Why this ride
A 234 km round trip from Catí - roughly 3 h 57 in the saddle. On the way it passes La Joquera, Peñón de Santo Espíritu and back through La Joquera. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abric de la mostela and Peñón de Santo Espíritu
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 234 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 57
- 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 la mostela
The hill country around Albocàsser and Catí, in the north of Castellón province, is a landscape of terraced slopes, almond trees and limestone ravines that few visitors cross on their way from the coast to Morella.
Read the complete Abric de la mostela write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric de la mostela is where the day begins. Next is La Joquera.
2. La Joquera
Just behind Castelló de la Plana, where the coastal plain meets the first hills, the ravine of La Joquera cuts into the limestone near the village of Borriol. Its shelters hold prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean basin, and the area has been studied for its archaeology for decades. It is unusual to find such ancient art so close to a large modern city, and the contrast between the busy plain below, with its orange groves, factories and motorways, and the quiet hills above is striking.
Read the complete La Joquera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Joquera comes up about 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is Peñón de Santo Espíritu.
3. Peñón de Santo Espíritu
Behind the orange groves of the Camp de Morvedre, a few kilometres inland from Sagunto, the land rises into the Sierra Calderona, a low range of pine woods, scrub and red sandstone that separates the coastal plain from the dry interior. The Peñón de Santo Espíritu is a rocky outcrop in these hills above the village of Gilet, and it carries prehistoric rock art in the Levantine tradition, the style of painted hunters, animals and human figures found in shelters along the Mediterranean side of Spain and listed by UNESCO as the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. The paintings are fragile and often protected, so do not expect to wander up and touch anything.
Read the complete Peñón de Santo Espíritu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 115 km into the recorded legs you reach Peñón de Santo Espíritu. Next is back through La Joquera.
4. back through La Joquera
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Joquera write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through La Joquera, late in the day. Next is Abric de la mostela.
5. Abric de la mostela
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de la mostela 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 la mostela. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Abric de la mostela to La Joquera
Abric de la mostela → La Joquera is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La Joquera to Peñón de Santo Espíritu
La Joquera → Peñón de Santo Espíritu is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Peñón de Santo Espíritu to back through La Joquera
Peñón de Santo Espíritu → back through La Joquera is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through La Joquera to Abric de la mostela
back through La Joquera → Abric de la mostela is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.