Barely five hundred metres from the centre of Alquézar, the Cueva Palomera takes its name from the doves that nested in it, a palomera being a dovecote. That makes it the closest of all the painted shelters on this list to a village, and the easiest to fit into a day of riding. The cave is among the sites catalogued in the Vero valley and falls within the UNESCO listing of the Mediterranean rock art of the Iberian Peninsula. Whether any paintings are visible, and whether the cave is open to visitors, you should check locally, because access rules change.
Alquézar is the better reason to come, and a short walk from the cave takes you back into the village. It hangs on a rock above the river, with a plaza of arcaded houses, a collegiate church whose cloister has capitals carved with biblical scenes, and a castle that was a Muslim stronghold before the Christians took it in the eleventh century. From the church terrace you look over the Vero canyon, with its cliffs of cream and rust-red stone, and on a clear day you can see the Pyrenean ridge on the horizon.
The best approach by bike is from Barbastro, a road of about twenty kilometres that has all the elements of a good motorcycle ride in a short space. It climbs, drops and twists through almond and oak, crosses a stream or two, and finishes with a short, sharp rise to the village car park. Park there rather than trying the streets, which are steep and cobbled, and walk. Bikes are welcome in the lower square, and the walk gives you a chance to stretch before the next leg.
Fuel is a problem only if you forget it. There are no pumps in Alquézar and the next ones are in Barbastro, eighteen kilometres away, so fill the tank before you come. Food in the village is dependable, and the bars that cater to canyoners open early. Summer weekends are busy, and you may find it hard to get a table at midday without booking.