 will be remembered as the year of Covid, the year of confinement and the year in which we have had to postpone most of the activities that we are passionate about. Luckily for everyone, each day that passes is one less day left to reach normality, a normality that in our case involves discovering new territories at the stroke of the pedal. If, like us, you are already planning where to pedal in 2021, here we present the latest cycling destination that we have discovered, Castellon.
Destination for great cyclists
The Valencian Community has a long cycling tradition, This is not something we are going to discover ourselves. Mass marches like the Gran Fondo Alberto Contor or being the place chosen by many professional cycling teams to train during the winter show that the Valencian Community is the favorite destination for thousands of cyclists from all over the world, especially when it snows and is cold in their countries.
Winter is high season in this area and it is easy to see groups of cyclists training at breakneck speeds due to its huge network of secondary roads. That is why, when they told us that we could go pedaling on their roads, we didn't think about it.
A privileged climate for cycling
One of the main reasons for this region's popularity among the international peloton is its climate. The Valencian Community has many sunny days and it is very difficult for us to go for a week and not be able to go pedaling.
During our stay in Castellón at the beginning of December we were able to enjoy a very pleasant temperature, with maximum temperatures of 15-20º at midday that allowed us to pedal in short cycling shorts and jerseys. In these conditions, who doesn't want to go out pedaling?
Cycling routes in Castellón
Once the destination has been chosen, the most important thing is to have a good selection of routes to choose from. To decide without making mistakes, we chose the cycling routes that the Playa Castellón Golf Hotel, a great hotel Red Bikefriendly located on the seafront.
Using this hotel as a base we were able to enjoy a good selection of cycling routes in Castellón, both mountain and road, which delighted us during our stay. If your idea is to take a few days to disconnect and train in the area, you will be safe in this hotel because it has everything you may need.
Of the numerous routes that this hotel has, all downloadable from their website and Bikefriendly app Completely free of charge, we were able to choose between short and easy routes to long routes that became a real challenge. If you are not coming alone and want to enjoy the area with your family, don't worry.
Family routes
The Playa Castellón Golf Hotel has routes of all kinds, including family ones, taking advantage of the dense network of cycle paths that spread throughout the area. Walks at the end of the day enjoying the bike path along the seafront They are perfect for letting the little ones start taking their first pedal strokes.
Road cycling routes in Castellón
Our stay at the Hotel del Golf Playa Castellón was divided between road and MTB routes. Both modalities coexist perfectly in the area, although for our taste the road was superior. The amount of secondary roads and ports of all kinds that we found in the area were quite a surprise.
Natural Park of the Desert of the Palms
Our idea of Castellón was that of a flat area, since the surname “de la plana” that accompanies Castellón indicated this to us, but nothing could be further from the truth. Just behind Castellón we have the Desierto de las Palmas natural park, a protected territory of more than 3000 hectares that extends parallel to the coast and has a road that runs through it from end to end, from Castellón to Benicàssim.
This port has some stunning views of the coast and has top-notch asphalt, making it one of the most visited points by cyclists in the area. In 2015 the Tour of Spain He crowned this port and since then he has been a regular, which is why many cyclists visit it every year. If you don't want to be scared, don't look at the Strava section of the climb to the Desert de les Palmeres. Mathieu Van der Poel's time is from another world.
Climb to Bartolo, 3 km of pure hell
Although it is a pleasant port, the most difficult ones have at the end of the port the beginning of another port, the climb to Bartolo. If you are not one of those who like challenges, it is better to continue straight because this detour gives us almost 3 kilometers of pure hell.
If the average slope of 11% or its ramps of 20% were not enough, in this climb you have to deal with a asphalt destroyer. Be careful not to climb with long Ironman type developments or with show-case tires, this climb is for pure-bred cyclists, those who do not get wrinkled when the asphalt is broken, with stones or skids. Of course, if you manage to overcome the challenge, the Bartolo will reward you with some impressive sights.
In winter, with the road empty and on a sunny day, The climb to Bartolo was one of the best moments we experienced in Castellón. The descent, yes, was something else. The asphalt even made us lose the water bottle and we remembered a lot about our beloved mountain KTM Scarp. Luckily for everyone, this climb can also be done by MTB on the side of the Pobla Tornesa and the hermitage of les Santes, so we can go up without fear of losing the fillings on the way down.
Sierra de Espadán, a secret to discover
Curiously, from the top of Bartolo you can see another point of interest for cyclists in Castellón, the Sierra de Espadán. Just 25 km from the Playa Castellón Golf Hotel We placed ourselves at the beginning of this mountain range and quickly realized why it was one of the best kept secrets in Castellón.
Going up its roads we discover the authentic Valencian community, a region full of tradition and beautiful corners to discover at the stroke of a pedal. We will especially remember the climb up the Artana pass, a beautiful climb that separated us definitively from the coast to enter the mountains, where we pedaled for hours without hardly seeing a car. Cyclists in the area told us that this climb was one of the most mythical in Castellón and that in winter is when it can be best, since in summer there are usually more cars on the road.
Puerto de Marianet, pure cycling peace
We pedaled another of the entrances to the Sierra de Espadán from Vall d’Uixó, continuing towards Alfondeguilla and climbing the well-known Marianet. This portor connects Alfondeguilla with the towns
ations of Chóvar or Azuébar and takes us fully into the Sierra de Espadán. The road has some stretches of straights that allow us to pick up speed, but in the upper area the tight and fun curves are the trend. As in the rest of the routes, at this point we were still pedaling alone and we had only passed through small towns that rest in the shelter of the mountains. Pure cycling peace.
Paquita's carajillo
The descent to Eslida was more fun, especially because four drops had fallen and the asphalt had gotten wet, which, together with the sharp curves of the descent, made us go carefully to enjoy it as much as possible.
As we knew that the route was going to continue towards Ahín and Alcudia de Veo, the locals recommended that we stop at the Bar Paquita in Eslida. We had just come down to the wet road and we were a little cold, so when we entered the Paquita we ordered what they had recommended, a “carajillo from Castellón".
We all know what a carajillo is and surely more than one of us drinks it on cold days, but we can assure you that Paquita's carajillo is the bestor carajillo that we have ever had. With honey, coffee beans and lemon, we assure you that it changed our faces and we were able to continue on the road with our batteries well charged.
MTB cycling routes in Castellón
Since the cyclist does not live on asphalt alone, we went to Castellón with the Mountain bike, a brand new KTM Scarp MT that we took advantage of to test in Valencian lands.
To get ideas and go on a route with the maximum guarantees, we chose to follow the advice of the Hotel del Golf Playa Castellón and they provided us with several routes that we could do during our stay. The longest ones entered the Desierto de las Palmas and crossed the mountain range along paths and tracks of varying difficulty, climbing again almost to the top of Bartolo. Without a doubt, this is one of the most beautiful areas of the mountains but, as we had already climbed it on the road bike, we preferred to save our strength.
El Coll de la Mola or the Hermitage of les Santes were some of the places we visited and we linked a good number of fun roads with stretches of asphalt that allowed us to ride at a good average speed.
Castellón, Gravel paradise
Since we found practically no technical point or trails, we began to think about the gravel option. We spent several days riding in the area and some cyclists we saw there confirmed it to us; “Castellón is a gravel paradise”.
It is certainly a bicycle that we did not have with us but that after riding in the area, we will take with us next time. The speeds and distances covered with these bicycles are greater than with a double suspension mountain bike, as long as the terrain is favorable, and in the case of the Desierto de las Palmas we are sure that we would have ridden the same or even better with wheels. finer.
Hotel del Golf Playa Castellón, a historic hotel in the area
El Playa Castellón Golf Hotel It is a cycling institution in the area. Its construction began in the 60s and it was one of the pioneers in uniting sport and accommodation, building a golf course a few meters from the main door. Sports have been an inherent part of this hotel since then and that is why they have been committed to pampering athletes for many years. When we decided to spend a few days in Castellón we knew where we were going to stay.
As we said before, the location of this hotel is privileged and is one of its great attractions. Is located just 100 m from a beach of very fine sand awarded the Blue Flag for its quality and environmental respect, so taking a dip in the sea after training is really easy. Towards the interior is the city of Castellón de la Plana (7 km) and to the north Benicássim, known worldwide for hosting one of the independent music festivals Most important in the world.
Bikefriendly space
This hotel is part of the Red Bikefriendly, for what it offers infrastructure and services designed especially to meet the needs of cyclists.
In this hotel you can find a safe space to store your bike (with individual lock), washing area, workshop to do basic maintenance after each outing and they have all kinds of routes so that we don't have to worry about anything, something that in our case we greatly appreciated.
If you travel by bicycle and usually take routes, you will know that the most important thing about a hotel, food aside, is that they respect our beloved companion in fatigue, so having exclusive services for her is a great success. In our case we did not have any breakdowns that forced us to readjust the bicycle in the workshop, but we did have to clean the bicycle after an outing in which it had rained, so we took advantage of some of the facilities offered by the hotel.
Alternatives for families and relaxing moments
Beyond the comforts received from being a cyclist, the Hotel del Golf Playa Castellón has much more to offer. At the family level they have all kinds of facilities, something that we even saw in the mountain bike routes they have (they have specific routes for families), and they have outdoor pool for the little ones.
In addition to this they have sauna and massage service, something essential to completely relax. In this area they are specialists in elite athletes, so they can give you a complete “body and paint” if you arrive damaged because your group mates have not respected you in a single port. Going into the sauna and receiving a massage was the way we got rid of the hot flashes from climbing Bartolo.
La Bicicleta Café, a cycling temple in the heart of the city
In the heart of Castellón de la Plana there is a beautiful cycling corner, “The Bicycle Café”. This place, mandatory stop for every cyclist visiting Castellón, is a temple of cycling and world-class professional cyclists have passed through it who did not want to miss the opportunity to get to know it.
Its walls are decorated with classic bikes, vintage jerseys and all kinds of details about cycling and its culture. Muchos professional cyclists They have left their mark there and it is easy to see world champion jerseys signed by people like Peter Sagan. Its good repertoire of beers or the quality of its coffee can only accompany a unique environment, where as a cyclist you will feel extremely pampered.
In case you didn't know, this establishment also It is a brand and you can buy their clothing and all kinds of cycling accessories quality in the store they have right in front of the cafeteria.
