Cycling Country, Spain - cycling holidays Spain, cycle tours Spain
 

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Cycling Country, Spain, Our community - through the leaves to the blue sky, asparagus growers from the local co-operative, view of Alhama, enjoying a cafe con leche
  Cycling Country, Spain - stunning lake bermejales, Alhama de Granada
 

Situated in the medieval town of Alhama de Granada and amongst some of the most stunning landscape in Spain, we are lucky enough to live in a thriving community of local artisans, farmers and families. The town itself, a haven for centuries from the Stone Age where civilisations such as the Romans and the Moors called home, is nestled on top of a gorge where sheep are led in the cool shadows. The area that surrounds us is full of National Parks, lakes, ancient mountains, monuments and a bountiful supply of ruins, dolmens, and tasty home made food. The natural serenity of the area affords residents a laid back attitude, and most certainly they are genial people.

  Cycling Country, Spain - a local shepherd with his flock, vine tomatoes, curious donkey, Alhama's castillo
             
   Local Information - Green Grass of Home        
 


Here are some links to those organisations we work with that promote this town and the area around:

Alhama de Granada
- helpful information from the town's tourist board, where we are based
El Legado de Andulsi - preserving Andalucia's cultural heritage
Granada - Cordoba - Seville - offical tourist information from each city
Andalucia.com - packed full of information, forums and advice about the area

   Sustainability - The Right Kind of Tourism        
 


We support and run our company following responsible and sustainable tourism guidelines. We aim to fulfill the following mission statements in making our company as sustainable and supporting of local ventures and people as possible.

In the Office

Local builders reused and preserved windows / original features of our Headquarters where possible.

We recycle all glass, plastic, paper & printer / fax ink cartridges that pass through the office.

Our staff are local people who live in the area where we run our tours and are familiar with the landscape, culture and language. Our staff receive a fair wage and are protected by the social security standards of the country.

We encourage local student work experience ventures where possible in order to give experience and opportunity to local Tourism students in the course of their study.

Electricity:

  • We use natural daylight as our main light source for most of the working day.
  • We do not have air-conditioning in our office. Due to the way the office is built with deep exterior walls, the summer heat is kept out.
  • Computers and appliances are turned off at night and not left on standby.
Sustainable Cycling Holiday

On Tour

We aim to keep our group sizes small to minimize the impact on the landscape and village resources.

We encourage travellers to be economical about water use and provide information for doing so. We take efforts to educate our guests about the serious problems plaguing Southern Iberia, concerning its drought and water usage

We carry flora & fauna identification guide books and binoculars to appreciate the wildlife here.

We publish our own guide book specifically for each tour citing the historical importance of the towns and pueblos passed as well as highlighting issues affecting these places, cultural fiestas and particular or notable wildlife / geographical features. We also send a pre-tour info sheet informing our guests of some of the cultural, social and climatic issues they may face whilst travelling.

We offer, where possible, tours or meetings with local entrepreneurs who are involved in sustainable projects or businesses which benefit the environment.

We sort and recycle all plastics, paper, glass and tins used on tour.

We strongly advise people who fly to Spain, Portugal or England to neutralise their carbon emissions.

Pamphlets are only printed on recycled paper and brochures are all digitially published to reduce paper use. Any maps which are used on each tour are re-used for other tours.

Andalucia is an area of high unemployment and we encourage and provide information on utilising local shops, restaurants, hotels and other artisanal providers as well as promoting travelling with sensitivity concerning the economics of others.

City tours use small, local guiding business run by young entrepreneurs who we feel have a similar philosophy to ours and who are native to the country or town.

In each destination, we will endeavor to answer any questions clients may have about the culture, projects, etc and encourage interaction between them and the local communities we travel through .

Above all, we believe it is all about the bike and run our tours with an enthusiasm we hope will be passed on and which will encourage more people to take up cycling as a viable and tremendously good way to travel every day.

Find out more about the important issues facing tourism worldwide:

Tourism Concern - campaigning for fair and ethically traded tourism
World Tourism Organization - promoting the global code of ethics for tourism
Climate Care - donate online to offset your travel related carbon emissions

 
   Advocacy & Partners - Every Little Counts        
 


Sustainability means looking at the bigger picture as well and we support ventures in which cycling plays a prominent role.

This year we are continuing our support of the Freedom Ride Bicycle Program, which provides bicycles for school aged girls in order to help them sustain their education which due to distance from their village to the school, is often not possible. Freedom Ride invests in a seed fund that covers the initial investment in bicycles, in addition to earning interest to sustain the program for coming years. Those girls whose families cannot afford a loan will receive bicycles as a grant. Working with girls in over 200 villages in India, Freedom Ride helps eliminate the barriers to education for young women and thus empowers them for the future.

 

In 2009, we also supported ACRO Ghana´s similar program for those children of Cocoa farmers who are unable to get to school due to distance.

 
   Cycling Mania - Chainsets and Bike Boxes        
 


Cyclists who want to read up on the latest news and find out how to best box a bike to get to us (if taking your own bike), here is a pot pourri of cycling tempters and tips.

- find anything cycling!

Adventure Cycling Association - USA's cycle touring organisation
The Bicycle Exchange - great site with lots of cycling information
Bicycles Network Australia - Australia's top cycling portal
BikeCafe.net - useful resource and forum based site
BRAG.org - ride your bike across Georgia, USA with a fun group of cyclists
The Canadian Cyclist - cycling news for your community in Canada
ChainReactionCycles - Europe's largest cycling on-line store. Fast, low cost delivery worldwide
CycleTourer Website - helpful advice on cycle touring, including travelling with bikes
Cycle Touring Club of UK - official organisation for cyclists in the UK
Ken Kifer's Bike Pages - legendary and invaluable cycle touring advice from the late, great Ken

 
   Resources - Getting Here, Insurance, Local & Other Links - Click Here