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 Benassal it runs 81 km to Benassal; allow about 1 h 54 of riding. It goes by way of Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I, Abric del mas dels Ous and back through Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
The Maestrat is the high, rugged interior of the province of Castellón, a land of limestone plateaus, deep ravines and stone villages that seem to grow out of the rock. Near Benassal, the Barranc del Puig cuts into the hills, and its rock shelters contain prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO serial site of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. This area is one of the richest in Spain for Levantine rock art, and the nearby Valltorta gorge, between Albocàsser and Tírig, has some of the most famous paintings, including scenes of hunters chasing deer and wild goats. The Valltorta museum in Tírig explains the art and organises visits to the shelters.
Read the complete Barranc del Puig- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc del Puig- Abric I is where the day begins. Next is Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I.
Coves del Civil, also known as Ribasals, is one of the great concentrations of Levantine rock art in the Valltorta gorge area of Castellón province, and the number I beside its name marks the first shelter in the series. The Valltorta, a deep dry ravine running through limestone near the village of Tírig, was one of the first places where scholars recognised that this painting tradition existed, and a museum in Tírig tells how the paintings came to light. The paintings show archers, hunting scenes and animals, with a vividness that surprises anyone who expects scratchy marks on a wall.
Read the complete Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric del mas dels Ous.
Xert is the kind of village you pass through on the way to somewhere else and then wonder why you did not stop. It lies in the Baix Maestrat in northern Castellón, below a ridge of bare limestone, with the old village climbing the slope and a newer part down by the road. The shelter called the Abric del Mas dels Ous, the shelter of the farmhouse of the eggs, is out in the dry hills nearby, between Xert, Canet lo Roig and Rosell.
Read the complete Abric del mas dels Ous write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 41 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric del mas dels Ous. Next is back through Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I, late in the day. Next is Barranc del Puig- Abric I.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc del Puig- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Barranc del Puig- Abric I. That is the ride.
Barranc del Puig- Abric I → Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I → Abric del mas dels Ous is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric del mas dels Ous → back through Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Coves del Civil o Ribasals- Abric I → Barranc del Puig- Abric I is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.