South of Valencia the land flattens into the Ribera, a plain of orange and persimmon orchards cut by irrigation ditches, and then, quite suddenly, it crumples into low hills. Alginet and Alfarp sit on this edge, with the Albufera lagoon and its rice fields a little to the east. The Barranc de la Falaguera is a dry ravine in the dusty foothills, and Abric II is a small rock shelter recorded with a group of others nearby. These belong to the Mediterranean-arc rock art that UNESCO listed in 1998, and the Valencian interior holds a remarkable number of them.
This is not a dramatic ride, and it is not meant to be. The roads are small, flat and quick, between orange trees and drainage canals, with the smell of blossom in March and April that you can almost taste. Mopeds and tractors share the lanes, and the farm traffic is heavy at harvest. Once you leave the plain for the hills, the road climbs gently with a handful of bends, mostly easy, and views back toward the coast. Summer is steamy and hot, and a late October day is much kinder.
Alginet is a town of thirteen thousand with fuel, supermarkets and bakeries, and Benifaió, six kilometres away, is the same size. Valencia itself is thirty kilometres or so to the north, so if you are staying in the city, this is an easy half-day excursion. For lunch, think rice: paella in the Albufera style, with duck and eel, is a local specialty, though a simple plate of arroz al horno, baked rice, in a village bar is just as good.
If you can, time the visit for a clear evening. The orange groves go quiet, the light goes gold, and the hills to the west turn violet. It is a gentle end to a short ride, and a reminder that Valencia's wealth always came from water and soil.