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 Last Friday Claire & I took our 8 month old daughter, Sophie, out on her very first bike ride! I had prepared 2 hybrid bikes one with a child seat, which I ride, and the other with panniers for Claire to carry the baby kit….drinks, food, nappies and an assortment of lotions and potions. For Sophie's first bike ride we rode from Coripe to the Peñon Zaframagon, along the Via Verde, just 12kms in case Sophie didn't like cycling.
 We set off early to enjoy the cool morning air and to ensure that Sophie didn’t spend too much time in the sun. The Via Verde, 'Greenway', is a great place to take the family riding as there is no traffic. These 'Greenways' have been established throughout Spain by converting un-used railway lines into recreational areas for leisure cycling, walking and horse riding thus bringing, much needed, jobs into rural areas.
The one local to our home, in Montecorto, runs from Puerto Serrano to Olvera covering 36km and has 30 tunnels. The longest tunnel being the "castle tunnel" some 990m and of the 4 viaducts along the Via Verde the one at Coripe is the most impressive at 237m long. There are 5 old railway stations along the route with the stations at Olvera, Coripe and Puerto Serrano being used as restaurants and accommodation.
The railway line was original built in the late 1920's and ran from Jerez de la Frontera to Almargen but was never used. During the Spanish Civil War the tracks were ripped up and used to make weapons of mass destruction!
 The Peñon Zaframagon is a large limestone outcrop of rock with a colony of Griffon Vultures, the old railway station here has been converted into a nature centre dedicated to the Griffons, inside the centre you can watch webcam images of these huge birds. This information centre is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and on all public holidays. There is an entrance fee of 1 Euro, however, the old man running it very rarely asks for the money. Please do pay for your entrance as this helps maintain this important facility.
 We cycled back, through 5 tunnels, to the Station at Coripe for coffee and cakes, or in Sophie’s case milk and Farley’s rusks. At Coripe there is a picnic area where you can see the Chaparro de la Vega, a centenary holm oak, which is a national monument in Andalucia.
All-in-all a successful first bike ride as Sophie squealed with delight along the way, especially through the tunnels, whilst beaming with a big gummy smile. At the Peñon Zaframagon Sophie saw her first ever Griffon Vulture, well actually there were about 20 of them circling above us at one point, perhaps they were waiting for an unexpected early breakfast! (Only we would have to expire first as they like don't like their food alive)
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