Why this ride
A 340 km round trip from Vilafranca del Penedès - roughly 5 h 55 in the saddle. It goes by way of Mas d'En Llort, Balma d'En Roc and back through Mas d'En Llort. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abric de Can Ximet and Balma d'En Roc
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 340 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 55
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Abric de Can Ximet
The Penedès is a broad, gently rolling basin between the coastal ranges and the Montserrat massif, and it is one of the great wine regions of Catalonia. Vilafranca del Penedès, its capital, is a lively town with a Gothic church, a wine museum and a passion for castells, the human towers that teams of men, women and children build in the main square on feast days. UNESCO added the castells to its list of intangible heritage in 2010. Can Ximet is a farm name on the fringe of this landscape, and the shelter nearby is a modest rock overhang associated with prehistoric art.
Read the complete Abric de Can Ximet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de Can Ximet is where the day begins. Next is Mas d'En Llort.
2. Mas d'En Llort
Montblanc is one of those small Catalan towns that still has its medieval walls, and the Mas d'en Llort label lies a few kilometres from it in the Conca de Barberà, a basin of vineyards and wheat fields ringed by low, scrubby mountains. A mas is a farmhouse, so the spot is probably a rural building or a field track rather than anything with a name on the map, and what you are really riding into is the countryside around it.
Read the complete Mas d'En Llort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mas d'En Llort comes up about 73 km into the recorded legs. Next is Balma d'En Roc.
3. Balma d'En Roc
Inland from the Costa Daurada, the Serra de Llaberia rises abruptly above the coastal plain, a jagged wall of limestone separating the sea from the valley of the Ebro. The rock shelter of Balma d'En Roc lies in this rough country, part of the Levantine rock art inscribed by UNESCO, and like most of its kind it is small, fragile and best visited with local guidance. The nearest villages are scattered: Ginestar on the Ebro, El Perelló on the coastal side, and Mont-roig del Camp to the north-east.
Read the complete Balma d'En Roc write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 163 km into the recorded legs you reach Balma d'En Roc. Next is back through Mas d'En Llort.
4. back through Mas d'En Llort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mas d'En Llort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mas d'En Llort, late in the day. Next is Abric de Can Ximet.
5. Abric de Can Ximet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de Can Ximet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Abric de Can Ximet. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Abric de Can Ximet to Mas d'En Llort
Abric de Can Ximet → Mas d'En Llort is 73 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Mas d'En Llort to Balma d'En Roc
Mas d'En Llort → Balma d'En Roc is 90 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Balma d'En Roc to back through Mas d'En Llort
Balma d'En Roc → back through Mas d'En Llort is 100 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mas d'En Llort to Abric de Can Ximet
back through Mas d'En Llort → Abric de Can Ximet is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.