Why this ride
From Vinaixa it runs 130 km to Vinaixa; allow about 2 h 48 of riding. On the way it passes Poblet Monastery, Abric de la Serra de la mussara and back through Poblet Monastery.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Albi II / Balma dels Punts and Abric de la Serra de la mussara
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 130 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 48
- 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. Albi II / Balma dels Punts
L'Albi is a small village on a hill in Les Garrigues, the dry, olive-covered district southeast of Lleida, and its name appears in the archaeological record thanks to rock shelters in the area, including the Balma dels Punts, the shelter of the dots. The name suggests schematic paintings in the form of dots and lines, typical of the later phase of prehistoric art in the region, and the site is part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The shelters are small and fragile, and some can only be visited with a guide, so check with the town hall or a local interpretation centre before heading out.
Read the complete Albi II / Balma dels Punts write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Albi II / Balma dels Punts is where the day begins. Next is Poblet Monastery.
2. Poblet Monastery
Few places in Catalonia carry as much weight as Poblet. The Cistercian monastery was founded in the middle of the twelfth century on land granted by Count Ramon Berenguer IV, and over the following generations it became the royal pantheon of the Crown of Aragon, the place where kings chose to be buried under carved alabaster. It is still a working community of monks, which gives the vast walled complex a quietness that the coach parties never quite manage to break. UNESCO listed it in 1991, and walking through the outer gates, past the first enclosure and into the cloister, you feel the scale of medieval monastic power in a way that a textbook never conveys.
Read the complete Poblet Monastery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Poblet Monastery comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric de la Serra de la mussara.
3. Abric de la Serra de la mussara
Climb out of Reus on a clear morning and the Serra de la Mussara rises ahead like a wall, a limestone escarpment that holds up the edge of the Prades plateau and drops steeply to the plain of the Camp de Tarragona. The rock shelters along this cliff line, close to the village of Vilaplana, are part of the prehistoric painted landscape of eastern Spain. The best reason to stop, though, is the view: on a good day you look straight down over hazelnut orchards and olive groves to Reus, Tarragona and the sea.
Read the complete Abric de la Serra de la mussara write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric de la Serra de la mussara. Next is back through Poblet Monastery.
4. back through Poblet Monastery
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Poblet Monastery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Poblet Monastery, late in the day. Next is Albi II / Balma dels Punts.
5. Albi II / Balma dels Punts
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Albi II / Balma dels Punts write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Albi II / Balma dels Punts. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Albi II / Balma dels Punts to Poblet Monastery
Albi II / Balma dels Punts → Poblet Monastery is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Poblet Monastery to Abric de la Serra de la mussara
Poblet Monastery → Abric de la Serra de la mussara is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de la Serra de la mussara to back through Poblet Monastery
Abric de la Serra de la mussara → back through Poblet Monastery is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Poblet Monastery to Albi II / Balma dels Punts
back through Poblet Monastery → Albi II / Balma dels Punts is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.