Murcia Cycling Guide

We set out heading south from Cartagena, with the sea to our left as we wound our way down the undulating road. The cliffs rising high above Cala Mojarra, home to the naval outpost bases – the Batería de Jorel and the Batería de Castillitos.

The landscape is rare of trees in this area, creating a feeling almost of a rocky moonscape, charred by the sun. 

 

Heading out on the E-22, the “main road” south, we were worried at first that it would be heavily trafficked and dangerous to ride, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth. The few cars and trucks that did pass us on the two-lane road gave ample room and moved around us without any urgency or speed, the southern “tranquilo” lifestyle extending to the mood on the tarmac. We rolled down this main road for about 25 km.

The first part of the ride was a gentle warm-up, both for the mind and the body. Towards the end of the time on this road, some sharp inclines and descents started popping up, just in time for the legs to kick in. The scene in front, where the road kicks up, seems steeper than it is in certain places, but we were caught off guard not having our phone cameras ready for these vistas.

The road is a smooth beautiful tarmac in this area, and as we came over the last climb, with the city of Isla Plana in front of us, we turned onto a smaller road, the RM-E23, that would lead us out to the peninsula forts. 

This rural track didn’t have the same smooth tarmac, but what it did possess was a real feeling of wild adventure as we headed for the massif that would give way to the cliffs perched high above the sea. 

The climb comes in two parts. The first, after a few flat-lead-in kilometres on the road, all inland and sheltered from the wind and sea, is around 3 km with a gentle gradient, never too lung-busting. This road was designed for giant weaponry to be moved up and down it. Leg cannons included for the bigger riders. A small technical downhill opens up the second part of the climb, which revealed a simply spectacular view of the Mediterranean in it’s more southern parts. The road was narrow and twisty, in parts taking our breath away as we wound our way along the sides of the steep hills and cliffs. Good barriers were consistent and cars almost non-existent, minus a few tourists heading to see the naval outpost.  Walkers and cyclists outnumbered the motor traffic significantly, making even the narrow sections of the road feel plenty big enough. The rough road surface really did lend to the feeling of coming across something off the beaten track – a true exploration on two wheels.

As we turned the last corner, we were confronted by the site of two castle style outposts looking over the sea, protecting our little peninsula from invaders near and far. Both of the sites were pretty astounding to walk through. Constructed in the 1930s, in the interwar period with the second world war looming, the two forts were built in a medieval castle style. The juxtaposition of modern style cannons amongst the turrets is quite a sight. The grounds are free to walk around and explore, but there are no facilities, cafe or restroom, at the end of the climb. But we took our time, roaming the walls and fortresses before heading back down for a quick lunch stop in the valley. 

As we rode back, we could see the hills and cliffs dotted with dirt tracks below us, momentarily longing for the gravel bikes. When we got to the finish, we did see the mountain bikers arrive, and realised a coastal route back via fire roads would be possible with an off-road set up for the adventurous sort.

To fully experience the beauty of the Mar Menor and the area, Etiquette suggested their “Portman Loop” – albeit, with its strangely English name, the terrain was anything but pastoral British.

The Portman Loop takes in the coastline, the peninsula north of Cartagena and quiet inland places. It can be started from any point along the route, the beauty of a good loop!  The juxtaposition of the coast section out of the north of Cartagena is quite drastic: a rugged coastline, industrial estates and behind a dry, stunning mountainside inland.

We started out on the undulating coast hills, up and down all the time, with a wide breakdown lane. The loop extended and flattened along the side of the Mar Menor, as we passed the high rise peninsula, and headed inland with the beauty of the bay beside us. The road is flat and calm here, a great place for efforts or to test the sprinting skills, and good repose from what we knew would be a hard day of climbing the next day.

Of course, we don’t want to give it all away here, to fully experience Etiquette’s Portman Loop, get in touch with them or book on to one of their amazing tours.

Heading inland and south from Murcia or Cartagena is the large natural expanse of the Sierra Espuña range that greets us in the distance. This ecotourism haven holds the largest area of forest in the region, with multiple peaks along a Ridgeline rife with rare natural wonders. The headway into the park is rural flat roads, dotted with farms and fragrant citrus trees. 

We opted to do a challenging double ascent to the top of Espuna Park, just over 1,500 metres at the peak.

Make sure you have your climbing gears on for this day and be ready for steep roads and switchbacks. The downhill sections are super fast and the foliage creates soft shade throughout. We definitely thought this was a hard day on the bike, even all within under 100 kilometres.  For a true high-intensity ride, this natural park is a great option. Compared to the dry moonscape of the open plains of Murcia, the super green lush park was temperate and moist – a dense forest in the middle of a desert. The trees and cover offer cooler temperatures in the hot Spanish summer, although on our visit, the misty rain was coming in and the air was brisk near the peak. Get ready for some serious switchback action near the top of the climb, we lost count both times.  

On our first ascent, we went as high as 1,150 metres skipping the spur road to the true top, knowing we would loop back around to bring that in. The park is well maintained with good road surfaces and facilities, such as cafes and signage regularly. The second ascent is when you really start to feel it in the legs. It was a real push for the body and the mind as we looped back on ourselves to set another challenge and head up to the true top. At 1,550 metres, with 6-7% average gradients, the climb is not an easy one. But it’s a real reward, especially with a little kick at 11% near the top. Afterwards, we rolled back down to Alhama de Murcia, where our ride began, letting the legs and body cool down on the long descent into town.