The Anillo Verde is a great way to see Madrid - you can ride the whole way around the city if you…read morelike, a total of about 60 km. I think once a month or so there's a group ride of around 200-300 people that do the ride in the middle of the night, and all are welcome (http://www.vueltanocturna.es). I really enjoy the Anillo, using it both for my morning commute and for weekend workouts. Some suggestions, though, if you want to put in some training miles. Once you get to Casa de Campo, the big park to the west of Palacio Real, you can peel off onto some tracks within the park. There's a goo one for riding interval that goes in kind of a big loop around the lake, climbing up then descending behind it. I'd say that's around 5 miles. But all of this gets pretty busy, and the cyclists become increasingly erratic (basically recreational/families, which is fine, but not good if you're going into a bend at 30+mph), as the day proceeds. As a result, I prefer to get out there early, say 8am, when you'll only see a handful of others. You can also follow the Anillo out to the north of the city and pick up another protected bike route alongside the M607, heading towards the Autonomous University. I'm reliably told (though have not *yet* attempted) that this will take you out towards Tres Campos, where you can hop off the path and head up into the mountains for some serious riding. Oh, and there are some useful maps here: https://maps.google.es/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=101099372197898237033.00044de22e518bf6fccf8&dg=feature http://www.infobicimadrid.es/gis_bicis.htm

This is a great path around the outskirts of Madrid. The path itself is 64 km in a loop that…read morefollows roughly the M-40 and M-30. It also connects many of the parks, which are very beautiful. You can obviously go only part way, and it's rather easy to cut back into the city at different points along the way. The path is marked by orange posts, and red pavement (for the most part), and is for the most part very well maintained, and for the most post is easy to find. There are parts where the cement has not been well maintained, and parts where you get lost. It would be advisable to bring your mobile phone and Strava app the first time to ensure you can find your way back on the path. It's not easy if you go for the whole ride, expect 4-5 hours, 64km, 700m elevation gain. But thankfully Madrid is nice and dry and sunny most days. Highly recommended way to experience some of the Madrid never seen by even locals.

From the owner: desde Septiembre del 2013 en Valdebernardo (Madrid)read more