Serrania de Ronda and Sierra de Grazalema

I am driving on route A-376 leaving Sevilla, aiming towards Ronda in the Serrania de Ronda region. The road is twisty 2-lane 2-way undivided highway with ample emergency lanes on both sides. The mountain tops in this region reach around 1500 meter. When the climb is long, the climbing side has an additional 2 to 5 km, that would be my guess, passing lane, plenty of road to pass many turtles I come across. I am soaking in the mesmerizing panoramic view of the mountains and valleys before me.

I finally find the right pattern to shift the six speed manual transmission. Before I left the Sevilla Estacion Santa Justa, I had examined the car's manual to learn about the characteristics of the diesel engine. The torque peak plateaus at 258 lbs ft or 350 Nm between 1750 to 2500 rpm. The horsepower peak at 168 hp or 125kW at 4200 rpm. I must shift a lot earlier than I would on a petrol engine to get the best acceleration.

I am getting the rhythm of easing the accelerator, and occasional gentle braking, before the apex to make sure I have the proper speed - not too fast but not too slow - then accelerates smoothly as soon as I clear the apex. Since this is not a race track, my apexes on the left hand side are on the dividing line. My apexes on the right hand side are on the outer edge of the emergency lane.

As I am settling into this hypnotic rhythm of accelerating and decelerating to get the best line, a swarm of Ducatis blasting by me. Once every rider is in front of me, all 9 of them, I tail them closely. The view from my seat is rather funny. In unison, they shift, and lean their bodies towards the direction of the turn with their knees almost grazing the asphalt. The road gets twisty as the elevation gets higher. One thing I miss in the Garmin Nuvi GPS is the elevation information. Earlier, I searched every menu and I sifted and combed every single screen but found nothing about elevation information.

I assume these riders are local residents of this region. They are confidently exceeding the recommended speed for the turns and bends. I don't feel too guilty doing the same with their company. This A3, even though a Front-Trek version, feels very confident and solid on fast turns! There is no hairpins on this highway, but it has large radius turns where I can hold the steering radius at a constant and steer the car with the accelerator and push the car till it reaches the edge of its limit; which is along while for this agile and precise A3. The last rider gives me a thumb up when we are on a straight stretch as I have been able to tail them at constant safe distance even though they are doing the turns at hair-raising, giving-grandma-a-heart-attack speed.

As it gets higher, wherever I look, the skyline of mountains and valleys fold behind more of mountains and valleys with undulating lands of harvest, criss-crossed vineyard, and olive trees. I can see the Pueblos Blancos (white houses) of Ronda. It looks like a salt mine from the distance. The city perches on an abysmal cliff on the flank of one of the majestic mountains.
Photo Gallery

The Ducati gang is pulling into a rest area with a restaurant. I follow them. The last two riders approach me; a male and female, a couple I assume as they show affection towards each other. The male looks like Mickey Rourke, and the female looks like a combination of Jeniffer Aniston's beauty and Linda Hamilton's prowess. They high five me and at the same time ask whether I have modified the engine or the suspension of this car. I show them the Europcar key chain. The woman says to man, "I guess we did slower than usual today." Monica is thinking of buying a compact sport car. Javier tells her to look into this car as they are already impressed by its ability to keep up with them through the mountains. Without realizing it, I become an Audi sales man for a brief moment.

We share some traveling, driving, and riding stories across Europe over Coca-cola, 7-up, carbonated water, Twix, and Snickers. Javier tells me to back track a bit to experience A-372. This road would take me in the other direction from my final destination of the day, Marbella. But he insists that it is worth the detour and it will make my day. After several more rounds of sodas and water, we say good by to each other. For a brief moment, we bond over our passion for the need for speed. I turn left to back track, while the Ducati gang continues towards Ronda.

Serrania de Ronda and Sierra de Grazalema

I am driving on route A-376 leaving Sevilla, aiming towards Ronda in the Serrania de Ronda region. The road is twisty 2-lane 2-way undivided highway with ample emergency lanes on both sides. The mountain tops in this region reach around 1500 meter. When the climb is long, the climbing side has an additional 2 to 5 km, that would be my guess, passing lane, plenty of road to pass many turtles I come across. I am soaking in the mesmerizing panoramic view of the mountains and valleys before me.

I finally find the right pattern to shift the six speed manual transmission. Before I left the Sevilla Estacion Santa Justa, I had examined the car's manual to learn about the characteristics of the diesel engine. The torque peak plateaus at 258 lbs ft or 350 Nm between 1750 to 2500 rpm. The horsepower peak at 168 hp or 125kW at 4200 rpm. I must shift a lot earlier than I would on a petrol engine to get the best acceleration.

I am getting the rhythm of easing the accelerator, and occasional gentle braking, before the apex to make sure I have the proper speed - not too fast but not too slow - then accelerates smoothly as soon as I clear the apex. Since this is not a race track, my apexes on the left hand side are on the dividing line. My apexes on the right hand side are on the outer edge of the emergency lane.

As I am settling into this hypnotic rhythm of accelerating and decelerating to get the best line, a swarm of Ducatis blasting by me. Once every rider is in front of me, all 9 of them, I tail them closely. The view from my seat is rather funny. In unison, they shift, and lean their bodies towards the direction of the turn with their knees almost grazing the asphalt. The road gets twisty as the elevation gets higher. One thing I miss in the Garmin Nuvi GPS is the elevation information. Earlier, I searched every menu and I sifted and combed every single screen but found nothing about elevation information.

I assume these riders are local residents of this region. They are confidently exceeding the recommended speed for the turns and bends. I don't feel too guilty doing the same with their company. This A3, even though a Front-Trek version, feels very confident and solid on fast turns! There is no hairpins on this highway, but it has large radius turns where I can hold the steering radius at a constant and steer the car with the accelerator and push the car till it reaches the edge of its limit; which is along while for this agile and precise A3. The last rider gives me a thumb up when we are on a straight stretch as I have been able to tail them at constant safe distance even though they are doing the turns at hair-raising, giving-grandma-a-heart-attack speed.

As it gets higher, wherever I look, the skyline of mountains and valleys fold behind more of mountains and valleys with undulating lands of harvest, criss-crossed vineyard, and olive trees. I can see the Pueblos Blancos (white houses) of Ronda. It looks like a salt mine from the distance. The city perches on an abysmal cliff on the flank of one of the majestic mountains.
Photo Gallery

The Ducati gang is pulling into a rest area with a restaurant. I follow them. The last two riders approach me; a male and female, a couple I assume as they show affection towards each other. The male looks like Mickey Rourke, and the female looks like a combination of Jeniffer Aniston's beauty and Linda Hamilton's prowess. They high five me and at the same time ask whether I have modified the engine or the suspension of this car. I show them the Europcar key chain. The woman says to man, "I guess we did slower than usual today." Monica is thinking of buying a compact sport car. Javier tells her to look into this car as they are already impressed by its ability to keep up with them through the mountains. Without realizing it, I become an Audi sales man for a brief moment.

We share some traveling, driving, and riding stories across Europe over Coca-cola, 7-up, carbonated water, Twix, and Snickers. Javier tells me to back track a bit to experience A-372. This road would take me in the other direction from my final destination of the day, Marbella. But he insists that it is worth the detour and it will make my day. After several more rounds of sodas and water, we say good by to each other. For a brief moment, we bond over our passion for the need for speed. I turn left to back track, while the Ducati gang continues towards Ronda.