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.
217 km from Bolulla to Bolulla, about 3 h 56 of riding. On the way it passes Abric de la Gleda, La Sarga- Abric I, Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I and back through La Sarga- Abric I. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Bolulla is barely a village, a few hundred people tucked into a valley of the Marina Baixa behind Benidorm, and the ravine that carries its name cuts into the limestone hills just outside it. The mountains here are steep and close together, terraced for centuries with olives, almonds and loquats, and their caves and shelters hold traces of prehistoric painting that place this corner of Alicante within the wider family of Mediterranean rock art. What you see on the ground is a dry, rocky gully scented with pine and wild herbs, with the ruined castle of Bolulla perched on a ridge above, a reminder of the Moorish centuries when these valleys were densely settled.
Read the complete Barranc de Bolulla write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc de Bolulla is where the day begins. Next is Abric de la Gleda.
Cocentaina is a small town with a surprisingly grand palace, and it makes a handy reference point for this corner of the Comtat. The Palau Comtal, a fortified residence from the Middle Ages, stands in the centre, and the town holds one of the oldest fairs in Spain, the Fira de Tots Sants, each year around All Saints' Day. Just down the valley is Alcoi, an industrial town built on paper and textiles, whose steep streets hold Modernista buildings and a famous festival of Moors and Christians. The villages of Planes and Beniarrés, a few kilometres away, are pastoral by comparison, and the Abric de la Gleda lies in the cliffs above one of the ravines that cut into the Serra de Mariola.
Read the complete Abric de la Gleda write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Abric de la Gleda comes up about 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is La Sarga- Abric I.
Alcoy, or Alcoi in Valencian, is a city of bridges, built where three rivers meet in deep ravines, in the mountains of northern Alicante. It was one of the cradles of Spain's industrial revolution, with textile and paper mills powered by its rivers, and its streets have fine modernist buildings from that era. It is also famous for its Moors and Christians festival in April, one of the most spectacular in Spain, with parades, music and mock battles in honour of Saint George. The rock shelters of La Sarga lie in the hills about eight kilometres from the city, toward Ibi.
Read the complete La Sarga- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach La Sarga- Abric I. Next is Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I.
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, about halfway. Next is back through La Sarga- Abric I.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Sarga- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through La Sarga- Abric I sits at 105 km, about halfway. Next is back through Abric de la Gleda.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de la Gleda write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Abric de la Gleda comes up about 176 km into the recorded legs. Next is Barranc de Bolulla.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de Bolulla write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc de Bolulla closes the day.
Barranc de Bolulla → Abric de la Gleda is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de la Gleda → La Sarga- Abric I is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
La Sarga- Abric I → Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I → back through La Sarga- Abric I is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through La Sarga- Abric I → back through Abric de la Gleda is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de la Gleda → Barranc de Bolulla is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.