CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 293 km one-way ride from near Arroyomolinos, about 4 h 34 of riding. The stops in between: Boadilla del Monte, Scenic stretch near Colmenar Viejo and near Venturada. The climb of the day is near Navalcarnero. It tops out at about 1,150 m.
Alto Tajo Gorge Ride is where the day begins. Next is High point near Navalcarnero.
Navalcarnero has one of the finest arcaded squares in the Madrid region, the Plaza de Segovia, with wooden balconies, stone columns and a lively atmosphere on market days. The town has royal connections too: in the seventeenth century, King Philip IV's wedding to Mariana of Austria was celebrated here, and the house where the event took place is still pointed out. Today it is a busy market town on the southwestern edge of the Madrid metropolitan area.
Read the complete High point near Navalcarnero write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Alto Tajo Gorge Ride checkpoint 8.
The M-501 west of Madrid has a reputation. Known to everyone as the carretera de los pantanos, the road of the reservoirs, it runs from the edge of the city towards the Sierra de Gredos past a string of lakes, and on weekends it fills with motorcycles heading for the mountains. This finish lies at its eastern end, near Boadilla del Monte, where the capital's wealthy suburbs meet the pine and holm oak of the Monte de Boadilla.
Read the complete Near Boadilla del Monte write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 293 km. Next is Scenic stretch near Colmenar Viejo.
Scenic stretch near Colmenar Viejo, about halfway. Next is Photo stop near Venturada.
Venturada is a small municipality about fifty kilometres north of Madrid, just off the A-1 motorway to Burgos. It sits on the first rise of land where the plain begins to climb towards the Sierra de Guadarrama and the Sierra Norte de Madrid, and from the hills around it you get long views back across the plain to the city and forward to the mountains.
Read the complete Photo stop near Venturada write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Photo stop near Venturada sits at 195 km, about halfway. Next is Madrid / Central Spain return.
South-east of Madrid the land drops towards the Tagus in a broken country of chalky hills, olive groves and vineyards, and Brea de Tajo sits on a ridge above the valley, a small village of white houses and a big church. The river runs a few kilometres south, between Estremera and Driebes, in a wide valley of poplars and irrigated fields.
Read the complete Brea de Tajo, on the way back write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Madrid / Central Spain return comes up about 252 km into the recorded legs. Next is Food stop near Colmenar de Oreja.
Food stop near Colmenar de Oreja closes the day.
Fuel stop in Arroyomolinos → High point near Navalcarnero is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Navalcarnero → Near Boadilla del Monte is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Scenic stretch near Colmenar Viejo → Photo stop near Venturada is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Photo stop near Venturada → Brea de Tajo, on the way back is 112 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.