Why this ride
From Vilafranca del Penedès it runs 386 km to Vilafranca del Penedès; allow about 7 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Roca Roja, Cova de Vallmajor, Britus Il and Paleochristian cemetery. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abric de Can Ximet and Paleochristian cemetery
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 386 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 13
- 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 Roca Roja.
2. Roca Roja
Roca Roja, the red rock, is a fitting name for this corner of inland Catalonia, where sandstone and conglomerate cliffs glow rust-coloured in the evening light above pine forest and small terraced fields. The point lies in the hills between Querol and Mediona, where the comarques of Alt Camp, Alt Penedès and Anoia meet, a rugged, thinly populated upland that most people speed past on the motorway between Barcelona and Lleida without realising it exists.
Read the complete Roca Roja write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roca Roja comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova de Vallmajor.
3. Cova de Vallmajor
Inland from the Costa Daurada, behind the beach towns of El Vendrell and Calafell, the land rises into the low hills of the Baix Penedès, a landscape of vineyards, almond and olive groves, pine woods and small villages. The Cova de Vallmajor, near Albinyana and Bonastre, is a rock shelter in these hills with prehistoric paintings, part of the Levantine rock art of the Mediterranean that is recognised as a World Heritage Site. The paintings are faint and the shelter is protected, so visits are usually by arrangement.
Read the complete Cova de Vallmajor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova de Vallmajor. Next is Britus Il.
4. Britus Il
What matters is the country around it, which is some of the finest in inland Catalonia. You are in the Conca de Barberà, the basin of the Francolí river, a few kilometres from the walled town of Montblanc and the village of Alcover, with the wooded wall of the Serra de Prades rising to the west. The area is dotted with prehistoric rock shelters, part of the great arc of Mediterranean rock art that runs down eastern Spain, and many of the site names along these rides are exactly that: a ledge of sandstone or limestone where hunters painted deer and archers thousands of years ago.
Read the complete Britus Il write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Britus Il, about halfway. Next is Paleochristian cemetery.
5. Paleochristian cemetery
When the Roman city of Tarraco converted to Christianity, its people began burying their dead beside the Francolí river, west of the town, and the necropolis that grew up there over the fourth and fifth centuries is now one of the most important early Christian burial sites in the western Mediterranean. Hundreds of tombs were found, from simple graves to carved marble sarcophagi, along with remains of a basilica. Tradition links the site with Saint Fructuosus, the bishop of Tarraco burned in the amphitheatre in the year 259 along with two deacons.
Read the complete Paleochristian cemetery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paleochristian cemetery sits at 146 km, about halfway. Next is back through Britus Il.
6. back through Britus Il
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Britus Il write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Britus Il comes up about 230 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Cova de Vallmajor.
7. back through Cova de Vallmajor
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova de Vallmajor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 289 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Cova de Vallmajor. Next is back through Roca Roja.
8. back through Roca Roja
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Roca Roja write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Roca Roja, late in the day. Next is Abric de Can Ximet.
9. 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
The route ends here after 386 km.
Leg by leg
Abric de Can Ximet to Roca Roja
Abric de Can Ximet → Roca Roja is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roca Roja to Cova de Vallmajor
Roca Roja → Cova de Vallmajor is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova de Vallmajor to Britus Il
Cova de Vallmajor → Britus Il is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Britus Il to Paleochristian cemetery
Britus Il → Paleochristian cemetery is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Paleochristian cemetery to back through Britus Il
Paleochristian cemetery → back through Britus Il is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Britus Il to back through Cova de Vallmajor
back through Britus Il → back through Cova de Vallmajor is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova de Vallmajor to back through Roca Roja
back through Cova de Vallmajor → back through Roca Roja is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roca Roja to Abric de Can Ximet
back through Roca Roja → Abric de Can Ximet is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Barcelona long day · The · 337 km
- Cova de Vallmajor and Mas d'En Llort · 255 km
- Roca Roja and The · 242 km
- Cova dels Segarulls and The · 123 km