On Your Bike

The River Júcar, or Xúquer in Valencian, runs for approximately 500 km from its source at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, on the eastern flank of the Montes Universales, Cuenca, close the sources of the rivers Tajo, Cuervo, Turia and Cabriel (the latter serving as its most important tributary) to the Mediterranean Sea.

Amid the numerous topics and issues dealt with on a regular basis in the specialist cycling media - bicycle paths, carbon components, electronic shifting, urban transport, disc brakes, health and fitness benefits, women's racing, bike-sharing, gravel riding, smart trainers, folding bikes, etc., etc., etc. -, there's a curiously ambigious place reserved for the "e-bike", seemingly situated at an equidistant point between unbridled praise, general indifference and outright rejection.

The Vall d'Albaida Cycling Tourism Route, "Roda la Vall", is a recent initiative from La Mancomunidad de la Vall d'Albaida which, after consultation with those involved in the local tourism sector, took the admirable decision to employ bicycle touring and cycling as a means to promote this relatively unknown area of Valencia.

The Provincial Council of Valencia's northern province, Castellón, is promoting cycling tourism by means of 31 cycling routes covering 2,347 kilometres throughout the province

The Castellón Provincial Council, which is committed to cycling as a source of new opportunities for the development of the region’s towns and villages, has created 31 cycling routes covering some 2,347 kilometres spread throughout the entire province.

This project sees the Provincial Council add these specialized routes to the region’s existing tourism offer, which already includes the promotion of leisure and competitive cycling throughout Castellón under the umbrella of the Castellón Escenario Deportivo programme.

The Chair of the Provincial Council, Javier Moliner, recently presented the hard copies of the routes’ guidebooks in an event held before a group of cycling club members and touring cyclists. The content of the print versions of the guides is already available for downloading at www.turismodecastellon.com.

“We believe in Castellón’s potential, and we have already seen that sport represents health and positive values, as well as wealth, employment and opportunities for our people and our towns and villages. And it is this conviction that has led to this initiative to improve the promotion of the region’s cycling attractions and resources, both for Castellón’s own cyclists and for the thousands of tourists who never leave home without their bikes”, said Moliner.

Moliner went on to explain that "these are the most complete guides to cycle touring routes in our province published so far. They cover a total of 31 routes of all levels and include the region’s main locations of interest, because in addition to providing exercise, this sport enables visitors to enjoy Castellón’s landscapes, towns and gastronomy.”

Each guidebook includes a technical profile and an explanation of the municipalities the route passes through, as well as eating recommendations and the main tourist attractions to visit in the area.

Cycle tourism, strategic for the future of tourism in Castellón

The Castellón Provincial Council's promotion of cycling in the province is conceived from a cross-cutting perspective: by providing promotional and specialized material, by encouraging the adaptation of the province’s tourism offer to the needs of cycle tourists by means of lines of support, by participating in specialized trade fairs and by promoting the celebration of cycling events in the province’s towns and villages.

Cycle tourists figure as a priority target group within the Provincial Council Tourism Marketing Plan, as well as within the Castellón Province’s Strategic Tourism Plan for 2017-2020.

For further information about Castellón's cycle routes, as well as downloadable guides:

Have fun and discover Castellón on two wheels

Cicloturismo en la Comunidad Valenciana is part of a project that aims to FOSTER CYCLING as a strategy for the local development of towns and regions of the Valenica Community (funbici.org).

Conceived as an association registered with the Valencian Regional Government (Generalitat Valenciana), Ciclismo en la Comunidad Valenciana is made up of a team whose members have been drawn from the worlds of business, the public administration and groups dedicated to defending cycling as both a means of transport and a sustainable leisure activity.

This project is based on research carried out between 2014 and 2015 through the University of Alicante, during which the potential of cycling tourism (initially, in the province of Alicante), as well as the needs of European cyclists (the most mature segment of demand at the present time) was analyzed.

Although the project was initially focussed on the province of Alicante, it is currently being extended to the rest of the Valencian Community.

The Ciclismo en la Comunidad Valenciana website provides visitors with information on routes within the region, including extensive information on the Vía Verde network, as well as bicycle tourism-related services, such as bicycle rental and accommodation, etc.


Cycling is a mode of active tourism that is characterized as an economic activity with a low carbon footprint and high potential for growth in Europe. In certain countries, bicycle tourism already represents a significant percentage of the overall domestic tourism revenue.

Its non-seasonal nature and strong local component, together with its minimal impact on the environment, make cycling tourism a key factor for the development of European regions. In this sense, the European Cyclists' Federation is developing, within the framework of the Europe2020 objective, a system of bike paths (EuroVelo) that will allow cyclists to tour the continent by bike.

Through its activities, Ciclismo en la Comunidad Valenciana aims to position the Valencian Community on the domestic and the international cycling maps, working to promote its activities from the ground up, that is, through the region’s citizens to potential domestic and European visitors.

The project has already received the backing of social groups working in favour of cycling and of local companies. If you think that you’d be able to help in the promotion of cycling in the Valencian Community, don’t hesitate to contact the team members via the Ciclismo en la Comunidad Valenciana website.

Ciclismo en la Comunidad Valenciana website

The Valencia Tourism Agency has published a guide for cycle tourism covering the whole of the Valencia Region. Written by José Manuel Almerich, the guide covers the Region's 3 provinces (Castellón, Valencia and Alicante) and provides extremely useful information about the Region, its rail trails, use of the regional train network when cycling, Valencia's network of MTB centres and information for long-distance cycling.

Containing a wealth of details about starting and finishing points, estimated journey times, distances, maps, links to detailed routes and tracks, and historical and cultural information, "Cycle Tourism Guide to the Region of Valencia" can be downloaded for free in PDF format and is available in Spanish, Valencian, French, English and German.

The guide can be downloaded via the following link: Cycle Tourism Guide to the Region of Valencia