The Burrally route winds through the beautiful gravel roads of Spain, offering a perfect blend of adventure and stunning landscapes. After spending considerable time riding the roads of Southern Spain and falling in love with the area, I wanted to explore its extensive network of gravel tracks. This trip also marked my first experience with bivvy sleeping, making it an ideal adventure for pushing my boundaries. I wanted a relatively relaxed ride but still hoped to challenge myself with new experiences. Being inexperienced with both gravel riding and wild camping, I was excited (and nervous!) to see how I would manage.

Day 1 - Vinaros to Morella

The journey began in Valencia, where I set off for the train station to catch a train to the start of the route. Getting on a train took more effort than I was expecting. Accustomed to the quiet country roads of Norfolk, I had completely underestimated the time it would take to travel a few miles to the station through busy city traffic and numerous traffic lights, causing me to miss my planned train. At the ticket office, I encountered my next problem: I hadn’t realized I needed my passport to travel within Spain. Back to the apartment I went, unaware that later in the day, I’d need my passport for accommodation anyway! I won’t be forgetting it again.

Finally on the train, I hoped for an obvious spot to put my bike but ended up leaning it against the doors and moving it at most stops to let people on and off. Arriving at Vinaros, I was relieved to step out into the sunshine and onto my bike.

Cycling down a lovely, quiet road away from the town, the route began gently with a small gradient as I headed inland toward the mountains. After about 50 km, I reached my first major climbs. Though I thought I was relatively experienced at climbing after spending time in Calpe, I quickly realized that this trip’s climbs would push me much harder. It was the first time I’d attempted climbs with so much weight on my bike (and often on loose gravel). I wasn’t overly loaded with panniers, but my large saddle bag, handlebar bag, top tube bag, and food pouch made a bigger difference than I’d naively expected. I tend to overpack!

After a short stop at a local bar in Vallibona, I turned off for my first gravel climb. This section was steep in places, and I had to walk quite a few parts. Unsure of my ability to tackle such steep hills on loose gravel, I didn’t want to risk injury.

I’d hoped to wild camp on the first night. Approaching the town of Morella as it got dark, I planned to find a spot nearby and stock up on supplies in the morning. However, being inexperienced, I had no idea what kind of spot to look for, and many fields were surrounded by electric fences. Mentally drained from the morning’s train antics, I decided not to pressure myself and looked for a hotel instead. Even that wasn’t particularly easy. With my bike not allowed in the room, I had to walk it to a lock-up—an unexpected bit of faff. But soon I was able to shower and settle in for a good night’s sleep.

Day 2 - Morella to Castillo de Villamalefa

I had a much later start than I’d hoped. After picking up my bike from the garage, eating breakfast at the restaurant, restocking at the local supermarket, and repacking all my kit, it was almost 10 a.m.!

I’d tested the bags for the trip on a short ride, but by the second day, they were rubbing against the tyres. This led to frequent stops to tighten them and maximize clearance from the wheels. Overloading, combined with limited clearance, seemed to cause the issue. It was manageable but definitely a learning experience for next time!

Having missed my chance to wild camp the night before, I was determined to succeed this time. Not really knowing what a “good” wild camp spot looked like, I aimed for somewhere out of sight of passing cars, relatively flat, and with phone signal for peace of mind. After an hour of searching, I found a raised section on the roadside just outside a town that felt safe enough. Setting up my bivvy, I braced for an anxious night with my senses on high alert. But waking up to the sounds of birds and a sense of achievement was amazing.

Day 3 - Castillo de Villamalefa to Viver

After my first wild camp, I started surprisingly late due to a lot of faff. I passed through the town of Ludiente and soon reached the first gravel section of the day, about 10 km in. Though the climb was steep in places and required walking, it was actually the descents I struggled with most, as my confidence in my bike-handling skills was low.

I took time to stop and enjoy the scenery throughout the day. However, I started experiencing issues with my gears jumping, causing frustration on steep climbs. After a day of trying to diagnose the issue, I removed the wheel in the evening, and miraculously, this solved it!

By this point, knee pain had started from climbing in higher gears than I wanted to, and I was worried it might become a bigger issue. Solving the gearing problem was a relief!

Approaching the town of Viver, I decided to stock up and stay at a nearby campsite.

Day 4 - Viver to Bunol

Just outside the town of Chera was a turn off for a gravel section, starting alongside a lake with a lovely looking campsite, then a steep climb followed by an amazing fast rolling gravel section that had me smiling the whole way! After passing a few walkers around the campsite section this was again so deserted.

Trying to navigate with google maps in the town of Bunol in order to stock up at a supermarket proved frustrating! One-way systems and google maps insistance to send me on routes that encountered flights of stairs left my slightly exasperated at this point in the day. Luckily a local teenager felt sorry for me and helped me out one what felt like the umpteenth route I’d tried and lifted my bike down for me before I completely lost control!

I had contemplated cycling a little longer and trying to Bivy again but there was a campsite less than 5km away and I was hoping to charge some of my devices so decided to head there instead. However, the campsite was rather basic and not entirely what I was expecting so there wasn’t a chance to shower or any electricity for charging. I was there now so set up camp and went to get some sleep. The campsite wasn’t manned but instead there was a QR code to scan and pay.

My plan that night was to get up early, covering just under 200 miles over the next 2 days as the terrain looked slightly easier, and finishing in 6 days. That plan was soon to be undone…

Day 5 - The end of the road

Waking up through the night I had started to feel very unwell. Unable to eat or drink I got up later than I had planned and slowly started to pack, hoping it would pass soon. It didn’t.

After a very slow walk from the campsite of about 5 minutes I had to lie down on the side of the road and stayed there for a lot of the day, unable to move without being ill. I realised I was going to need to find somewhere to try and recover and finding an airbnb very close I slowly made my way. Luckily it was mainly downhill as rolling was almost as much as I could handle.

I had hoped to be back on the road the following day, but after no food intake, practically no water that day and waking up the following day feeling terrible still I had no choice but to stop.

The trip had been so amazing until this point it was very frustrating not to be able to continue, but I had to just accept that it was out of my control and that the 4 days I did have were pretty unforgetable!

Reflections

The network of gravel roads in this area were a delight to ride. The people I encountered helpful, weather warm and dry, the area peaceful and absolutely stunning.

A lot of the gravel sections were fast riding, beautiful and quiet. Some sections were more rugged and tested my limited off-road skills but for anyone with more gravel experience I doubt these would not have been a challenge at all.

I hope do go back and finish the route, and explore other gravel routes in Spain. The mix of new challenges for me made it probably the hardest trip I’ve attempted, steep climbs on gravel with a heavier bike, attempting wildcamping, the unknown aspects of the trip. But it was also one of the most rewarding!

For future rides I need to hone my kit list a bit more and rethink the bag set-up. Also I need to try and have more full meals, and try and avoid getting ill!

Kit List

Restrap 14ltr saddle pack
Restrap fork, stem, top-tube and handlebar bags
Outdoor Research Helium bivy
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Elite Nxt sleeping mat
Sea to Summit Flame Fm sleeping bag
Sea to Summit Thermolite sleeping bag liner
Therm-a-Rest Trekker pillow case
Cables
Toiletries
Small towel
Wipes
First aid kit
Bike repair kit
Patagonia puffy jacket
2 x short-sleeve jerseys
1 x thermal long-sleeve jersey
2 x bib shorts
Thermal top and thermal leggings (for sleeping)
Shakedry jacket
Leg warmers
Arm warmers
Bra
2 x socks
Waterproof gloves
Garmin 1040 Solar
Exposure front light
Cateye back light
Exposure head light
Heart rate monitor
Battery packs
Headphones
Passport
Debit card
Cash
2 x 750ml water bottles

Burrally Bikepacking