Cycling the Ruta Via de la Plata

Thank you to Chris Tomes for the following updates:

p 39 offroad to Guillena. The stream mentioned needed to be forded but the "footbridge" was in fact an RSJ teetering between two banks. It was not for the faint-hearted! Luggage had to be de-mounted and several trips across made. Other cyclists I met later also found this challenging.

p. 45 El Real de la Jara - Sadly Meson la Cochera is now closed. There are other food choices in the village.

p. 49 Leg 2.3 to Zafra. The N-630 is counting down as it goes north. Therefore the km markers on this stretch go from 721 to 686 (not 786)

p. 65 Leg 4.1R, when leaving Merida I recommend the cycle path described as superfluous. It is wide, freshly painted, and keeps you away from fast traffic, of which there was some

p. 77 Leg 5.3R The signage in Casar de Caceres is unhelpful and I found the gpx files invaluable to take the correct road out of town. There is a beautiful cycle path heading west out of town which is NOT the right route! Road numbers seem to be changed / updated from time to time and this is no exception. The CC-75 is now the CC-332.

p 89 Plasencia to Bejar. I echo the comments on the alternative via verde to Bejar as this was recommended to me by a local, but only when I was already committed to the hybrid route. My hybrid option involved taking the road out of Plasencia on the N-630 until the first roundabout for the A66, and then taking CC-206 NW through Oliva de Plasencia for about 10km until Ventaquemada where the Camino route crosses the road. I then followed the off-road route to experience the dehesa and visit the ruins of Caparra. Hervas well worth the detour and the via verde can be picked up there if wanted.

p. 103 Leg 8.5R. The road to San Pedro Rozados was closed and I was told by a postman that it was impassable for cyclists. There is a detour signed but it does add about 5km and involves a long climb.

p. 106 Leg 8.6R. A good and segregated cycle path is available 5km from Salamanca, which is worth taking and follows the road route into town.

p.115 Leg 9.4R. The old bridge into Zamora is closed for extensive works. I detoured west into town.

p. 177 - it is the Duero river (not Douro)

Thanks to Luc Demeulenaere for his kind words and helpful updates on the RVP.

On Leg 6.1 OR to Galisteo, the directions for getting onto the road after cycling north for 12km are too cryptic. On the approach to the road ignore Camino way markings, take the dirt road on the left (the old main road), and after 100m or so, turn onto the road, turn right, and continue up the hill for 800m.

On Stage 2 of the Camino Sanebress on Leg 2.1, the route has changed (or was wrong) so after cycling north for 7km (page 176), don't turn right but stay on the track, continue to the road heading into Santa Marta de Tera via Villanueva de las Paras.

Many thanks to Jan and his five cycling buddies from Norway for an update on the route for the Ruta Vía de la Plata. It’s an important improvement to what is already a brilliant cycling route.

Stage 7 - the Plasencia to Béjar stage, can now be completed on a newly opened Vias Verde helpfully called the Ruta de la Plata Greenway. The Vias Verde are old railway lines which have been repurposed as cycle and walking routes and can be found all over Spain. The Ruta de la Plata Greenway is a new addition to a growing portfolio and is one of the longest.

Currently, the offroad version of Stage 7 involves returning from Plasencia to Carcabosa along the road used at the end of Stage 6. It then joins the Camino and heads north to the ruins of the Roman town of Caparra. The Vias Verde starts in Plasencia, near the railway station, and heads north using the infrastructure of the disused railway line (viaducts, tunnels and old railway stations). It looks amazing and, using railway line grading should be very easy. Crucially it visits Hervas, a recommended detour in the Guide, but an integral part of the Ruta de la Plata Greenway.

My only regret about the improvement is that it replaces what is already a brilliant stretch of cycling. The original off-road section of Stage 7, the 30km section from Carcobosa to the N630, is the most sustained stretch of dehesa cycling on the whole of the Ruta Vía de la Plata. Missing it means you don’t get to take a picture of your bike parked in a triumphal Roman arch at Caparra, possibly the most iconic view of the whole journey.

To avoid missing out on the dehesa and the arch at Caparra consider following Leg 7.1 OR as described in the Guide and join the Ruta de la Plata Greenway at Aldeanueva del Camino where there is a old railway station.

For full details of the Ruta Via la Plata Greenway go to the Vias Verde website at www.viasverdes.com/

In connection with Leg 2.3 OR to Zafra (p. 53), Heather reports that a locked gate has appeared on the agricultural track heading west. Either take the Camino off the N-630 200m after leaving Calzada de Los Barros (dotted line on the map) and risk the fords, or stay on the road route.

The bike rental company mentioned in the book, Bike Iberia, now only delivers bikes to the SEUR logistics depot, which is 13km south of Seville. They do not deliver to hotels in Sevilla

CyclingtheCamino do https://cyclingthecamino.com/en/

The CTC bike bag referred to is no longer sold by Wiggle (or anyone else for that matter - April 2023).

Reported by Martin Jones