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.
From Vall de Gallinera it runs 259 km to Vall de Gallinera; allow about 4 h 22 of riding. On the way it passes Abric de Gontrán, Cueva de la Vieja and back through Abric de Gontrán. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 850 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Behind the holiday coast of Dénia and Xàbia, the mountains of the Marina Alta fold into steep, narrow valleys that have more in common with the Moorish past than with the beach towns. Vall d'Ebo, Adsubia and Villalonga are small places among the ridges, and the Barranc de la Magrana is one of the ravines cut into the limestone. The Moors, who farmed these terraces for centuries, were forced to leave Spain in 1609, and the expulsion of the Moriscos began in these valleys, where some of them rose in revolt against the order, retreating to the heights before being defeated. The old irrigation channels and terraces they built are still in use.
Read the complete Barranc de la magrana write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc de la magrana is where the day begins. Next is Abric de Gontrán.
Head south-west from Xàtiva along the old road to Castile and you climb gently into a corridor between two mountain ranges, the Serra Grossa on one side and the Serra de Enguera on the other. The town of Moixent sits where the corridor narrows, with Vallada just downstream and the vineyards of Fontanars dels Alforins on the plateau beyond. The Abric de Gontran lies in the hills just outside Moixent.
Read the complete Abric de Gontrán write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Abric de Gontrán comes up about 67 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva de la Vieja.
In 1910 a local man led researchers to a shallow shelter above the plain of Alpera in Albacete, and the paintings they found there became some of the best known examples of Levantine rock art in Spain. The Cueva de la Vieja shows archers with feathered headdresses, women in long skirts, deer and goats, all painted with a sense of movement that still feels immediate. The nearby Cueva del Queso holds more figures. Both are part of the UNESCO listing for the rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean, and guided visits run from the village, so check times with Alpera's tourist office.
Read the complete Cueva de la Vieja write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 130 km into the recorded legs you reach Cueva de la Vieja. Next is back through Abric de Gontrán.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de Gontrán write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Abric de Gontrán, late in the day. Next is Barranc de la magrana.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de la magrana write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Barranc de la magrana. That is the ride.
Barranc de la magrana → Abric de Gontrán is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de Gontrán → Cueva de la Vieja is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de la Vieja → back through Abric de Gontrán is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de Gontrán → Barranc de la magrana is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.