I know a bunch of you were in Malaga/Torremolinos area for the ITU worlds last year (or whatever they call it now). I made the strategic miscalculation of renting an AirBnB on the edge of a hill where there is dense traffic (so need to find a way to safely meander out of town).
If anyone can recommend riding options directions I would appreciate it. I came here on recommendation of @Gibraltar and used the 50m outdoor pool off my flight yesterday (it was indeed glorious).
So I was thinking that maybe drive my rental car over to swim there and then ride from there into the mountains? Any loops/out and backs 1.5-2.5 hrs is fine, ideally sub 800m climbing
I suppose I can head out by the water and ride along the sea, but invariably routes along the sea anywhere are a traffic shit show
I was on holiday in the neighboring Benalmadena in 2019. The key is to get away from the local towns - there’s loads of traffic not just on the coastal road but anywhere within 10-15 km from the sea. However, once you’re out, the effort was worth it (and as you probably know, the car traffic is Spain is not dangerous - just onerous).
The company I rented my bike from published a really good portfolio of the local routes in their website, complete with downloadable gpx files:
If you need more inspiration, I’d look for other rental company websites.
Have fun. Wonderful area even for someone who’s an average climber at best (me).
A couple of years ago I’ve been there as part of a new year Eat sleep cycle tour and they would drive us around and do different routes. So definitely doable.
Maybe you can extrapolate by observing the map. Or maybe you can contact them (they have a shop in Málaga) and see if they organise any group rides.
To me the most satisfying ride was the one that goes from the center of Málaga to la Reina (Puerto del leon). But all the other ones were more inland and had no traffic. There was one along the coast but we woke up super early for that.
As others have said, as soon as you’re far from the coast into the mountains there’s almost no traffic.
Thanks one of the guys at the pool today had an Ironman Kona bag, and he seemed local and I asked for routes given that I am also racing on Sunday so don’t want to overcook it. The second route that @kajet has at this link was the one he suggested:
Today I just ended up doing a bunch of repeats on a local road, and rode by the sea, but most of the time I was in industrial zone or commercial shopping hell (although drivers were way better than back home in Canada and there are no massive pickup trucks here that use up the entire bike space).
Just a general thread reply. Overall, staying in Torremolinos was nice in that I was there mainly to use the 50m outdoor pool which was glorious. I was told by locals that anywhere on the coast from Bacelona to Marbella is a traffic shit show from March to November with all the vacationers and you need to count on spending 30 min getting out of traffic and dealing with it if you stay along the coast.
I did the loop you suggested from Torremolinos to Malaga airport area and looping into the hills and back around. I got to see some local Andalucian towns which was really nice and great views of the coast from a town called Mijas at the top of the climbing
It turns out the ride was a similar profile to race day (maybe 400m less vertical), but my ride time was identical (I was out there puttering for 3:09, race day was 3:08…a bit less puttering, more vertical)
I am glad I got out and explored, as the next 5 months are going to be indoor or XC skiing before a big summer of Europe trips (May Mallorca 70.3), July Bourg d’Oisins Alps climbing week, Sep Nice 70.3 worlds (spending my money in Canada, Europe as long haul travel does not bother me that much and flights are not that much more expensive than staying in North America, and accommodations and car rentals are generally cheaper, so its a wash)
Here is the view at the top of the Coin to Mijas trek. It was kind of cloudy just as I got to the top so it did not do the view justice as it was sunny just 5 min before!!!:
