Riding Through Sierra Nevada: A Journey Above the Clouds

When we planned this trip to Sierra Nevada, the idea was simple enough: ride some big climbs, soak up the Spanish sun, and see what this legendary region really has to offer. What we didn’t expect was just how quickly it would grip us. These mountains don’t just test your legs, they get inside your head, they make you think about why you ride in the first place. And already, just a couple of days in, it feels like we’re somewhere special.

Day One: Starting Fast, Ending Higher

The first ride started with the kind of descent that tricks you into thinking cycling is easy. Twenty-two kilometres, averaging 54kph, sweeping bends, fast straights. That rush of speed that has you laughing inside your helmet, forgetting everything else. But that’s the thing about mountains: they always balance the scales.

The climb started not long after we hit the bottom. At first it teased with a steady ramp, then it turned serious. We rode into the village of Güejar Sierra, one of those places you’d love to stop in if you weren’t already in the middle of a climb. Narrow cobbled streets, little squares, cafés spilling out onto the pavements. It looked like the kind of town where time slows down. For us, though, time was speeding up. The gradient wasn’t pausing for sightseeing. But a fun fact Güejar Sierra's history begins with a Roman castle and later Moorish occupation, giving the village its name, which you'll notice has a umlaut, it was interesting when we first noticed these and it is on quiet a few village and town names here in the region.

From there the road coiled up the mountain. Tunnels cut into the rock, switchback after switchback, each one steeper than the last. The higher we climbed, the thinner the air felt. It was relentless. No false flats, no easy stretches. Just pure, unbroken ascent.

And yet, that relentlessness is part of the beauty. The sound of the valley fades, and you’re left with only the rhythm of your breathing, the click of gears, the dull ache in your legs. Oddly enough, I felt good. Stronger than I expected at altitude. Maybe it was adrenaline, maybe just the excitement of being somewhere new.

But eventually the tarmac gave way to gravel. Not the smooth gravel you can sneak through on 28mm tyres. This was chunky, fist-sized rock, the kind that rattles every part of you and makes you wonder how much your wheels can take. On a road bike, it just wasn’t happening. The climb didn’t end because we’d conquered it. It ended because the surface said no. Sometimes mountains are like that – they remind you who’s in charge.

Day Two: A Long Loop from Dúrcal

The next day was a different kind of challenge. Ninety-eight kilometres, rolling out of Dúrcal you are met with an instant descent again, it seems like wherever you start a ride here you end up doing down for atleast 20km. But you know what they say, what goes down, must go up. looping around a glittering reservoir, then pointing skyward again. The climbs weren’t quite as brutal as the day before, but they weren’t far off.

One stretched for 14 kilometres, the other for 8km. the 14km was steady enough to grind you down if you didn’t pace it right, but the 8km was just horrible, with 22% which felt like forever at one point.

The reservoir was a highlight beautiful blue water surrounded by dramatic cliffs, the road tracing its edge like a ribbon. It’s the kind of scenery that distracts you for just long enough to forget your legs are burning. And then you hit another climb and remember all over again.

By the end of the day and two flat tires later we were pretty cooked for the baking sun, thats what we really underestimated here and riding much earlier is now on the cards. Even at the end of september we had a 37 degree day, which when you add in the heat of the road itself is a few degrees higher.

What struck me most about this loop was the variety. Valleys that felt wide and open, shaded roads that twisted through woodland, then the exposure of high mountain passes. It was all packed into one ride, and it made me realise how much there is still to explore here.

Sierra Nevada: More Than Just a Cycling Destination

It’s impossible to talk about riding here without mentioning what else Sierra Nevada is known for. This isn’t just a cycling playground – it’s a ski and snowboard destination, one of the highest resorts in Europe and the most southerly. In winter, the same mountains we’re struggling up on bikes are covered in snow, alive with people carving lines downhill instead of grinding uphill.

That dual identity gives the place a different energy. In summer, the roads are quiet, the villages sleepy, the mountains rugged and raw. But there’s an awareness that, a few months from now, the same switchbacks will be packed with cars and buses ferrying people to the slopes. It makes you appreciate the silence even more.

Why It’s Special

A couple of days in, it’s already clear: Sierra Nevada isn’t easy, but that’s what makes it unforgettable. The climbs are steep, long, and punishing. The descents are fast and technical. The scenery swings from lush valleys to bare rock in a matter of minutes.

But beyond the numbers and gradients, there’s something harder to describe. A freedom. A sense that here you can ride until you’ve got nothing left, and the mountain will still be bigger than you. It humbles you, but it also rewards you.

And that’s why this trip feels like more than just a cycling holiday. It’s an adventure. A chance to test yourself, yes, but also to soak in a place that has its own rhythm, its own beauty. From Dúrcal’s rolling roads to Güejar Sierra’s cobbles, from turquoise reservoirs to gravel-trapped mountain tops every ride so far has been different, and we’re only just getting started.