Why this ride
A 331 km round trip from Montblanc - roughly 5 h 40 in the saddle. The stops in between: Cova del Cingle, Abric d'Esquarterades II and back through Cova del Cingle.
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 331 km round trip from Montblanc - roughly 5 h 40 in the saddle. The stops in between: Cova del Cingle, Abric d'Esquarterades II and back through Cova del Cingle.
The Conca de Barberà is a basin of vineyards and wheat, ringed by the Prades mountains, and Montblanc is its capital. The town is still wrapped in medieval walls, with towers and gates that have survived mostly intact, and the narrow streets inside are lined with Gothic houses and a church with a notable altarpiece. Local legend places the story of Saint George and the dragon here, and at the festival of Saint George every year the town re-enacts it with great enthusiasm. The Abric de la Baridana I lies about seven and a half kilometres from the town, in the hills to the south-west.
Read the complete Abric de la Baridana I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Abric de la Baridana I is where the day begins. Next is Cova del Cingle.
The Ebro still has rope ferries. At Miravet, a flat boat attached to a cable across the river carries cars, bikes and walkers from bank to bank, driven only by the current and the skill of the ferryman, as such ferries have done for centuries. Above the village, on a rocky hill, stands one of the great Templar castles of Catalonia, a stern stone fortress that controlled the river. Nearby, among the hills of the Ribera d'Ebre near Ginestar and Rasquera, the Cova del Cingle is a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, part of the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin.
Read the complete Cova del Cingle write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cova del Cingle comes up about 89 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric d'Esquarterades II.
Ulldecona stands where the foothills of the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit slope toward the plain of the Ebro, in the south of Catalonia, and it is a town of about six thousand people with olive groves in every direction. The Serra de Godall rises behind, and under its cliffs, the shelters known as the Abrics de l'Ermita, near the hermitage of La Pietat, hold prehistoric paintings, with a small visitor centre that makes it one of the easier places to see this art. Esquarterades is another shelter in the same tradition, part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin listed by UNESCO in 1998.
Read the complete Abric d'Esquarterades II write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 164 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric d'Esquarterades II. Next is back through Cova del Cingle.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del Cingle write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Cova del Cingle, late in the day. Next is Abric de la Baridana I.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de la Baridana I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Abric de la Baridana I. That is the ride.
Abric de la Baridana I → Cova del Cingle is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova del Cingle → Abric d'Esquarterades II is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric d'Esquarterades II → back through Cova del Cingle is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova del Cingle → Abric de la Baridana I is 90 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.