Moixent, or Mogente in Castilian, stands at the head of a corridor that has carried traffic between the Valencian coast and the interior of Castile for as long as anyone has been moving goods. The old road, the railway and now the motorway all funnel through here, between low limestone ridges with vineyards and olive groves in the valley floor. The rock shelter known as the Abric de la Penya sits in this landscape a few kilometres from the town, close also to Vallada.
This is serious archaeological country. Just outside Moixent lies La Bastida de les Alcusses, a large Iberian hilltop settlement from around the fourth century BC, where excavators found a small bronze figure of a mounted warrior that has become something of a regional emblem. The painted shelters are older still, part of the Levantine and schematic rock art traditions that UNESCO groups together along the Mediterranean side of Spain. They are small, protected sites, often visited by arrangement, and they reward a bit of reading beforehand.
For the bike, the interest lies off the main corridor. The roads south from Moixent toward Fontanars dels Alforins cross an upland wine plateau, a quiet, open landscape of vines and pine where the bends flow nicely and traffic is minimal. North and east, the lanes toward Vallada, Montesa and Xàtiva follow the valley with orange groves creeping in, while the roads up into the sierras on either side get tighter and steeper. Expect occasional broken tarmac and farm vehicles, and be ready for the wind that funnels down this pass.
Moixent itself is a modest town with bars and a fuel station or two on the old road, but Ontinyent, about eleven kilometres away, is the larger centre with every service. Xàtiva, a little further, is worth a detour for its enormous castle sprawling along a ridge above the town. The Alforins plateau has a growing number of small wineries; the reds here are generous. Spring is green and fresh, autumn brings harvest and red-gold vineyards, and summer heat in the corridor can be relentless.