22 March, Chinchón (Madrid)

Chinchón is a lovely little town south of Madrid, known mostly for its famous plaza Mayor that doubles as a bullfighting arena. The strucures surrounding the plaza are wooden and most date back to the 15th century. Chinchón is well worth a visit, but do not expect to spend more than a few hours walking around as the plaza is the main attraction.  A long weekend lunch on the plaza is a perfect way to esperience Chinchón.

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The plaza is also the place to get together as the starting point for the MTB trail. We got together at 9 AM, a time when almost all bars are still closed. All but one, a smoky bar packed with middle-aged Spanish men working hard on their sigarette and coffee intake at the start of a beautiful sunny day. We ordered our coffees and reviewed the route we´re about embark on. Frans has the entire route mapped in his GPS and we are looking forward to an approx. 40 KM route that will partly run over an old decommissioned rail-track. After coffee and copious amounts of second-hand smoke we set off, and ride through the streets of Chinchon. 

We initially need to head north to find the trail. To get to it we cycled north on the M311 passed the petrol station and found what we figured was the trail. It took us through a smallish gorge on a downhill track. Beyond this was a wonderful open space where we soon embarked on a climb. The climb eventually brought us through private hunting grounds. And eventhough we did stick to the public track, at one point we were nearly eaten by a couple of supersized foaming-at-the-mouth dogs... We escaped, and in fact these monsters helped us surmount the climb in record time. 

Soon we again again found the M 311 and rode it up to the town of Morata de Tajuña. By chance we rode passed the restaurant El Cid, 
http://www.mesonelcidmorata.com/

I remember having had lunch there and was tempted to chuck the bike and sit down for a big meal... it is actually a good Spanish restaurant, pretty authentic. 

From Morota it is the trick to find the old railway track that has been turned into a cycle track back to Chinchón. We later found out that you effectively need to just stay on the main road through the town, and pick up the train on the right. 

The trail back was beatiful, although a long (not steep, but long) climb back.

We were glad to be back in Chinchón and enjoyed a couple of pints in the sun. If you want more details on the actual trail, send me an email.