Cycling Iberia: Spain and Portugal

Garry’s bicycle tour of Iberia, in Spain and Portugal, in May 2015. It had been 18 months since Garry had been on a long-distance cycle tour. Having spent that time in and out of hospital, having injections and operations on his back. But there was still no real improvement, and now his specialist was telling him that he may never work again.

So, Garry decided that maybe a long bike ride would sort it out; after all, it did once before. Admittedly, he hadn’t had operations then, and it probably wasn’t as bad either, but anything was worth a try.

The Plan

Garry originally planned on cycling up to Scandinavia. But on the day of departure, he became ill and had to abort.

After resting at home for a few days and thinking it through, Garry decided that Scandinavia might be a little cold at this time of year; also, not being able to work for the past two years, he wasn’t exactly flush with cash, and Scandinavia isn’t exactly cheap. Instead, Garry decided to go to Spain and Portugal.

Catching the ferry to Spain, Garry arrived in Bilbao and set off cycling through the middle of the country, heading south. His journey through Spain turned into a bit of an epic. Spain was in the grips of a heatwave, with it being the hottest May on record, with temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius.

Garry battled through the heat and mountains of Spain and arrived on the Mediterranean coast to some much-needed cooler temperatures after covering 800 miles. Once there, Garry headed along the coast towards Gibraltar.

It was a quick ride around Gibraltar before continuing along the coast to Portugal.

Once again, Garry followed the coast up as far as Lisbon, where, because of the time restrictions, Garry had to jump on a train, which took him to Porto. In Porto, Garry continued north and crossed back into Spain.

The final leg along the north coast of Spain was an arduous and painful task. Battling strong winds and managing to break a couple of ribs.

Finally, Garry made it to Santander, where he jumped on a ferry to come home.

Unfortunately, Garry’s back didn’t improve, but he still had a good tour and covered 1957 miles.

Garry’s YouTube Videos

The Route Garry Took

Follow & Support

If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel Garry’s next mile, you can always support him by buying him a beer. Or subscribe to his blog and follow him as he travels around on his bike. As a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. And, of course, you can always follow Garry on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. Garry’s also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all his tours, along with regular photo updates that he generally publishes each month.

If you want to find out if Garry’s away touring at the moment and check his location, visit the Where’s Garry page. And after thousands of miles on the road, Garry’s condensed everything he’s learned into one place. So if you’re planning your own cycling adventure, read his reality check on long-distance touring.

Garry McGivern is a solo, self-supported bicycle tourist and the creator of Travelsonabike2. Having cycled over 70,000 miles worldwide on his trusty bike, Passepartout, Garry documents the reality of long-distance travel. Follow along for updates, gear insights, and the daily highs and lows of bicycle touring, whether he’s camped beside the road or in the luxury of a hotel. Join Garry on the road, and be inspired to start your own adventure. Read more.