Abric del Zuro and Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Abric del Zuro

   In July 2012, a huge fire swept through the hills around Cortes de Pallás, not far from Bicorp, and burned tens of thousands of hectares of pine forest, one of the worst wildfires in the history of the Valencian Community. Fire is a fact of life in these dry Mediterranean mountains, and the landscape tells the story: the pines that regrow quickly from seed, the scrub that returns within a few years, and the gaunt grey trunks that still stand on some of the slopes. It is a sobering reminder that the beauty of this country is fragile.

   Read the complete Abric del Zuro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Abric del Zuro is where the day begins. Next is Cueva del Cerro.

2. 2. Cueva del Cerro

   Inland Valencia is a world away from the beaches on the coast. Behind the orange groves and the motorway the land rises into dry, folded mountains cut by deep gorges, where villages of a few hundred people cling to the hillsides and the pines smell of resin in the heat. Millares and Dos Aguas lie in this country, near the Júcar and Cabriel rivers, and the Cueva del Cerro is a rock shelter in the limestone, one of the many places in eastern Spain where prehistoric people left paintings on the walls.

   Read the complete Cueva del Cerro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Cueva del Cerro comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I.

3. 3. Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I

   Alginet sits in the Ribera Alta, the flat, fertile plain south of Valencia where the Júcar river spreads out among orange groves, rice fields and small towns. To the west, the plain meets the first hills of the interior, low ridges of limestone covered in pine and scrub. The Barranc de la Falaguera, the ravine of the fern, cuts into these hills near Alginet, Alfarp and Benifaió.

   Read the complete Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 69 km into the recorded legs you reach Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I. Next is back through Cueva del Cerro.

4. 4. back through Cueva del Cerro

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Cueva del Cerro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Cueva del Cerro, late in the day. Next is Abric del Zuro.

5. 5. Abric del Zuro

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Abric del Zuro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Abric del Zuro. That is the ride.