4 Days Ezcaray and Laguardia Cycling Tour in La Rioja, Spain

In all stages of La Rioja Punto Bike, the last day is one day more, that is the check-out of this concerted hotel which is at 18:00. By default, all stages of La Rioja Punto Bike are configured with an accompanying road vehicle when the group of cyclists does not exceed seven people. If the group is greater than eight cyclists, a guide on a bike is added. On demand, you can add a second guide.

The stage, day by day

Arrival day

In all stages of La Rioja Punto Bike, this day is considered a zero-day of the evening in which the group of cyclists arrives at the hotel. Depending on the time of arrival of the group, Pirineos PUNTO BIKE will decide if they'd make a presentation of the activity to develop in the next few days.

Stage days

• Every day that may exist between the zero-day and the last day is considered stage-day.
• Breakfast. The time depends on the season of the year in which you find yourselves.
• This is the beginning of the chosen route, taking a criterion of stops according to expectations and pace of the group.
• If you have chosen format one or two, a few kilometers before the end of the route, you will have lunch, and a visit to a winery or other point of interest. If you have chosen format three, this visit will be annulled, taking into the account of the necessary time demanded by the route.
• End of the stage, shower in the hotel
• Free time in the afternoon
• Dinner, timetable agreed with the group
• Briefing of the cycling programme
• If you are combining Pirineos PUNTO BIKE's the day of transfer from one point to another, it will be similar to one normal stage-day but conducting the stage online.

Last day

In all stages of La Rioja Punto Bike, the check-out is established at 18:00. So, in this last day the only difference in the activity compared with a stage-day, consists in reach a consensus with the group and choose a route with a mileage that leaves a sufficient margin at the end of the day for the displacement that cyclists need to do in order to go back to their places of origin.

The activities, sport and non-sport

The daily activity in the stage varies slightly depending on the format (one, two, or three) that you are talking about. In any of the formats, routes will be determined with the group during the briefing of the day prior to the realization of the activity.

Definition of formats

Format 1 - Villages and vineyards

• These tours combine cycling with culture, history, and nature.
• The sporty character of the route is not the main attraction but is a measured combination of elements that make this category of travel perfect for those who are looking for an experience that captures the country, along with its countryside.
• This format is flexible and allows you to make decisions, whether you prefer a lighter ride and focus more on cultural aspects of the region than on sports.
• The cycling routes are between 40 and 60 kilometers.
• These tours do not include major mountain passes but instead offer delightful medium to easy country roads.
• You will take it easy, no rush here. Pirineos PUNTO BIKE will make several meaningful stops and make visits to relevant points of the route, monuments, historical centers, etc. You will pop off your cycling shoes and really get a chance to visit sites.
• Every day ends with experiences off your bikes, including activities such as wine-tasting, museum visits, or visits to historic villages and towns.

Format 2 - Vilages, vineyards, and mountain passes

• This second travel format combines visits to places of historical and cultural interest, yet is clearly centered on cycling the region; essentially mountain passes.
• The stages are between 70 and 100 kilometers and an unevenness of between 1,000 and 2,000 meters.
• The speed of the group is something that depends entirely on the challenge and goals of the group.
• The same philosophy of offering flexibility applies to cultural stops in relevant monuments, or other points along in the route. The refreshment stops are usually chosen for their cultural points of interest, so that you get as many "wow moments" into the route.
• When you finish the route, the program includes follow-up activities like wine-tasting, or visits to museums, and interesting villages and towns.

Format 3 - Cycle tourism plus

• This format offers an entirely sporty profile with cultural touring only after the cycling has concluded for the day.
• The cycling stages are between 110 and 180 kilometers and an unevenness of between 2,000 and 3,000 meters.
• You adapt the tour to the volume of your kilometers that you are looking to reach. This is particularily interesting for clubs and teams that are looking for a certain volume of kilometers by the end of the tour. For example, the group can decide if prefers to prefers stages of 120 kms per day or closer to 180 kms.
• The speed of the group is something that depends entirely on the challenge and goals of the group.
• Given the physically demanding character of the stages, and as a consequence, the added fatigue, the events preceding cycling, like wine-tasting, historical tours, are optional. You will be given the opportunity to make those decisions as a group.

Ezcaray

Format 1 routes

• Route 1: Peregrinos - Route 47 kilometers / Slope 390 meters
• Route 2: Monasterios - Route 68 kilometers / Descent 740 meters
• Route 3: Aldeas De Oja - Route 58 kilometers / Elevation 665 meters
• Route 4: Tour Santa Domingo - Route 58 kilometers / Elevation 500 meters
• Route 5: Bonicaparra - Route 50 kilometers / Altitude 850 meters
• Route 6: Dos Provincias - Route 51 kilometers / Elevation 940 meters

Format 2 routes

• Route 1: Monasterios - Tour Santo Domingo - Route 98 kilometers / 1250 meters gradient
• Route 2: Riojilla Burgalesa - Route 78 kilometers / Elevation 830 meters
• Route 3: Tres Cimas Cruz De La Demanda- Route 77 kilometers / Elevation 1700 meters
• Route 4: Ezcaray 4 Cimas Extrem - Route 105 kilometers / Elevation 2500 meters
• Route 5: Davalillo - Route 98 kilometers / Descent level 1000 meters
• Route 6: Riojila Bonicaparra - Route 96 kilometers / Elevation 1280 meters

Format 3 routes

• Route 1: Ebro - Riojilla Burgalesa - Route 133 kilometers / Elevation 1500 meters
• Route 2: Vinedos de Herrera - Route 150 kilometers / Elevation 1800 meters
• Route 3: Tour de la Demanda - Route 172 kilometers / Elevation 2250 meters
• Route 4: Atapuerca - Route 143 kilometers / Elevation 1650 meters
• Route 5: Ebro y Sierra - Route 179 kilometers / Height difference 2400 meters
• Route 6: Ezcaray 5 Cimas Extrem - Route 124 kilometers / Elevation 3000 meters

Laguardia

Format 1 routes

• Route 1: Vinedos de Alava - Distance 56 kilometers / Unevenness 1000 meters
• Route 2: Vinedos del Ebro - Distance 53 kilometers / Unevenness 950 meters
• Route 3: Najera - Rioja Alta - Distance 54 kilometers / Unevenness 650 meters

Format 2 routes

• Route 1: Guardavinas - Distance 86 kilometers / Unevenness 1450 meters
• Route 2: Herrera - Codes - Distance 91 kilometers / Unevenness 1500 meters
• Route 3: Siguiendo El Ebro - Distance 96 kilometers / Unevenness 1400 meters
• Route 4: Vinedos del Ebro - Herrera - Distance 70 kilometers / Unevenness 1610 meters
• Route 5: Puerto del Sur - Distance 110 kilometers / Unevenness 2150 meters
• Route 6: Laguardia - Moncalvillo - Distance 76 kilometers / Unevenness 1530 meters
• Route 7: Montana Alavesa - Distance 70 kilometers / Unevenness 1550 meters

Format 3 routes

• Route 1: Pena Hincada - Monasterios - Distance 170 kilometers / Unevenness 2420 meters
• Route 2: Tour Sierra de Cantabria - Distance 153 kilometers / Unevenness 2200 meters
• Route 3: Gran Cantabria - Distance 172 kilometers / Unevenness 2060 meters

Non-sporting activities

The formats 1 and 2 include non-sports activities. They shall be elected from the available options below and shall be decided prior to the dates of the stage in order to make the reservation.

Ezcaray non-sporting activities

Vivanco Dinastia Museum

Have a visit to the Dinastia Vivanco Museum, a large space that houses the collections that the Vivanco family has been acquiring for years. It is one of the largest existing spaces in the world dedicated exclusively to the world of wine. From centuries-old vessels, presses, great works of art (Picasso, Sorolla, Juan Gris, Chillida, Barceló, Genovés, etc.), or audiovisual, you can discover everything about the history and future of wine.

Bodegas Ramon Bilbao

MIRTO visit includes a guided explanation of the history and production processes introductory course to the tasting with the tasting of five Ramón Bilbao wines (Ramón Bilbao Rosado, Ramón Bilbao Viñedos de Altura, Ramón Bilbao Original Reserve 43, Ramón Bilbao Gran Reserva and Mirto de Ramón Bilbao 360º virtual reality experience).

Gomez Cruzado experience

Tour to the landscapes of old vineyards of Rioja Alta and Alavesa through the wine tasting of the Gómez Cruzado Winery. There will be a guided visit to the winery and tasting in the barrels room of the Gómez Cruzado Blanco, Reserva, Honorable, and Pancrudo wines.

Laguardia non-sporting activities

Bodega el Fabulista

The visit to Fabulista Winery consists of a brief history and continues with a pleasant and graphical explanation of the wine, treading the grapes as it was done in the past, go through the calados subterraneos and ends with tasting the wines produced in their own wine cellar.

Bodega Ysios

Visit the flagship of the new Rioja, Bodega Ysios. In an idyllic enclave at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria, Ysios opens its doors to invite you to discover a winery that surprises and fascinates the guests. It is the only winery in the world designed by Santiago Calatrava which is fully integrated into the landscape in what is described as an ongoing dialogue between the work and nature.

Marqués de Riscal (the city of wine)

The complex is composed of the old winery of Marqués de Riscal (1858), one of the oldest in Rioja, as well as a new building designed by the Canadian architect, Frank O. Gehry. You will have a visit to winery and tasting of Marqués de Riscal Verdejo (Rueda P.D.O.) and Marqués de Riscal Reserva (D.o.ca. Rioja).

La Rioja

The wine region of La Rioja is a point that's obviously spectacular for the practice of bicycle tourism. Its privileged geographic location halfway between the Atlantic and Mediterranean climate generate a diversity of landscapes difficult to find in such a small space - that speaks of the smallest community in Spain and yet, this is what there is, mountains, vineyards, quiet roads, the Ebro basin, traditional and designer wineries, traditional and modern gastronomy, medieval monuments, monumental villas full of culture and history, and much more to see and discover.

Ezcaray

Ezcaray's nature, landscapes, and villages turned into the first tourist municipality of La Rioja. The historic center of the town is already by itself a set of popular architecture with the constant memory of architectural and textile tradition, different types of construction, and arcades designed to sustain life in the street during the rigors of the winter.

In the limits of the village the group of "Aldeas del Oja" and the nature of La Sierra de La Demanda stand out without much effort. Further on, in a few kilometers, the whole universe of Rioja opens up, monasteries like San Millán de la Cogolla or Valvanera, innumerable monuments and historical sets that reflect the past from prehistoric times to the days, and coexisting with all this infinite world of wine with its vineyards, its cellars, its tastings. It's endless.

Laguardia

Laguardia is one of the most beautiful villages in Spain that is famous for its gastronomic and wine tourism. Laguardia has prehistoric settlements, such as the village of La Hoya, a dozen of megalithic monuments scattered around the surrounding, and natural protected areas as the wetlands and lagoons of Carravalseca, Carralogroño. The list continues with a compact set of elements within the walls of a medieval town, churches, towers, the Celtiberian pond, and "Los Calaos" (caves under the houses).

And, of course! Everything about the world of wine is available in Laguardia; the thematic center of the wine, Villa Lucia, with its tasting and 4D show, the numerous wineries - traditional ones and authentic betting by architectural modernity - all with the common denominator of modernity in the traditional production of wine of the Rioja Alavesa.

• 2 days of cycling in Ezcaray
• 2 days of cycling in Laguardia
• Accompanying cycling tour guide when the number of participants exceeds seven cyclists
• On route refreshments stations (both sports foods and drinks as well as traditional foods and drinks)
• Travel and sport insurance
• Entrances to wineries, museums or any other type of tourist visit which has been agreed for the stage
• Briefing and multimedia presentation of the cycling program
• Support vehicle with a function of guide and luggage transportation
• 4 buffet breakfasts
• A "strong meal" per day (depending on the particularity of each group it will be made at lunch or dinner)
• 4 nights' accommodation

• Bicycle rental (Road, hibryds, electrics, or mountain bike)
• Any kind of sports material, helmets, shoes, etc.
• Anything not expressly indicated in the offer
• Beers or other consumptions outside the proposed menus in the dinners or during
• the stay in hotels
• Lunch (unless it has been agreed previously to replace dinner with lunch)