Padul

We have been given the loan of a basement flat in Padul, a town just outside of Granada. At first glance the town seemed modern and as far from the mountain villages of Bubion and Capileira than you could imagine. For this reason I wasn’t expecting there to be much riding in the immediate area. We set out riding from the door and towards the hills behind the house. Immediately I was amazed by the number of visible trails, and I climbed the perfect single track ascent that looked steep as hell but was in fact all ridable. Once at the top it was a maze of forest tracks and trails. The view was spectacular out over the flat-lands on hampered by the mist that descended for an hour. I must have criss-crossed myself a dozen times, discovering new bits to ride and climbing back up again for more. By the end of the day I had clocked up well over 1600m and almost 30km and all within 5km of base. It ceases to amaze me the amount of quality riding all over the place here.

The best bits found have to be the strenuous steep single track climb and the GR descent. The climb up, even though strenuous, came with a massive sense of satisfaction and achievement at the top, as well as burning legs and lungs. Partly due to the fact you could look down and see exactly where you’d started from and partly due to the switchback that I took pride in riding clean.

All in all a good ride and a successful days exploration uncovering yet more fine single track. Highlight of the day has to be the awkward yet comical attempt at having a conversation with a Spanish biker which ended with a thumbs up and a smile.