Valencia - swim, bike, eat, repeat

'Hire a bike'

That was the advice I got over coffee from one of my fellow winter-bathers. We were soaking up the sun outside a café after our swim. In early February the water was warm enough not to need a wetsuit, but cold enough to induce a trickle of adrenaline. Think of Bognor Regis in June but without the turds.

There was something that felt very welcoming about Valencia - whether it was the friendly group of swimmers meeting up for a winter dip, the beach volleyball players who let anyone join in their game or just the 300 days of sunshine per year.

Of course, that feeling might have been the afterglow of a bracing swim kicking in. The group was a mixed bunch from all over Europe, even Spain. And while there were various reasons for coming to live in Valencia, if there was one thing everyone agreed on, it was a great place to just be. After the liberating break from routine that came with Covid, digital nomads seem to have gravitated here. They are building new friendships - groups often working in cafes that on weekdays morph into business ready co-working spaces.

Could there be an environmental case for living in Valencia during the heating-hungry winter months and then migrating to cooler north in the summer? Maybe.

After we said our goodbyes, I hired a bike from bikes & roll and followed the cycle path to the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias which is at one end of the 9 km long Turia Gardens. They were created when the river Turia was diverted to avoid the kind of devastation that occurred when the city flooded in 1957. As a result, you can now cycle along an old river bed. It's a bit odd seeing bridges from an angle you'd normally only get from a paddleboard, but the locals seem well used to their new park and make the most of it.

Around half way along the park, I cut up into the historic quarter to see some sights, while being careful not to bash into other tourists.

It was then time to see a different side of Valencia, which meant popping over to Benimaclet. 

I followed my nose and picked up some seafood spaghetti - yes, I know I should have bought paella, but I was following the locals and not the guidebooks. I shared a bench with two old ladies, watching a protest against proposed new high rise building developments in the district.

With my tummy pacified, I gently cycled out along the Via Verde de Xurra - an old railway track that runs to Puzol. The whole route is around 20km, but you don't need to go that far to feel like you're a long way from anywhere. I passed through Alboraya where flats gave way to farming and pancake-flat fields were grooved with little irrigation channels.

I then crossed over the river Carraixet through Almàssera and into Meliana.

It's out here in these fertile plains that tiger nuts are grown to make horchata (orxata in Valencian), the local milky drink which in these days of dairy alternatives feels ahead of its time. There's a farmhouse nearby that tells the story, but I was ready to go back to Valencia and just sample the results.

At Mercat de Colón, I had a Orxata/Horchata with a farton - an iced finger, which is exactly the sort of sweet treat that would be ideal after strenuous exercise, which I hadn't had but still wolfed down. Then it was time to say goodbye to the bike and off to choose where to dine.

Now, what to do tomorrow? Cycle down to Albufera? Take the train up to Castellon or maybe the Ebro delta or what about down the coast or maybe inland to Teruel?

What I really wanted to do was exactly the same again.

Getting there

Valencia is just 1 3⁄4 hours from Madrid and 3 hours from Barcelona on the coast hugging Euromed service. If you stop at Amposta on the way, you can go and visit the Ebro Delta.

Useful links

Tourist info: https://www.visitvalencia.com/

Bike hire: https://www.bikesandroll.com/

Cycle routes: https://www.visitvalencia.com/en/what-to-do-valencia/city-routes/valencia-by-bike