Alcoy is the town that explains the surroundings here, and it deserves an hour of your time even if you came for the painted rock. It sits in a deep valley fed by three rivers, and in the nineteenth century it became one of Spain's early industrial cities, making paper and textiles from the waters that tumbled off the Mariola and Font Roja hills. The old factories are still visible in the streets, and the town centre has handsome modernista buildings from the time when the industrialists wanted everyone to know they had arrived.
Alcoy is also known for its April festival of Moors and Christians, a vast and noisy affair of processions, costumes and gunpowder that commemorates a medieval battle for the town. Every Valencian town has its version, but Alcoy's is considered the grandest. If you are riding in late April, check the dates, because rooms fill and the centre is closed to traffic.
The shelter marked here is Abric IV in a cluster of painted overhangs in a barranc, a dry ravine, in the hills between Ibi and Alcoy. These are examples of the Levantine rock art tradition: small red figures, often archers or animals, painted under overhanging limestone by prehistoric hunters. They belong to the Mediterranean Basin group that UNESCO inscribed in 1998. The paintings are not showpieces and you should not expect a visitor centre; they are modest, weathered and easy to walk past.
The road in from either town is a pleasant, medium-tempo ride through pine and scrub, with enough bends to keep the day interesting and enough straight to let you look around. Early in the morning is the best time, when the air is cool and the light is low and warm on the slopes. Summer afternoons can be punishing, and the tarmac gets hot enough to soften at the edges.
Fuel and food are no problem. Alcoy has all the services of a city of sixty thousand, with plenty of pumps, bakeries and bars serving the sort of cheap, solid lunch that suits a rider. Ibi is the other option on the way back. Bring water for the walk, as there is no source at the shelter.