The Barranc del Salt is one of the narrow ravines that cut into the limestone country of the Comtat, the inland county of Alicante province, with Cocentaina eleven thousand strong a short way down the valley and the small village of Benilloba closer still. The shelter that carries its name holds paintings in the Levantine style, red figures of hunters and animals daubed on the rock by people who lived here thousands of years ago.
Getting there is the part a rider will enjoy. The roads in this corner of the Valencian interior wind up out of olive and almond terraces into pine and holm oak, with short climbs, tight hairpins and the occasional farm track that is better left to the walkers. Surfaces are generally decent on the main local roads and rough where the tarmac gives up. Traffic is thin outside the weekends, when cyclists and day trippers from Alcoy and the coast come up to the Serra de Mariola, which rises nearby and is a natural park known for its wild herbs. Locals still gather them for the herbal liqueur that every bar in the region seems to keep behind the counter.
Cocentaina is the town to remember. It has fuel, cafes and a proper old quarter dominated by the palace and castle of the counts, the family that ran this valley in the late Middle Ages. Alcoy, just beyond, is where the Moors and Christians festival takes over the streets every April, a loud, costumed, gunpowder-fuelled affair that is worth planning a trip around if you like noise. Benilloba itself is small, so do not count on a petrol pump there.
Summer on this side of Spain is hot and shadeless, and the midday rock face radiates like a stove. Spring and autumn are the seasons to come, when the light is low and gold on the cliffs and the ravine still smells of thyme and resin. Bring water, because the walk up to a shelter has none, and go early enough that you are back at the bike before the heat settles in.