- Any ideas on bike hire in Malaga?
Google points to this place in Malaga, which can rent you paniers and other equipment too:
We rent high quality road bikes, several types of E-Bikes, Hybrid Bikes, Trekking Bikes, MTBs as well as Full Suspension MTBs. We have a wide range of different bicycle types in every size and offer the professional bike rental service in Malaga.
www.bike2malaga.com
Or there's this place in Fuengirola - a short train ride from Malaga and a 34km cycle back.
Bicycle & Ebike rental in Fuengirola Book here the best bicycles guided routes! Enjoy! Fuengirola Bike Rental.
en.terralbike.com
Depending on how many days you plan to be on the road, and what quality of bicycle you want, you might consider buying a cheap bicycle at Decathlon. It will be heavier and of lower quality than the machines that the shops will lend you but you may be able to flog it off or give it to a deserving person at the end of your trip - saving you the hassle of transporting it back to Malaga.
- What it's like cycling the Mozarabe from Malaga to either Cordoba or Merida?
In June you can expect fierce heat. Cordoba regularly has the highest temperatures in Europe. Carry plenty of water. Stay well hydrated. Protect yourself from the sun. Cover as much distance as you can between 5:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
Malaga to Cordoba is 219km
Malaga to Merida is 470km
You have some climbing to do from Malaga to Cordoba. The way is relatively flat from Cerro Murianos to Merida (16km after Cordoba). You can find altitude profiles for each stage in this PDF:
Don't use that PDF as a route guide since there may have been some changes since it was published.
- Is it possible to take bikes on buses or trains after?
- ALSA (long distance buses) lets you transport a dismantled bicycle on its buses for a fee. Depending on the route, you may have to travel with a different bus company - Refer to the bus company's policy based on your plans.
- RENFE (railways) allows fully assembled bicycles on the local trains and disassembled bicycles in bags/boxes on longer distance routes. Refer to the threads in the cycling forum which typically start with "Tried searching but couldn't find the answer" https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/bike-on-the-train-again.52846/
- Any lists of open albergues on that section?
I'm pretty sure that someone recently posted their post-pandemic experience of the Malaga route on this forum. The Malaga association is not encouraging pilgrims because municipal albergues are closed but most of the private accommodations should be open.
From Baena onward, you can refer to the regularly updated guide from the Almeria association. They tend to publish the latest version on their facebook page first and then on their website. At the moment, as you can see, municipal albergues are basically closed.
Camino Mozarabe De Santiago De Almeria a Granada. 6,717 likes · 914 talking about this. Asociación Jacobea de Almeria-Granada Camino Mozárabe. Todo lo concerniente al camino mozárabe
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Blog sobre el Camino Mozárabe de Santiago
www.almeriajacobea.es
Since you should be able to cover longer distances than pilgrims on foot, you may find that you have enough options.
