Why this ride
119 km from Socovos to Socovos, about 3 h 32 of riding. The stops in between: Las Cazuelas, Benizar V and back through Las Cazuelas. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Abrigo de Zaén II and Benizar V
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 119 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 32
- 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. Abrigo de Zaén II
Zaén is a quiet valley in the north-western corner of the Murcia region, in the municipality of Moratalla, where pine-covered sierras close in and the streams run clear and cold. The Abrigo de Zaén II is one of several painted rock shelters here, and like the others it belongs to the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin, inscribed in 1998. Levantine art, found along the eastern side of the Iberian Peninsula, shows lively figures of humans and animals, often in scenes of hunting, gathering and, sometimes, conflict.
Read the complete Abrigo de Zaén II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo de Zaén II is where the day begins. Next is Las Cazuelas.
2. Las Cazuelas
Moratalla is the kind of hill town that looks as though it was poured down a slope: white houses tumbling below a castle tower, narrow lanes too steep for comfort, church bells echoing off the hills. Ten kilometres out, in the rugged country of north-west Murcia, the shelter of Las Cazuelas holds prehistoric paintings, part of the region's contribution to the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. The paintings are fragile and protected, and access is usually by guided visit, arranged in Moratalla or through the regional authorities.
Read the complete Las Cazuelas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Las Cazuelas comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Benizar V.
3. Benizar V
Benizar is one of those places that only a handful of maps bother to name. It is a hamlet belonging to Moratalla, in the hilly north-west of the Murcia region, close to where the province meets Albacete and the first ridges of the Sierra de Segura begin. Around it, in the rock faces and gullies, archaeologists have recorded a cluster of painted shelters, and Benizar V is one in this series: a stone overhang with faint prehistoric figures, part of the Levantine rock art that runs along Spain's eastern mountains.
Read the complete Benizar V write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Benizar V. Next is back through Las Cazuelas.
4. back through Las Cazuelas
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Las Cazuelas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Las Cazuelas, late in the day. Next is Abrigo de Zaén II.
5. Abrigo de Zaén II
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abrigo de Zaén II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Abrigo de Zaén II. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Abrigo de Zaén II to Las Cazuelas
Abrigo de Zaén II → Las Cazuelas is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Las Cazuelas to Benizar V
Las Cazuelas → Benizar V is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Benizar V to back through Las Cazuelas
Benizar V → back through Las Cazuelas is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Las Cazuelas to Abrigo de Zaén II
back through Las Cazuelas → Abrigo de Zaén II is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.