I invite you on an MTB adventure through the breathtaking landscape of northern Spain, where Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar – a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain, known as El Cid – fought the battles that inspired poems and the Cantar de Mio Cid.

During the five stages, you’ll travel through the lands of the Duero and Arlanza rivers and the fortresses that sheltered knights and warriors during the geopolitical and religious struggles that marked the Middle Ages in the Iberian Peninsula.

This Collection aims to take you along the Camino del Cid in its thematic stage of El Destierro, which covers 291 kilometres (181 mi) of the 1,485 kilometres (923 mi) of the route to Alicante. The course of El Destierro starts in Vivar del Cid and ends in Atienza, which is where the medieval border between the kingdoms of Castile and Toledo was when Rodrigo was banished from Castile.

The route passes through places of great importance in Castilian, and especially Cidian, history. On the one hand, there are the fortresses that mark the northern bank of the Duero river, in Soria. The most important of all is the castle of Gormaz, an old Caliphate fortress of which El Cid himself was the commander and from which he fought against the Moors after they had attacked Gormaz, on the border. For years, the Duero was the natural frontier of the kingdoms, hence its high concentration of fortresses and watchtowers such as those of Langa de Duero, Berlanga de Duero and Castillejo de Robledo.

The route also has a significant religious component as it takes you through the monastery of San Pedro Cardeña. This is where El Cid left his daughters and Jimena during his exile, and where his remains were laid to rest before being transferred to Burgos. You also pass the 10th-century Benedictine abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos, whose monks continue the tradition of Gregorian chant that has earned them three platinum records.

The route also takes you through emblematic towns in Burgos and Soria such as Covarrubias, San Esteban de Gormaz and Burgo de Osma, whose well-preserved historic sites are well worth exploring. It also immerses you in great natural spaces such as the Arlanza and Yecla savannahs, where you’ll find the Yecla gorge, carved out of the limestone by the water over which the impressive vultures fly.

The best seasons to ride this epic route are spring and autumn, both of which have the mildest temperatures for cycling adventures. Nights and mornings tend to be cool and days are warm, so it's important to choose the right clothing to wear during the day on the bike and at night at the stops.

A front-suspension mountain bike will be more than enough to comfortably cover the entire GR 160. In this section of El Destierro, there are no major obstacles; most of the trails are dirt tracks or narrow asphalted roads without traffic.

In both Vivar del Cid and Atienza there are bus stations. Each of the stages ends in a town with accommodation and restaurants. And remember that in any of the towns along the route, you can obtain the safe conduct that you can stamp in the associated establishments so that at the end of this epic route you can keep a souvenir of the conquest you made in the footsteps of El Cid Campeador.