Top three bike routes to keep fit in the New Year

We all tend to overindulge over the festive period. Mince pies, Christmas pudding, turkey with all of the trimmings, not to mention a boatload of booze. The general consensus is to loosen the belt a notch and worry about losing the Christmas belly as a New year’s resolution. As Valencia has such great weather all year round, we at BikeAlao think: why not keep fit and enjoy the great outdoors? To help you achieve that we have compiled a list of our top three bike routes to enjoy in Valencia. We also have guided bike tours in and around Valencia for those of you who are visiting.
This is the first of our top three favourite bike rides in and around Valencia.

1. El Saler

This route is suitable for city bikes, hybrids and mountain bikes. If you don’t have a bike you can use either of BikeAlao’s Valencia bike rental shops to hire a bike in Ruzafa or by the port of Valencia.

You may not fancy a dip, but with the temperature frequently topping 20 degrees, and the sea a beautiful colour, the ride to El Saler is an absolute joy.

Riding bikes to El Saler in the South of Valencia is the best thing to do on a sunny day

Starting from Estación del Norte you have several options to get out of the city.

The first route would be straight along Calle Alicante, following the new bike lane into Ruzafa, via calle Cuba. At the end of Calle Cuba, join the bike lane down Peris y Valero and taking the right just after Avenida Amado Granell Mesado (formerly known as Calle General Urrutia). The bike lane curves around the back of the avenue before joining it. This street takes you all the way to Antonio Ferrandis, where the bike lane takes you left towards El Saler shopping centre and crosses the roundabout before joining the bike track to El Saler. This bike track has recently reopened and is in great condition after a renovation.

Bike track between Valencia and El Saler

Another way would be to ride from Estación del Norte down Calle Colón towards the Turia park. The bike lane on Calle Colón takes you straight there, via a few traffic lights so you may need a little patience but please do obey the traffic laws. Enter the park at the Alameda metro station and take either the right hand or left hand bike lane in the park. The end of the park now has a bike exit and a new adjoining bike lane which takes you left onto Joan Verdeguer. Follow the bike lane down Joan Verdeguer to the port and take a right at the Edificio del Reloj, negotiate the zebra crossings and then join the bike lane crossing the river Turia. The bike lane winds around to the right passing by Nazaret then takes a left, which runs parallel to the train tracks.

Edificio del Reloj in the background in the Port of Valencia

Routes one and two join where there is a flyover bridge by blue domed Purísima Concepción church.

Purísima Concepción church on the bike lane in 'La Punta' neighbourhood, leading towards Nazaret

From here it is plain sailing on the bike track to the beach of Pinedo. The bike track runs all the way beyond El Saler beach so you can stop and lock the bikes up wherever you feel the need to take a break. There are many bike parking facilities so be sure to lock your bike correctly.

The whole route is about 24 km and does not involve leaving the bike tracks, nor much interaction with traffic other than crossings. It is basically flat with a 73 metre altitude fluctuation over the entire route. This is one of our favourite routes for a sunny day and the beaches are long, so you can always get a secluded spot. The sea is a bit chilly now so if you fancy a swim, get nice and warm beforehand.

If you feel like a longer ride, it is possible to circle all around the Albufera, making for a total route of almost 50 km.

Continuing the bike ride in El Saler towards Albufera

In our next post we will share our second favourite route in and around Valencia. Stay tuned!