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.
433 km from Alfafara to Alfafara, about 8 h 31 of riding. On the way it passes Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I, Barranco de las Colochas- Abrigo I and back through Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
The ride follows Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I → Barranco de las Colochas- Abrigo I for 138 km.
The painted shelter of Barranc d'Alpadull sits in the folds of the Serra de Mariola, the limestone massif that rises between Bocairent, Alfafara and Agres in the inland corner where Valencia, Alicante and the old kingdom's hill country all meet. It is one of the many small overhangs in eastern Spain that carry Levantine rock art, the group of sites inscribed together by UNESCO as the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. Do not expect a museum. These are faint, reddish figures under a lip of stone, usually fenced, often hard to read unless the light is low and raking, and part of the pleasure is simply knowing that hunters drew here thousands of years before anyone thought of building a road up this valley.
Read the complete Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I.
Bicorp is a small village in the folds of the Valencian interior, west of Xàtiva, in a country of pine, scrub and deep ravines that falls towards the Júcar and the Sierra de Martés. The Cueva de la Araña, the Spider Cave, is one of the most famous rock art sites in Spain, and the main reason to come. In its shelter is a painted scene of a figure climbing a rope or ladder of plant fibre to collect honey from a wild hive, with bees flying around. It is thought to be several thousand years old, and it is one of the finest and most human images of the Levantine rock art, listed by UNESCO in 1998.
Read the complete Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I comes up about 76 km into the recorded legs. Next is Barranco de las Colochas- Abrigo I.
West of Valencia, the river Turia leaves the mountains through a series of deep gorges, and around the villages of Gestalgar, Sot de Chera and Chulilla, the landscape turns dramatic: limestone cliffs, pine-covered slopes and the river winding green below. In a side ravine near Gestalgar, the Barranco de las Colochas shelters a handful of painted panels that UNESCO counts among the Mediterranean rock art of Iberia. The figures are faint, but the setting is worth the effort on its own.
Read the complete Barranco de las Colochas- Abrigo I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 214 km into the recorded legs you reach Barranco de las Colochas- Abrigo I. Next is back through Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I, late in the day. Next is Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I. That is the ride.
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I → Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I is 76 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I → Barranco de las Colochas- Abrigo I is 138 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Barranco de las Colochas- Abrigo I → back through Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I is 141 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Cueva de la Araña- Abrigo I → Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.