Who doesn't know La Rioja? Thanks to wine, its great ambassador, La Rioja is one of the best-known regions of our country. But at Bikefriendly we know that La Rioja is much more than wine and that is why we have created Tracks del Vino La Rioja, a MTB stage route that runs through the entire region. A spectacular way to experience the deepest and most unknown part of one of the most authentic areas of Spain. Would you like to get to know it at the stroke of a pedal?
Bike trip through the land of wine
Yes, just as it happened to our friends from Mountain bikers, you have heard wonders about The Rioja but you have never lived the experience of fully immersing yourself in this territory, the bike trip Wine Tracks La Rioja It is a luxury opportunity for you to discover at the stroke of a pedal a land rich in aromas, colors, heritage, gastronomy... and MTB routes.
El trip by stages Wine Tracks La Rioja It starts and ends in Logroño. Although you can always adapt the stages to your liking.
The concept of Tracks trips: free but always assisted
On the first day, already on the ground, you will meet Jota. He is the Bikefriendly person in charge of the route, so he is the person who will be in charge of keeping an eye on you during your trip and your stay. The first day he will give you an exhaustive presentation of the stages This bike trip through La Rioja, taking into account details as important as the places where you can refill water.
At the end of each day, Jota will make you a small telephone briefing about what awaits you the next day and will be always on the other side of the line to respond immediately to any incident.
If upon arrival you had the idea that La Rioja is a uniform or monotonous territory, Jota will make you see, even before setting off, how wrong you are in telling yourself everything you will encounter during your trip.
La Rioja Wine Tracks, km by km.
La Rioja Wine Tracks is a circular route which begins in Logroño and runs through the entire autonomous community during 300 km and 7.500 m of accumulated elevation gain.
It is a mountain bike route by La Rioja that we design and manage from Bikefriendly to do in a few 4 or 5 stages but if you need to adapt it, don't worry, like everyone else. the other stage routes that we offer, we can customize it customize according to your experience on the bike and availability of days.
1st Stage: Logroño – Laguardia
In the first stage you will leave Logroño to reach Laguardia (64 km and 1.690 m of elevation gain). The first kilometers will serve to warm up for a section of the the Camino de Santiago But once you have passed the town of Espronceda, the route will begin to climb and climb gradually.
The plains at the beginning will give way to forests of oaks, beeches and pines as you enter the lands of The Rioja Alavesa, where you will roll along the north face of the Sierra of Cantabria and you will enjoy beautiful views of the Riojan countryside until we reach Laguardia pedaling between vineyards and wineries.
2nd Stage: Laguardia – Briñas
The second stage of Tracks del Vino La Rioja, Laguardia – Briñas (42km-1170m), will be somewhat gentler and you will start riding on fast tracks between vineyards. The ascent to Port of Herrera will give you beautiful views from the La Rioja Viewpoint, a point from which to enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the lands that separate La Rioja from the Basque Country.
In this second stage of Tracks del Vino La Rioja you will also enjoy a beautiful descent between roads and trails through a beech forest.
3rd Stage: Briñas – Ezcaray
In the third stage of this bicycle trip through La Rioja, Briñas – Ezcaray (69km -1150m) you will discover the transition between two Riojas. You will leave Brinas, in the heart of Rioja Alavesa and you will go to Ezcaray, in the heart of the Saw of Demand.
In between, almost 70 km with some pretty hard climbs. Of course, if you don't feel like suffering, you can always use one of the variants that we offer when organizing your mountain bike trip in stages through La Rioja.
In some sections of the original route, only experts will be able to climb without setting foot on the ground, but we promise that it will be a short climb. It is only 1 km that starts on a track and ends on a path, but it has a very steep average slope and steps worthy of the best technique. Of course, if you have an electric one and some control... no problems and enjoy.
From there we promise that the route becomes much smoother and that you will enjoy a long and fast descent that will make you forget all the troubles.
4th Stage: Ezcaray – Ezcaray
La fourth stage of Tracks del Vino La Rioja, which is only done if the route is completed in its 5-stage version, is the queen stage. It is a high mountain circular stage with departure and arrival to Ezcaray (60km and 1694m). The difference between this stage and the rest is total, since in it you will ride at the highest levels of the entire route, levels close to 2.000 m in many points.
The exit from Ezcaray is by road, passing in front of the famous hotel-restaurant Echaurren and the Parish of Santa María La Mayor. The first kilometers will be easy but don't trust yourself. Just when you leave the asphalt you will start to climb.
The only big climb of the day has more than 1.000 m of accumulated elevation gain and will take you to the Otero Summit, on the border between La Rioja and Castilla y León. The climb, which is basically along a track in good condition, has some points with some unevenness but in general it has a medium slope that will allow you to climb it relatively coolly and arrive well to enjoy the tranquility that is breathed at the top.
The climb
Almost at the top you will pass by the Pozo negro (1.860 meters), the last glacial lagoon in the entire mountain range, so our advice is that it is worth going out of your way to visit it. Although… try to resist the temptation to take a bath! These high mountain ecosystems are very fragile and by bathing we can alter their fragile balance. Think about the amount of sunscreen and other chemicals that we wear on our skin every day and you will easily understand how much we can contaminate such pure waters.
From the Alto de la Cruz de la Demanda (km. 22) and until the beginning of the descent (km. 38) The route is a pleasure for the eyes. You will always be riding close to 2.000 m altitude and you will pedal in a constant up and down that will give you dream postcards. The bad thing about riding so high is that the sun is hot and there are no shadows, so if you arrive in the middle of the day, you have to be careful. There are also no sources to load the bottle, so it is advisable to manage the water well at this stage.
The descent
Be careful with the descent towards the Valdezcaray ski resort. When going down the track you pick up speed quickly... and we don't want anyone to have any scares! These routes are not for running, but for enjoying a getaway that you will generally have been waiting for for months :).
Don't trust that the stage is not over. We have a surprise in store for you and some fun trails to enjoy the beautiful cAs if it were a bike park, between banks and wooden walkways.
5th Stage: Ezcaray – Logroño
The fifth and final stage of Tracks del Vino La Rioja, Ezcaray-Logroño (65km-885m) is the final touch to a spectacular mountain bike route. At this point you will have been on the route for 4 days and you will already notice the fatigue in your legs, so, as we usually do on all Bikefriendly routes, the last stage is shorter and gentler than the rest so that you can arrive at the hotel early and have a proper end-of-the-route celebration meal before heading back home.
In this stage, the hardness is concentrated in the first 20 km, since leaving Ezcaray you will begin to climb towards the top of the Sierra. Once at the top, all you have to do is drop in and head out the last kilometers of the route along the Camino de Santiago. If you have time and are interested in history, this town preserves the Yuso and Suso monasteries, two architectural jewels that have the honor of being the cradle of the Spanish language.
At this point, we are convinced that you have realized that La Rioja, in addition to being enjoyed at the table, is an impressive land to enjoy by bicycle in the saddle, soaking up an ancient culture and spectacular roads.
Practical details and tips for doing La Rioja Wine Tracks
Route difficulty
Although the route is not particularly difficult, it is it is advisable to be used to pedaling. The 5 days of cycling that we enjoyed in La Rioja gave a lot, although In no case would we say that it is a hard route. It has hard sections, with long climbs and some sections with a steep slope, but In general, the roads and tracks of the route are accessible to all audiences. The speed or physical condition of each one will determine the hardness of the route, but we believe that any cyclist who pedals assiduously will be able to complete this route without problems.
Recommended time of year
Something that can mark the hardness of the route are the dates to do it. In spring and autumn the temperature is ideal. The days are long enough so that you can relax during the route and still take advantage of it afterwards to go sightseeing, regain strength by eating and taking photos, something that is mandatory on this route.
In the coldest months of winter It can also be done, as long as it has not snowed abundantly in the Sierra de Ezcaray. In full summer The heat will take its toll in the central hours of the day, but we can enjoy the rest of the day without problems.
What bike should I take?
Without a doubt, as in most of the routes we take, a double XC It is the best model to take on this adventure. These bikes are comfortable, they pedal wonderfully and are light, so they allow us to climb with ease and enjoy the descents.
In some sections, especially in the central stages of the route, a gravel bike It could go wonderfully, although only occasionally. Fast, well-trodden slopes are their favorite terrain, so in La Rioja they will feel at home when we connect La Rioja Alavesa with the mountains of Ezcaray.
Of course, the electric bikes They will be another of the best ways to enjoy this route since, with a good battery management, You will be able to do all the stages without having to load mid-stage. Without abusing the assistance in the easy sections, you will have plenty of autonomy to reach the end of each stage of Tracks del Vino La Rioja, enjoying yourself.
Accommodation and luggage
Addition travel insurance y basic accident insurance, All bike routes by stages Bikefriendly include the logistics of luggage transfer and the reserve in the best accommodation for cyclists that you will find at the end of each stage.
The hotels that are part of the Red Bikefriendly They are hotels that provide a special treatment for cyclists, either through infrastructure specific or through services designed to meet the needs of those who travel with their bike.
In most hotels in the Bikefriendly Network you will find Bike-friendly spaces, areas enabled for wash and oil the bike after the route and closed spaces to store the bike locked overnight. And, if that's not the case, they'll leave you. bring the bike to the room and they will have some basic tool to tune up the bike facing the stage the next day.
Safety for your bike
This way you will sleep peacefully knowing that your bike rests safely. Because if choosing the route is the most important thing when planning a cycling holidays, Choosing a good hotel is essential for our dear companion in fatigue. We don't spend thousands of euros on the best technology and then leave it sleeping in the open.
And don't worry about the suitcases. The Bikefriendly managers of each route They will be in charge of collecting your suitcase every morning at the departure hotel so that you can find them when you arrive after each day at the end of stage accommodation.
La Rioja Wine Tracks: much more than a bike
Wine tastings? Yes please
One of the characteristics of this route is that, in addition to the path itself, there are also activities to do outside of it. The wine tastings in La Rioja are common, but it is not so common that we find them in a cycle route. In this case, we can take care of reserving various tastings in cyclist-friendly wineries which are also part of the Bikefriendly Network. Of course, always at the end of the stages to safely enjoy the wine and its culture.
All the wineries in the Network are located near the end of the stage and concentrated in the central stages of the route, since Logroño being the starting and ending point, Laurel Street will be the best possible party ending to this route.
Whether or not you are a wine expert, tastings and visits to wineries are perfect complementary activities to get to know the whole region better. culture and tradition that La Rioja houses around wine.
La Rioja, an open-air museum to explore by bike
La Rioja has a vast architectural heritage made up of countless churches, hermitages and other buildings of medieval origin linked to the Camino de Santiago.
These constructions are world famous and it is worth stopping to enjoy them. The Yuso and Suso Monasteries in San Millán de la Cogolla, the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada or the Parish of Santa María la Mayor in Ezcaray They are especially important, but we cannot forget the rest of the constructions that flood the region. All of them form a group that, beyond the cycling route that is Tracks del Vino La Rioja, turn this trip by stages into an authentic bike ride through one of the largest open-air museums in Spain.
A gastronomic pleasure
On the other hand, when we talk about heritage, we do not always do so referring to buildings and monuments. Heritage is also gastronomy and here La Rioja is also a reference. La Rioja has many typical dishes and many of them speak of a past linked to the sea, the Basque country and other areas. The Rioja-style potatoes, lamb chops with vine shoots (roasted over the embers of the vine shoots), the garlic soups or Rioja-style cod They are dishes that you can enjoy during your stay in the area. We warn you that if your idea is to return slimmer from this route, at Tracks del Vino La Rioja you will have it difficult.
On the other hand, if you want to turn your Tracks del Vino La Rioja trip into a luxury gastronomic experience, let us know so we can reserve a Tasting menu dinner at El Portal del Echaurren, a two Michelin star restaurant located in Ezcaray run by the magnificent chef Francis Paniego. Who, by the way, is a staunch cyclist and that is why his Hotel Echaurren It is part of the Bikefriendly Network.
If you only have a few days but want to go and meet this chef, his creative gastronomic commitment and his efforts to promote cycle tourism in Ezcaray, you also have the option of booking the Bike-friendly getaway at the Echaurren Relais & Château Hotel: three days and two nights to fully enjoy the combination of bike and gastronomy.
Ezcaray, a must visit
Another of the attractions of the route is found in Ezcaray. This beautiful little town surrounded by mountains is one of the most beautiful villages in Spain and for that alone it is worth a visit.
Thanks to its strategic position and its ancient Royal Cloth Factory of Santa Bárbara, Ezcaray was a key point in many of the stories of the Middle Ages and Modern Age, something that has left a dent in its urban planning. Today it is a town that houses an incalculable architectural heritage but is also well known for its restoration.
