The sign says Abric del Charco de la Madera, and the name suggests a pool, a charco, in a rocky gully near the village of Bicorp, in the highlands of the Valencian interior. This is the Canal de Navarrés and the Valle de Ayora-Cofrentes, a country of limestone ranges, river canyons and poor farming land, a long way from the Valencian beaches. The shelter holds paintings in the Levantine style, part of the UNESCO-listed group. The second stop on this ride, Penya Escrita, is a different site altogether, in the mountains of the Marina Alta far to the east, so treat the two as separate worlds.
Bicorp is a small village with about six hundred inhabitants, and nearby Quesa has a few more. Neither has a fuel pump you can rely on, so fill the tank at Ayora, which has over five thousand people, before you head into the hills. The Júcar river runs not far to the east, and the huge reservoir at Cortes de Pallás is one of the great hidden landscapes of the region, a flooded canyon with steep wooded sides and few roads.
The roads are the real draw for a rider. They climb out of the valleys in tight sequences, cross high passes of pine and holm oak, and drop to river crossings where the road narrows to one lane. The tarmac is not always smooth, and rocks can come down onto the road after heavy rain. Traffic is almost non-existent, which makes the sudden appearance of a tractor or a flock of goats all the more startling. In autumn, mushroom hunters park along the verges, and in winter the road can be icy on shady stretches.
The hills smell of resin and wild herbs, and the sky at night is full of stars. Spring is the best time to ride, with green slopes and mild weather. Summer is hot, with thunderstorms in the afternoon.
If you set out to find the shelter, take advice from the village first. The path is rough and the paintings are easily damaged, so leave them as you find them.