CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 273 km round trip from Planes - roughly 4 h 56 in the saddle. The stops in between: Barranc del Xorquet, Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I, Cueva de los Arcos and back through Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Between the towns of Alcoy and Gandia, the mountains of the northern Alicante province fold into a tangle of narrow valleys, and the barranc, the ravine, of the carob trees is a dry gully among them, a few kilometres from the villages of Planes and Beniarrés. The carob, or garrofer in Valencian, is a dark, leathery tree that has grown here for centuries, and its long brown pods were once used as animal feed and sweeteners. The land is rugged limestone, laced with terraces now mostly abandoned and covered in pines and rosemary.
Read the complete Barranc dels Garrofers write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc dels Garrofers is where the day begins. Next is Barranc del Xorquet.
Ask a cyclist on the Costa Blanca about Coll de Rates and watch their face change. The pass road climbing from Parcent toward Tàrbena is a pilgrimage for professional teams in winter training, and it lies only a few kilometres from the Barranc del Xorquet, one of the ravines in the tangled limestone hills behind the coast. This is an area rich in prehistoric rock art: the shelters at Pla de Petracos near Castell de Castells hold some of the best examples of the so-called macro-schematic style, big abstract human figures painted in red thousands of years ago, and the ravines around here hide further sites.
Read the complete Barranc del Xorquet write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc del Xorquet comes up 41 km in. Next is Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I.
The Marina Alta is the northern Costa Blanca at its most mixed: villas on every slope, a ribbon of coast running from Moraira to Jávea, and just behind it, farm terraces, dry stone walls and small rock shelters where prehistoric people left their mark. The Cova de la Catxupa, near Teulada and Benitachell, is one of them, a shelter in the hills a few kilometres from the sea, listed with the other Mediterranean rock art of the Iberian Peninsula.
Read the complete Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
82 km in you reach Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I. Next is Cueva de los Arcos.
Behind the Costa Blanca, only a few kilometres from the busy beaches of El Campello and the high-rises of Benidorm, the land climbs steeply into limestone mountains that feel surprisingly wild. The Cabeçó d'Or, a jagged massif above the village of Busot, dominates the area, and its slopes are riddled with caves and shelters. The Cueva de los Arcos is one of the sites in this area included in the World Heritage inscription of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, with faint painted motifs on the rock. Nearby, the Cuevas del Canelobre, a huge cave with towering stalactites, is open for visits and is one of the most impressive show caves in the region.
Read the complete Cueva de los Arcos write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cueva de los Arcos, about halfway. Next is back through Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I sits at 163 km, about halfway. Next is back through Barranc del Xorquet.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc del Xorquet write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Barranc del Xorquet comes up 204 km in. Next is Barranc dels Garrofers.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc dels Garrofers write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc dels Garrofers closes the day.
Barranc dels Garrofers → Barranc del Xorquet is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc del Xorquet → Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I → Cueva de los Arcos is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Cueva de los Arcos → back through Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I is 68 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Cova de la Catxupa- Abric I → back through Barranc del Xorquet is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc del Xorquet → Barranc dels Garrofers is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.