If you want to understand the cooking of Alto Aragón, begin with what grows on a dry, stony hillside: olives, almonds, borage, wild herbs, and what can be grazed there, lamb above all. Fajana de Pera I, a painted shelter some five kilometres from Alquézar, belongs to the same hill country, and the shelters of the Vero valley, which UNESCO included in the Mediterranean Basin rock art listing of 1998, are a reminder that people have been feeding themselves from this land for a very long time.
Aragonese lamb is the pride of the table. The ternasco, a young lamb roasted in the oven with potatoes and a splash of white wine, has its own protected label and turns up in every village restaurant. Alongside it come migas, fried breadcrumbs with garlic and peppers, and borage stalks cooked with potato, a green vegetable that most visitors have never met. In late summer, local peaches and figs fill the markets, and in autumn the olive oil from the new harvest is cloudy, green and peppery enough to catch your throat.
Wine is the other pillar. The Somontano denomination, centred on Barbastro, has grown over the last decades into one of the better-regarded regions of northern Spain, with Cabernet and Tempranillo alongside the local Moristel and Parraleta grapes. Several cellars welcome visitors, and a tasting makes a civilised break from a day in the saddle, provided you leave the bike for a few hours.
As for the riding, the lanes between Alquézar and the shelters are narrow, with tight bends, gravel patches and sheep, and a calm pace is best. The main roads from Barbastro are smoother and faster, with long curves and good views. The village has too few people for dependable fuel, so use Barbastro, about twenty kilometres away, where supermarkets and restaurants abound.
Aim for lunch at a village place rather than a tourist spot. Spring and early autumn are the best seasons for the whole day, from the walk to the table.