Pico de Veleta
Pico de Veleta in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Spain is often described as the highest paved road in Europe.
While this is mostly true the reality is its last few kilometres (coincidentally its hardest) are almost completely devoid of paved surface and consist mostly of rocky debris, loose scree and sharp stones and boulders.
With this in mind during summer 2023 I determined to climb the Veleta while on an extended Spanish holiday.
My weapon of choice would be my 2015 caliper braked carbon Giant TCR which I was bringing on the trip with me.
Unfortunately this older model of the fantastic TCR (I'm a huge fan) cannot take anything larger than 25 mm road tyres.This was going to be a big ask of my beloved bicycle.
Reading up online about the coming climb I began to think this might be a difficult challenge.
I love climbing, I'm not fast but steady. In my native Ireland there are no long winding alpine style climbs and in fact my longest single climb was just over a paltry 700 metres on the slopes of the beautiful Mount Leinster in Carlow.
However I knew I had one more string to my bow. While I've never done any of the famous continental climbs and never climbed above 1000 metres in height I had completed multiple hill repeats many times on Ireland's smaller mountains.
I had previously climbed the "Cut" 10 times in a row. This is a relatively small hill of about 360 metres in the Slieve Bloom mountains near my adopted hometown of Mountmellick in the Irish midlands.
I remembered also that on another occasion after clocking in advance of 5600 metres at one "sitting" on Wolfhill I was wondering if I could try "Everesting" it. My neck decided otherwise so it wasn't to be.
While none of these were spectacular feats of athleticism in themselves it reinforced my view that I was an endurance focused cyclist and I shouldn't worry too much ahead about Pico de Veleta.
But the more I read the more I began to fret.
Arduous, daunting, tougher than anything on the Tour de France, twice as high as the Tourmalet, a beast, a monster, packs a punch, demands respect, so tough the Vuelta doesn't go beyond the barrier at Hoya, hallucinations, snow, fog, We had to turn back etc. etc. etc.
On and on went the ride reports about how challenging a ride Pico de Veleta could be. There were of course also a smattering of ride reports much more upbeat but even most of those were cloaked in hyperbole and mystery.
Where were the ride reports ending in "easy peasy", "Jack a dandy" and "soft as butter" ?
Perhaps I was asking too much but it took a while to set aside my worries and concentrate on the job at hand - preparing to climb Pico de Veleta.
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The Task.
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Ascend to the summit of Pico de Veleta unaided, solo and non stop.
Do not stop for food, do not stop for water, do not stop for Café con Leche and cake. Ignore the Hotels and Cafe's and resist requiring any outside influence or assistance.
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The Physical Prep.
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For my part I'm bad about failing. I hate it, loath it and detest it but occasionally I succumb to it just like everyone else. Generally if I fail at something it's because I've forgotten the 7 P's rule.
Proper preparation and planning prevents piss poor performance.
Or there's - Sweat saves blood but common sense saves sweat and blood. Probably not so applicable to the Pico but you never know.
I specifically tried to avoid useless "junk" miles (or in Eurospeak, junk kilometres). Every ride had a purpose, whether it was rest, tempo or endurance.
My task was made a little bit harder because for some of March and April I was in bad shape with my bloody ruptured vertebral discs flaring up and leaving me unable to cycle for about a month and walking badly.
As anyone with ruptured discs knows, they are always "lurking" and no matter how carefully you manage them they have an awful habit of coming back to haunt you at the most inopportune moments.
Steadily throughout May I trained patiently and waited for the Snow to clear from Veleta.
There is a barrier at a place called Hoya de la Mora from where it would not be possible to cycle beyond until the snow had melted from the roadway.
I rode most weekdays from between 1.5 to 2.5 hours and did a bigger weekend ride of mountain repeats for 4 to 6 hours each weekend, gradually adding a few more metres of ascent as each weekend passed.
It's important to follow the simple "principles of progression" and doing so usually guarantees you'll reach your goal while also allowing for a degree of "measurability" of your progress.
The daily rides would average 550 - 750 metres ascent while the weekend rides would average 1800 - 2500 metres ascent over roughly 100 Kilometres.
Occasionally I would put in a blast here and there out of boredom but nothing spectacular. I rarely went anaerobic and rarer still into neuromuscular territory.
Speed was not a metric I used. I was chasing endurance on hills.
I weighed about 76 kg, probably about 4 kg overweight but I've lost the grit and discipline of earlier years. The joy of aging I guess.
My target was to average 210 - 235 watts on most of the daily rides and between 205 - 215 watts on the longer weekend rides.
The local hills didn't go above 600 or 700 metres in altitude so although I could repeat them again and again I couldn't simulate the real altitude I would be hitting on the Pico at over 3000 metres.
This would have to remain an unknown factor in my preparations and a complete mystery to me. I remembered a guy once telling me about problems he had riding above 2000 metres. Basically he said he couldn't do it, he kept getting headaches. For me I knew nothing about it but just hoped for the best.
I discovered when I got to Spain I had brought the wrong rear wheel. I had a 52/36 chainring and a 25 rear Cassette. I had meant to fit a different wheel that had a 28 Cassette on it but I forgot to swap the wheels over before we left.
As an older club rider the 36/25 combo was just a bit much for the hills. I gradually got stronger but my cadence was far too low for my liking.
At times on the steeper parts of the hills I was at a cadence of between 40 and 50 rpm pushing 250 to 280/320 watts. This was grinding and not my style at all. Both I and my spine much prefer spinning. I was short a gear for the task at hand.
Fortunately my better half was due back from a quick trip to Ireland and I knew I had a huge 32 Cassette at home so I asked her to bring it back with her to Spain.
In the week before my attempt on Pico de Veleta I swapped out the 25 for the 32 Cassette. The difference was incredible. I rarely used the 32 but the 28 gear on it was the gear that I had been missing.
I was now able to spin faster and drop the wattage down on the steeper sections of climbing. Truth be told there was also a compact 50/34 bike at home in Ireland which would have been perfect.
Anyway, I was now all set with a "get out of jail free" easiest combo of 36/32. I figured that should be able to get me up Mount Everest. Things were lookin good.
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The Mental Prep.
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Snow persisted on the mountain until quite late into 2023.
Spain had a very dry 2022 so I guess I expected the Snow to clear from the higher slopes of Veleta before the end of May but it didn't and the temperatures on the mountain remained stubbornly below freezing.
It didn't really clear until the second week of June. This waiting game was playing tricks on my mind and the more time that passed since I had judged I was fit and ready for the challenge the more difficult I thought the upcoming challenge was.
Finally about 10 days before I actually went to the base of the mountain this stupidity cleared and I was sure I couldn't care less and "what would be would be". I realised I had prepared properly and there was nothing more I could do.
I was now crystal clear I would complete the climb unless I had a major injury during the attempt such as a broken leg or something like that.
I still don't know what had been causing the anxiety, you'd swear it was a competition the way my head was previously melted. Maybe I'd read too much into those ride reports.
So anyway, for around 10 days before my spin on Veleta my head was clear, I was relaxed about it and I was calm without a care in the world. Perfect.
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The Food and Fluids prep.
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I ate an energy gel once. It gave me a newfound respect for the Pro's. How the fcuk can anyone eat (slurp) those things.
Bloody horrific, also they seem to have very few calories. A lot of hassle for very little reward. I'd rather eat boiled Dandelion roots wrapped in stinging nettles thank you very much.
I planned my food and hydration based on a 4.5 hour ascent. In reality I had no idea how long it would take to get up there but this seemed like a realistic target. There were so many variables for me it was difficult to make an accurate assessment of timing.
Is the air thinner? Will I feel bad above 2000 metres? Will I be reduced to crawl speed above 3000 metres? How much is actually "off road"? Will Bears chase me and steal my bike?
I had previously done a test cycle on a reduced hydration intake and went beyond comfortable into slight dehydration on purpose just to get a gauge on the hydration requirement for the climb.
Based on this I knew there was no way I could climb 42 Kms and around 2700 Mts on just my two 750 ml water bottles.
For the climb of Pico de Veleta I bought and filled two 950 ml bicycle Water bottles and carried on my back a Camelbak/Platypus water bladder with 1.5 litres of water in it.
In one of my Water bottles I poured in 2 cans of sugary Cola into it for added Calories. This amounted to a total fluid load of almost 3.5 litres when starting off.
The biggest drawback would be the weight of all that liquid. Because I didn't want to stop and wanted to be unsupported by outside influences I was happy enough with the weight penalty.
I estimated that it was possible I would burn 2500 to 3000 calories on the way up. I sometimes find it difficult to eat while cycling so this could be tricky.
I brought a single Peanut Butter sandwich (cut into two halves and wrapped in cellophane) 5 mini Cereal bars of 177 Calories each and 5 mini Muesli bars at 180 Calories each.
The food was carried in my back pockets and some in a zip up pocket on the small water bladder Carrier/Backpack. It didn't take up much space.
Between those and the Cola I had plenty of fuel. I also ate a large Tuna and Cheese Sandwich and Coffee for breakfast about 3 hours before I set off on the bike.
As it turned out I had a full litre of water left when I got back to the Car and only ate half a Peanut butter sandwich and 2 Cereal bars on the ride.
Because I never went too hard I seemed to have burned fat as fuel. This seems to happen to me whenever I ride long distances slowly. I don't require as much food as I would if I were "hammering" it.
As was demonstrated, in order to cycle unaided and unassisted up Veleta I retrospectively discovered I had too much fluid and way too much food on board. However I didn't want to stop. For whatever reason I was set in my head for climbing without getting outside assistance or using Cafe's, shops or Hotels.
In my defense I try to go by the maxim "better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it".
It should probably be borne in mind that every individual will have different requirements and that the prevailing temperatures on the day will play a big part in a food and hydration strategy.
It was going to be a 2 hour 45 minute drive to my starting point at Cenes de la Vega so with an early start I departed the house at about 5 a.m.
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The Timings and Temps.
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I set off from the outskirts of Cenes de la Vega at 8.15 a.m. with the temperature in the low to mid 20° Celsius range. The forecast for the top was 13° Celsius for around 1 p.m.
It was hard to believe that a little over two weeks previously the top was completely covered in snow with temperatures in the negative range.
This made for perfect weather with the sun shining all day long in a cloudless sky. I could barely feel any wind at all and it was still relatively cool. Better conditions would be impossible and the Weather Gods had indeed smiled on me.
By the time I returned later in the day to Cenes de la Vega the temperature there had climbed into the mid 30° Celsius range.
I had brought a Gilet, Arm warmers and long thin full length Gloves in my pockets just in case there was a sudden change in the weather. Mountains can be fickle and treacherous places but in the event they proved to be overkill as the weather remained completely benign throughout my cycle.
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The Spin
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From what I had read, cycling the full Pico de Veleta climb was never going to be easy. In fact some reports made it appear downright horrific and certainly depicted the climb after the barrier at Hoya de la Mora at about 2500 metres altitude as completely monstrous.
I'm all in favour of poetic licence and dramatic effect but keep it in the back pocket for the fictional novels please.
The climb on the A395 from Cenes de la Vega is wonderful and the road is beautifully smooth. There wasn't much traffic at the time I started out. The views were terrific too.
I decided to go easier than normal and try to average the entire spin at about 200 watts. This worked out very well and when I got back I saw I had recorded 198 watts average for the climb.
After climbing about 2000 metres I did notice it was slightly harder to breath but only after slugging water for a while from the Camelbak. Too many slurps would leave me panting for a few seconds when I stopped drinking.
Other than that I didn't notice any deleterious effects at altitude. In fact it didn't seem to cross my mind at all so perhaps pacing and forcing myself to go easy earlier on paid off in the later stages.
After the barrier at Hoya de la Mora the road does indeed deteriorate but the amount of deterioration seems exaggerated. Certainly it's better in places than some of the rural and rutted back roads in Ireland.
It is also after the barrier that the gradient picks up a bit more but nothing untoward and it's easily manageable. The payback here are the views, you feel as though you are on top of the world.
The final three kilometres or so to the top are the worst part of the entire ride. These are really difficult to negotiate with a road bike on skinny tyres.
Here I had three choices; Pick up the bike and walk. Cycle slowly and gently while picking my way around obstacles. Or last but not least hammer on as hard as possible.
Option three seemed easiest so I hammered on. During the final 20 metres or so I kept falling off to the side and remounting again.
The first time I remounted and each subsequent time I remounted there was a great cheer from the top.
Initially I had no idea what was going on up there and thought it was a bit of a strange spot for a party.
It turned out there was about 20 Spanish guys on electric MTB's sitting on top and each time they saw me remount they let out a big cheer of encouragement. That was very nice of them, nice guys and great encouragement too.
I carried the bike the final few metres to the summit. These are not cyclable. I also carried the bicycle for about 10 meters across a small patch of snow.
I tried to cycle across it but it wasn't possible, I just fell off immediately. Some cheerful French walkers found my antics amusing and they kindly took a few photos for me.
Other than that the entire climb is cyclable on a Road bike if a little tricky at times.
My GPS is barometric and tells me I cycled 42 Kilometres to the top of Pico de Veleta climbing 2471 metres. The ride is listed online as having 2700 metres of climbing elevation so which is correct I've no idea nor does it really matter.
It took me around 4 hours to reach the top at an average speed of 11 KPH which was riding easy in my comfort zone. I won't be entering the record books anytime soon but just getting to the top was good enough for me.
I had intended to climb non stop but I couldn't resist three quick stops for a photograph. At the top I hung around for a while and savored the views, the weather was wonderful.
I would describe the climb as mostly pleasant until the barrier at Hoya de la Mora. Then it's still fun but a little rougher. The final 3 kilometers are very difficult but challenging.
Was riding Pico de Veleta as difficult as I thought it would be?
Absolutely not.
While it's a challenging ride, Pico de Veleta for an average Club rider is about pacing and mid level endurance. It is not too extreme and easily doable with the right attitude.
The most important factor is beyond our control. Nature and the weather will decide whether or not it's a good day to climb the Pico de Veleta.
There were lots of walkers and a good few cyclists about on the day I climbed the Pico. I hadn't realised how busy it could get nor did I realise that quite so many people would be about.
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The Bicycle
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As previously mentioned my bike for the day was a 2015 carbon Giant TCR Road bike with 25mm Continental tyres on a Campagnolo Zonda front and Mavic Ksyrium rear wheel.
A 52/36 chainring was mated with a 32 Cassette on the rear and a single sided crank based Power meter helped me gauge and moderate my effort.
Now that I realise the full extent of the rubble, stones, scree and boulders and complete lack of paved road near the top would I ride it again on 25mm tyres ?
I suppose if I had nothing else at hand I would but I think I got away lightly with just a single blowout descending down the rough stuff near the top.
30mm or 32mm tyres would be better for the job or maybe even a MTB or Gravel bike.
With a spare foldable tyre, a rubber "boot", 3 spare tubes and two different types of "glueless" repair patches I was able to attack the rubble and scree quite hard and ride all the way to the last few metres on a Road bike without resorting to carrying it any distance other than over the last huge boulder slabs and through a single patch of Snow.
Having those different things available gave me full confidence in hammering through the debris and amazingly I made it up to the top without puncturing.
It also meant I could fairly confidently attack the rubble descent knowing that when I punctured, not if but when, I had plenty of spares available.
In the event I had a single blowout coming down but quickly stopped the bike and replaced the torn tyre with the spare. It was only then I had to be slightly more cautious and by that stage most of the rubble had been cleared.
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The Equipment
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The items and equipment I carried were easily packed into my medium SKS Saddlebag and back pockets. Some riders might find some of the things I carried excessive however most of those things I usually carry anyway. I'm not a "single spare tube" kind of rider.
While you can't cover every eventuality you can easily cover the basics.
Here's the list of the "stuff."
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Topeak Road Morph Pump (amazing pump)
Basic First Aid (Sterile wipes, Aspirin, small bandage)
Glueless Repair Patches ( 2 types)
3 Tyre levers
Spoke Key
Chain Breaker tool
11 Speed Chain Quick Links
Electrical Tape
Rubber Boot strip
Co2 Gas Kit
3 Spare Tubes
Spare foldable tyre
Schrader to Presta Valve adapter
Multi-tool
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The Rider.
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57 yr old male, average Club rider.
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-- Photos of "The Stuff" --
I wrote this ride report about Pico de Veleta hoping to reflect what I believe to be the reality of the climb rather than elucidate any mystique or hype.
There are alternative routes which are purportedly tougher.
Having to drive about 260 Kilometres in the first instance to get there and then find parking in an unknown area I decided discretion was the better part of valor so my route choice was to use the easily navigable A395.
I knew that all I had to do was keep following the road uphill. I'll leave alternative routes for another day.
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Keep the wheels turning.