Why this ride
107 km from Maó to Maó, about 2 h 32 of riding. It goes by way of C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella, C3: Western Migjorn area and back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
C9: North-West area of Tramuntana and C3: Western Migjorn area
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 107 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 32
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. C9: North-West area of Tramuntana
Menorca is the quieter of the Balearic islands, and its prehistoric heritage is the reason it appears on the UNESCO list as Talayotic Menorca, inscribed in 2023. From around the second millennium BC until the Roman conquest, the island's people built massive stone towers called talayots, T-shaped stone altars known as taulas, and burial monuments shaped like upturned boats, the navetas. They did it on an astonishing scale for an island of this size, and the stone ruins lie everywhere, in fields and pine woods.
Read the complete C9: North-West area of Tramuntana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
C9: North-West area of Tramuntana is where the day begins. Next is C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella.
2. C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
Menorca is a gentler island than its neighbours, and the Talaiotic culture left behind a remarkable landscape of stone monuments that UNESCO recognised in 2023. These are the talaiots, round or square towers of dry stone, the taulas, great T-shaped stone altars, and the navetas, boat-shaped tombs, all dating from the second and first millennia BC. Nobody knows exactly what the people who built them believed, but the sheer number is astonishing for an island that you can cross by car in an hour. C5 is one of the numbered zones of that heritage landscape, in the area between the ravines of Torrevella, south of Alaior.
Read the complete C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is C3: Western Migjorn area.
3. C3: Western Migjorn area
Menorca has more prehistoric monuments per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Europe, and the south-west of the island is a good place to see why. The people who lived here in the Bronze and Iron Ages built talayots, round towers of stacked stones, and taules, T-shaped stone altars, and navetas, burial chambers shaped like upturned boats, in a culture that lasted for over a thousand years. In 2023 UNESCO added the Talayotic Culture of Minorca to its list, and the western Migjorn area, the south-west of the island, is one of the zones included.
Read the complete C3: Western Migjorn area write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach C3: Western Migjorn area. Next is back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella.
4. back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella, late in the day. Next is C9: North-West area of Tramuntana.
5. C9: North-West area of Tramuntana
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete C9: North-West area of Tramuntana write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at C9: North-West area of Tramuntana. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
C9: North-West area of Tramuntana to C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
C9: North-West area of Tramuntana → C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella to C3: Western Migjorn area
C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella → C3: Western Migjorn area is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
C3: Western Migjorn area to back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella
C3: Western Migjorn area → back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella to C9: North-West area of Tramuntana
back through C5: Area between the ravines of Torrevella → C9: North-West area of Tramuntana is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.