Montblanc is a walled medieval town in the Conca de Barberà, a broad basin of vineyards in inland Catalonia, and it is one of the best-looking small towns in the country. According to local legend, it is where Saint George killed the dragon, which is why Catalonia's patron saint is honoured here with a medieval week every year. The ramparts, with their towers and gates, are largely intact, and walking the streets inside is a pleasure. A few kilometres away, in the hills near Vimbodí, the Cistercian monastery of Poblet, a royal pantheon and one of the great monasteries of Europe, is on the World Heritage list and well worth a visit.
Mas del Gran and the Vall de la Coma lie in the broken country between Montblanc and Alcover, about seven kilometres from the former. The rock-art shelters here belong to the same family as the Levantine paintings farther south, protected by UNESCO. Some of the images are faint, so give your eyes time to adjust. A Roman connection in the ride, the old walls of Tarragona, reminds you that this was a Roman province long before the Middle Ages.
The landscape is a patchwork of vines, almond and olive groves, scrubby oak and pine, and the soft grey hills of the Serra de Prades and Serra de Miramar. Wine is the local business, the Conca de Barberà being a well-known zone for white varieties and for the cava industry, and the smell of fermenting grapes in autumn is one of the pleasures of the place. In May, poppies fill the field margins.
The riding is delightful. Roads between Montblanc, Alcover and the monastery wind through gentle hills, with comfortable bends, well-kept tarmac and not much traffic outside peak holiday times. In autumn the leaves of the vineyards turn red and gold. At weekends, cyclists enjoy these roads too, so keep an eye out. Wind is moderate, and the weather is generally mild, though summer afternoons can be baking.
Montblanc has about six and a half thousand people and all the services you need, including fuel and restaurants serving substantial Catalan food. Alcover, with just over four thousand, is another good option.