Chris, you don't say if you're looking at "Paved", "Any" or "Gravel" options. Paved & Any are quite different!

I believe CT is always tweaking the weighting given to the main criteria that it uses (significant changes are usually mentioned in the subscriber's emails) but my understanding is that traffic (where available), climbing and scenery are significant as well as road surfaces. I'd imagine that here, CT is displaying its bias against main roads and probably looking at the climbing too.

Your dilemma gets to the nub of the "Official Bike Route" thing discussed a little here: https://cycle.travel/forum/thread/5692  "Official routes" are often designed with a multitude of factors in mind, many of them with little to do with cycling. 

EV routes generally take individual local routes and link them up. That can lead to interesting variations in quality from province to province or country to country. In the case of this part of the EV1 (The Atlantic Coast Route - an aspirational description in the part of the world you're looking at!) it is piggybacking on a Camino route (Via de la Plata) for pilgrims to get to Santiago de Compostela. That, in itself, is based on an ancient agricultural and mining route. The "official route" essentially, is on a main road the whole way but given this relatively empty part of Spain and the fact that there's a new motorway that takes all the traffic, the official route is excellent quality and very conducive to cycling. Consistent is one way of describing it, another could be boring!  

CT has always given me reliable and enjoyable routes based on cycling criteria, but sometimes we want more than just cycling. Culture, history and our own personal preferences can be as important as cycling to us sometimes. As well as Cáceres (small, friendly, "off the beaten track" with an old town where we can walk back through history in the Old Town at night and possibly the best campground in Spain for a cyclist, the CT suggestions miss Mérida - with an amazing Roman era aquaduct just sitting there as well as a stunning bridge over a river and a park so the choice is yours. 

There are alternatives, though. Instead of one or the other, judicious use of viapoints can see you hitting all the towns, just varying the official route between them. The divergence won't be as great as using only start and end points, but I'd judge that journey to be the most interesting, especially if you like smaller towns and have a bit of time for dallying.

If your focus is purely cycling I'd trust CT here. If you want to experience a unique and very special part of Spain, perhaps meet others like you (always cyclists on the route) and have good choice in facilities and services then stay "official".

Having done most of the area you are looking at in "explorer" mode, on and off the official route I can pretty much say that you are in for a treat! Enjoy!

Thanks for a comprehensive answer!

I get what you say about 'official routes' - a few years ago in the Czech Republic (and again in Slovenia) I came across missing bits of routes, or impossible-with-touring-bike routes. (One route used a ferry that only operates at weekends in July & August!). I was wondering though if the Spanish sections were any better in that respect.

You ask about 'paved' etc - I will be using a gravel bike but don't wan't too much gravel so generally the 'any' selection is good for me. Oddly, though, the predefined routes on cycle.travel don't seem to allow changes - I get a server error if I try to change the Spain EV1 to 'gravel'.

If I ignore CT's own route ( https://cycle.travel/map/journey/185420) and just plan my own route south from Salamanca using CT, the suggested route does follow EV1 for the first 129k or so - whereas the CT route doesn't follow it! There's big differences further south as well. So my question still stands....

The reason for choosing Salamanca as a starting point was that I can get there by MD train from Santander, so not having to dismantle by bike onto faster trains to Madrid etc (which is what I had planned for last November, until I was injured and had to postpone the trip). I see you live in Spain - do you have much experiene of Spanish trains with bikes?

Hobbes’ answer is spot on as always!

Basically cycle.travel has a good idea of routes that are good for cycling (low traffic, fewer hills, good surface), but it doesn’t know “what’s interesting”. So EV1 goes through Caceres and Merida because the route designers thought cycle tourists would like to visit them. c.t doesn’t have that knowledge, so it chooses the best roads/paths otherwise. (I wish it did, but algorithmically that’s really hard.)

Changing the pre-planned EV1 to gravel won’t really work I’m afraid. The cycle.travel pre-planned route has about 50 via points in order to make it cleave closely to EV1. Changing to gravel will find an off-road route between each of those points, but it will keep going back to EV1 for the via points.

There’s something in the works to make it easier to follow EuroVelo and similar routes, but more of that anon!

Thanks Richard. That all makes sense - except for one thing. You say "The cycle.travel pre-planned route has about 50 via points in order to make it cleave closely to EV1" . But how does that explain that it doesn't stay on EV1 for most of the 100k south of Salamanca, whereas if I plot my own route south from Salamanca, with no via points (https://cycle.travel/map/journey/529644 ) it stays much closer to EV1? Looks to me like you (or someone) has chosen to steer clear of EV1 for a different reason?

Maybe I'll just do some 'StreetViewing' and decide which bits to use on an ad-hoc basis. Good that its's easy to do that straight from CT!

Chris, if you're asking why the CT version of the EV1 route (available under route guides) is different to a route you create now I think the answer may be time.

Two things may have happened: One, CT has been tweaked to interpret data and make different (better) decisions now than when the Route Guide version was put together. Two, the underlying data in OSM has been changed so CT takes that into account and plots accordingly (and differently) now.

I recall elsewhere in Spain on a ViaVerde (an old rail trail) , ignoring CT's suggestion to get off it. The result? Heavy rain the previous few days had made a section far from civilisation a magnetic mudbath, I got to spend the night on the side of the path :-) 

Speaking of VV, you may be interested in https://viasverdes.com/. They're on CT but not immediately obvious.

Anecdotally, I'm a big fan of the "Suggest a ride" feature but became bored with the same suggestions. Moving my starting point a km or two from my front door would open up a veritable maze of options (I used to live on NL). On longer trips, there is no need to reject an entire route from A to B that doesn't seem to follow the popular options. Quite often, a via point in the right place can completely divert the route.  

I don't know how you navigate but I have become a big fan of writing notes to myself - add a viapoint, add a note to that viapoint and a message pops up on my Wahoo. I can use this to remind myself that I can go left for this or y for that depending on how I'm feeling at the time. Especially useful in Spain for noting water fountains in advance.

As for trains, I'm afraid I have minimal experience. I think the fast ones require a reservation but the regional ones are less strict. There are decent facilities on the train, or at least the couple I was on. I think region may be important. Salamanca to Huelva seems pretty underserved by public transport with fewer and fuller trains. Ironically, bigger regions may be better served for people with bikes. Anecdotally, weekends may be more difficult than weekdays. I've seen an entire family load their bikes on the train in the evening after a day in the mountains! I've only hopped on a train with the bike twice, both on spec, both short journeys of no more than 50/60 km. In my defence it was hot!

I think the first 100km are free for bikes and after that a small, growing charge depending on distance. Don't forget that Spain is well used to foreigners traipsing all over their country on foot, on bike and on mules. Some patience, a few Spanish words and a smile are all helpful in getting around or through the bureaucracy.

Finally, Streetview is great but it does nothing to accurately represent the vistas on offer in this part of the world. In a month, everything will still be green and glorious. (Later, golden and glorious).  

As an afterthought, The EV1 (in that part of Spain) follows the Via de la Plata. If you google the VDLP you'll see a variety of different variations including off-road options. Although, maybe more choice is not what you want :-)

There is always CGOAB too. 

Hi again! I just came back here to answer my own question after thinking of the answer while sleeping on it, but you beat me to it! Of course, the algorithm has been tweaked since the route guide was put together.

I know about viaVerdes website, thanks, but didn't know that my Wahoo could display messages for waypoints. I'll give that a try on a short trip in Kent next week. And thanks for reminding me about CGOAB - found a recent one for the correct area of Spain and also at the correct time of year.

So, I think I will use CT from Salamanca to Huelva but then drag it and add waypoints in towns like Caceres and Merida. And add notes where I may want to decide alternatives on the day. And start brushing up my Spanish!

I'll sort out the trains - if I had time I'd ride all the way from Santander but need to shorten the trip a bit somehow,

Many thanks again for your input.

To display messages I use TCX files from CT. 

I rarely follow a preplanned route and never used Turn by Turn directions because the last TbT direction would stay on the screen. I've changed my opinion since I dicovered how easy it is to write notes for myself.

Now, I can't be sure but I suspect that the "automatic" TbT instructions created may override my own, or at least mean that my own "note" may be displayed for a shorter than usual time if the "automatic one" (eg turn right in 200 meters) crops up too close to mine. It's a suspicion - I can't say for sure. Test & test again if you'll depend on it. In any case, my unit allows me to scroll forward through the TbT directions (and notes).

I think it's just one of the many very useful tools for the longer distance rider on CT. I even use it to tell me how long to the top of a climb (although Wahoo's own software has upped their game recently). Things like "last town for x km or x meters of climbing" is a handy reminder to check food/water stop for a coffee, especially when the route is created weeks or months in advance and time erases the details. 

if I had time I'd ride all the way from Santander but need to shorten the trip a bit somehow,

It's probably the last thing you want or need but if it was me I'd look to finish in Mérida and tack the "saved" time/distance on further north. Of course, that may mean weather having more impact and may mean more mountains but depending on your route Mérida to Huelva it can be quite "samey" whereas further north - in my opinion - is more interesting. Sorry! :-)

I think there’s a particular issue with EV1 in Spain. The EuroVelo route itself (or, at least, its mapping on OpenStreetMap) has changed since I put together the c.t saved route. So c.t is still displaying the old route.

(At present the process to create these saved routes is semi-manual – I have a rather complex bit of code that takes a EuroVelo route, or other signed route, and tries to construct a journey with the correct via points. It gets it 95% right but usually requires a bit of tweaking. As I say, I’m currently working on something in this area…)

Worth noting that OSM mapping of EuroVelo routes in Spain is being reviewed at the moment – EV8 in particular is more of a wishlist than an actual signposted route.

Worth noting that OSM mapping of EuroVelo routes in Spain is being reviewed at the moment – EV8 in particular is more of a wishlist than an actual signposted route.

:-)) I can personally vouch for that! 

On the other hand, bike route or no, Spain is wonderful for biking adventures. Excellent infrastructure for paved routes, wonderful dedicated mixed use trails and fabulous rural roads full of gravel and adventure. Careful drivers. Hugely varied landscapes. Great coffee, excellent wine and the food! Oh the food! There's a lot more to Spain than a line on a map.

Thanks everyone for all the help. Unless it's changed in the last 7 years, I agree about EV8 (both photos taken actually on the route!).

Noted about your route suggestion. I may well do that, if the weather looks OK when I arrive at Santander (March 21st). There appears to be a trail most of the way from there to Burgos.

Getting off-topic a little (!), I do enjoy the food in Spain but compared with France it's let down by its cheese - unless you know better?

My wife and I are planning a trip late summer from Kiel to Malaga (taking a ferry from Oslo where we live). We retire this spring, so we'll have lots of time. Planning to go to San Sebastián - Burgos - Valladolid - Salamanca - Cáceres - Merida, so as you understand, this thread was very interesting - and comforting - because some of the conclusions made, were corresponding to my own. So to my question: the function with your own comments to waypoints, will they also pop up on my Garmin Edge 810?

Getting off-topic a little (!), I do enjoy the food in Spain but compared with France it's let down by its cheese - unless you know better?

We like what we like :-) I do recall (and to be fair it has changed) my first forays into France having food served with a side order of unpleasant attitude. 

the function with your own comments to waypoints, will they also pop up on my Garmin Edge 810?

To clarify, the process is to 1. add a via point and 2. Add a note to that via point.

I cannot speak for Garmin but I do know that it works similarly ..... in theory. 

It can depend on the unit model, the level of update and possibly if the file is passed through Garmin Connect or not. In other words, the best thing to do is to test it out for yourself. Short routes, lots of numbered notes to self and see how it works.   I'd imagine that Norway in February is not the best place to test it out, though :-)

I'm sure you've thought of it but "late summer" can still be very hot in some of the parts you are hitting. Cáceres last October had temperatures well into the 30s (September into the 40s) I can stand heat, I can enjoy climbing but in combination it can be very draining. Direct, blasting sun can be disorienting. And water fountains may be empty. If camping, sleep can be "thin" as opposed to deep. 

If you're not in a rush my strong suggestion is to make the most of it and avoid putting too much pressure on yourselves. Of all the places I have wandered on my bike I think that Spain is probably one of the most rewarding and is perfect for spontaneity. 

Thank you so much for your help. I'll have to test it out myself on my Garmin. But you're right, it's not the best time for biking here in Oslo now, even if I have done some winter biking on prepared tracks (not the ones for skiing, but "specially made for bikes" by enthusiasts. ❤️) It's great fun falling over as long as you fall into deep snow outside of the track. 😊

When it comes to heat, we have to choose between risking too hot or too cold. Too cold we've enough experience with..... We can just hope for more normal temperatures in "Septober". 👍🏼 We really look forward to this trip, and hopefully we'll stay healthy so we can prepare AND do the trip. 

Gerhard, there is another option - the newly introduced "Markers". From the supporters' email:

You can now add a marker anywhere on your route, or indeed off the route. Each one has an icon and (optional) name and description. Use it to add your favourite cafes, navigational notes, warnings… anything you like.

You can add a marker in one of two ways:

click on the route and choose “Add marker”

right-click anywhere on the map (long-press on mobile, or ctrl-click if you have a one-button Mac)

Here’s an example journey with markers:

https://cycle.travel/map/?journey=514905

Often you’ll want a marker to be linked to one journey only, so choose “This journey only” when creating it. (You’ll need to have saved the journey first.)

But if you want to show the marker at all times and on all your journeys, choose “Public” or “Private”. Private markers will always be exactly that – for example, your home. Public markers might be used in the future to suggest cycle-friendly cafés and so on to other cycle.travel users.

The markers will be included in any GPX tracks you download, TCX courses, or journeys you send to Garmin Connect. (With TCX and Garmin Connect, only markers on/near the route will be included.) They won’t show up in the cycle.travel app yet but that will be coming in the next stage.

Now, I haven't used these yet, but already I can see many advantages of having a visual representation on a map. 

Interesting. I will check out. Thank you so much for taking the time. 👍🏼