In Galicia there are many places where you can hit the pedals: in the woods, in the mountains, on bike rides… In addition, for some time now, cities have been taking the bike seriously as a clean and healthy means of transport. to promote. The main urban centers have more and more kilometers of bike lanes, and there is hardly a seaside or river promenade that we cannot travel on two wheels. Some municipalities offer bicycle rental and loan services, so that they make it easier for us to encourage ourselves to pedal.
Of course, one way to get to know Galicia in depth is by cycling. For people more inclined to the mountains, the so-called BTT Centers are very useful, distributed throughout strategic areas of the rural and natural environment. They provide us with tourist information, services for bikes and cyclists, mapping of a network of routes, etc. There are centers in O Salnés, Portas de Galicia, O Xurés, A Ribeira Sacra and Allariz-Vilar de Santos.
On the other hand, the recent digital viewer “The landscape of Galicia from the bicycle”, puts at our disposal 52 cycling routes with all the necessary information: levels of difficulty, maps, cards, etc.
As we see, there is an open world of routes. Among all the options, we are going to approach the simplest ones, which do not require a great physical shape or an exceptional bicycle, one of those that you like to do as a family. Here we propose some:
O Burgo – Cecebre. This circular route runs along the river walk of the Mero River. Leaving along the bike path of the O Burgo estuary promenade, we arrive at the medieval bridge. There we take the path to the Cecebre dam, along a flat dirt track next to the river. You can go along the Cambre shore or the Culleredo shore, or change if you cross a bridge, of course. Between round trip, about 20 km, which are done in 40 minutes more or less.
Nigrán – Baiona – A Guarda. In Val Miñor there are a lot of bikes, especially in summer. A classic is the section of the A Ramallosa bike lane, bordering the Miñor river estuary. If we look closely, better with binoculars, we can see some specimen of gray heron, and everything. The bike path continues to Baiona and, from the A Palma park, goes between the road and the sea towards Cabo Silleiro. If the thing tastes little to us, we can always continue to A Guarda. At the end, we do a section of the Portuguese Way along the coast, about 30 km.
Route of Father Sarmiento. It was devised by the municipalities of O Salnés, following in the footsteps of Father Sarmiento, who in his Journey to Galicia (1745), said that he had left Pontevedra for Santiago surrounding O Salnés. It has remained as a variant of the Portuguese Way. Of the nine stages of the route, we can choose from Cambados to Illa de Arousa, making the perimeter of the island, a total of about 25 km.
Water path. Follow the path that led to the channel that transported water from the Eiras reservoir, in Fornelos de Montes, to Vigo. It begins at Rúa Cantabria, in the Lavadores neighborhood of Vigo, and goes around the estuary, passing through the town halls of Redondela, Pazos de Borbén, Soutomaior and Fornelos de Montes, with which we can enjoy wonderful views at the stroke of a pedal. The entire route is 41, 52 km, although we can shorten it for beginners by 13 km, up to the road that connects Redondela with the airport. It is all on dirt track except for a small section on asphalt.
Salvaterra do Miño. In Salvaterra we can take an urban bike ride, which leaves from the Plaza de la Constitución and passes through the Fortaleza, the Casa del Conde and the castle of Doña Urraca. If we approach the A Canuda park, we have three trail routes for walkers and cyclists. The shortest is the 7.5 km Miño river municipal trail, which reaches the Caselas river in Tui. It passes through the Miño, the Tea, the Fillaboa Island, the Medieval Bridge and the Caselas River. And, beware, if it’s the weekend, we don’t even need to carry the bikes from home, since there is a free bike service. And, in case there are not enough alternatives, from here we can also take the international routes, the R-Bike Río Minho, which connect Salvaterra and Monção. There is also the one in Tui-Valença and the one in Tomiño-Vilanova de Cerveira.
Cycling route of Casa da Fervenza. It is a linear route of 14.32 km. Follow the course of the Miño in the municipality of Lugo. We leave the Casa da Fervenza and arrive at the city center, at the A Tolda park car park, or vice versa. Thus, we enjoy the riverside forest landscape of the Terras do Miño Biosphere Reserve, between dirt roads and paths and, incidentally, the wall of Lugo, a World Heritage Site. It takes about 45 minutes and has three stages.
Cycling route Viewpoints of Bolmente. It runs along 14.29 km through the municipality of Sober, in the Ribeira Sacra. It is a circular route that begins in Santa Marta, parish of Barantes. Although we go through the mountains, right in the Sil Canyon, the road is simple, with dirt tracks and some paved, but with little traffic. And, at least, two obligatory stops to contemplate the views at the Cividade and O Boqueiriño viewpoints.
