Zaragoza afternoon · Forau del Cocho

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Zaragoza

   Zaragoza is a big, grown-up city on the Ebro, halfway between Madrid and Barcelona, and it has a no-nonsense character that suits a motorcyclist. It is the capital of Aragón, with some six hundred and seventy thousand people, and it sits in a wide, dry basin where the Ebro has laid down a flat plain bordered by low hills. The wind here is famous. The cierzo blows hard from the north-west, sometimes for days, and can push a bike sideways on an open bridge, so check the forecast and keep a firm grip on the bars when crossing the river.

   Read the complete Zaragoza write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Zaragoza is where the day begins. Next is Iglesia de Santa María.

2. 2. Iglesia de Santa María

   Somewhere in the folds of the Sierra de Algairén, south-west of Zaragoza, a bell tower pokes up above a cluster of ochre roofs, and that is your Iglesia de Santa María. Half the villages of Aragon have a church of that name, and this one does the job the others do: it marks the middle of a small place where the shop, the bar and the plaza all orbit the same square of stone. The nearest neighbours on the map are Cosuenda, Almonacid de la Sierra and Alpartir, each a few hundred souls, each about nine kilometres off.

   Read the complete Iglesia de Santa María write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Iglesia de Santa María comes up about 71 km into the recorded legs. Next is Forau del Cocho.

3. 3. Forau del Cocho

   South of Huesca the land opens out. The Pyrenees are behind you, a snowy line on a clear day, and ahead stretches the gently rolling cereal country that eventually turns into the dry steppes of Los Monegros. Forau del Cocho lies in this transitional landscape, between Torres de Barbués, Almuniente and the outskirts of Huesca itself, a place where the only relief is the occasional low ridge or gully cut into soft rock.

   Read the complete Forau del Cocho write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 230 km into the recorded legs you reach Forau del Cocho. Next is back through Iglesia de Santa María.

4. 4. back through Iglesia de Santa María

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Iglesia de Santa María write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Iglesia de Santa María, late in the day. Next is Zaragoza.

5. 5. Zaragoza

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Zaragoza write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Zaragoza. That is the ride.