The greatest kick I get from cycling is when I get to explore new parts of the world on my bike.
Especially in areas with pristine tarmac roads, a vibrant cycling community and mid-ride stops with properly good coffee.
It seemed like I’d been hearing about this place where “all the World Tour teams” do their pre-season training camps. So this February, Natalie, Millie (4 months) and myself went to Calpe to see what all the fuzz was about.
How To Get There?
We flew from Oslo to Alicante. Renting a car at the airport turned out cheaper than paying for a shuttle for the 1h transfer to Calpe.
This time around, because we brought a baby and a car seat we opted for rental bikes in Calpe (of which there are plenty options). We used startwithbikes.com, who managed to produce some nice Giant TCRs with Ultegra Di2 for a reasonable price last minute.
Where To Stay?
As soon as we set foot in town, it was obvious this is a cycling hub. Anywhere you turned there was a cyclist in sight.
There are probably plenty of cyclist friendly hotels in town. However, this time around we wanted to avoid being stuck in a tiny hotel room or flat with two bikes, a baby and all the stuff she requires.
So instead, we opted for the more comfortable surroundings of a private villa 1.5 km outside of the city center (which happens to belong to a fellow Norwegian cyclist).
It was perfect – big house with plenty of space for our stuff, including:
- fully equipped kitchen (way beyond most Spanish apartments)
- comfortable sleeping (zero noise from quiet surrounding villas)
- enclosed parking with space for 2+ cars
- private pool (that is actually private, not shared with other flats)
- fabulous patio with BBQ for post-ride dinners & drinks
Even better was the fact that the house was located directly on the climb where you’d exit the city to access the popular cycling routes.
Where we rode
Since this was a quick and last-minute trip, we only had rental bikes for a few days.
The first day, I did the compulsory ride to Musette Café in Alcalalí. The coffee was good and I’m ashamed to say I bonked on a 45 km ride. Five months of fatherhood, PhD writing had definitely taken its toll.
The roads were beautiful, with silky smooth tarmac and great sceneries as soon as you crossed the highway and headed inlands.
Click to download the route on Strava
The next day I rode a loop across a local pass. The climb offered great views of the sea, Calpe and the surrounding terrain.
This time, the tarmac was slightly rougher, but not an issue. There were some surprisingly steep sections with gradients well above 10%, but for the most part, the climb was manageable enough for my very deconditioned cycling legs.
Click to download the route on Strava
The final day was a repeat of day 1 for me. Natalie rode a few slightly longer rides past Musette, including the Coll de Rates climb.
Cycling holiday with a baby
Being used to cycling holidays by ourselves, we were somewhat anxious as to how traveling with a 5-month old baby would be.
We were positively surprised by how manageable this turned out. Early in the morning, I would get up with the baby, and Mum would go for a morning ride. A 40-50 km ride was just within the comfort zone of the little one’s tolerance for time away from her Mum.
When Mum returned, we’d swap and I would go out for my ride. Then we’d all have the afternoon and evening together. It was indeed a bit of an adjustment from being used to ride all day, but at this stage we were happy just to be out on a bike again.
Outro
While our stay was very short, we got enough of a taste of Calpe to conclude that we will certainly be back.
So if you’re exhausted Gran Canaria’s Valley Of The Tears, and the traffic to Mallorca’s Cap Fermentor is getting on your nerves, you can safely give Calpe a go for your next spring cycling holiday or training camp.
Here is where we stayed again:
The house we stayed in on AirBNB
Disclaimer: The owner is a friend of mine, so I’m not entirely impartial. However, I know his house is frequently used by several Norwegian cyclists, so I can safely recommend it. We’ll certainly be back.
I’ve also written a few other travel-letters from other cycling trips. You can read them via the links below: