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 Aldeaquemada it runs 466 km to Aldeaquemada; allow about 11 h 16 of riding. The stops in between: Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda, Abrigo del.melgar, Úbeda and Cueva del Clarillo. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
The Sierra Morena marks the end of Andalusia, the hilly rampart that the old road from Madrid had to cross before dropping into the Guadalquivir lowlands. Cerro de la Caldera, a hill near Aldeaquemada in the north-east of Jaén province, sits in the heart of this frontier, in a quiet landscape of holm oaks, cork oaks, rockrose scrub and sandstone outcrops. Rock shelters in these hills hold schematic and Levantine paintings, and the area is part of the wider World Heritage listing of Iberian rock art.
Read the complete Cerro de la Caldera write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cerro de la Caldera is where the day begins. Next is Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda.
Úbeda stands on a ridge above an ocean of olive trees. In every direction, the province of Jaén rolls away in silver-green rows, millions of trees planted in geometric lines up to the horizon, and on this sea floats a town of honey-coloured stone that looks as if it had been lifted from Florence. In the sixteenth century, powerful local families who served the Spanish crown, above all Francisco de los Cobos, secretary to Emperor Charles V, poured their wealth into palaces and churches here, and the architect Andrés de Vandelvira gave them a Renaissance style of rare purity. Úbeda and its smaller neighbour Baeza were inscribed together on the UNESCO list in 2003.
Read the complete Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda comes up about 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abrigo del.melgar, 47 km on.
Quesada is a white town at the foot of the Sierra de Cazorla, in the province of Jaén, surrounded by an ocean of olive trees. The groves stretch to the horizon in every direction, a landscape that makes Jaén the world's largest producer of olive oil. Behind the town, the mountains rise steeply, with pine forest and limestone cliffs, and the Guadalquivir river has its source not far away. The Abrigo del Melgar lies in the hills just outside the town.
Read the complete Abrigo del.melgar write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 109 km into the recorded legs you reach Abrigo del.melgar. Next is Úbeda.
In the middle of an ocean of olive trees, Úbeda rises on a ridge like a Renaissance city that took a wrong turn on its way to Florence. This town in the province of Jaén, along with its neighbour Baeza, was listed by UNESCO in 2003 for its sixteenth-century architecture, much of it the work of Andrés de Vandelvira, who built palaces, churches and chapels for wealthy noble families and royal officials. The Plaza Vázquez de Molina is the showpiece, a harmonious square lined with palaces and the extraordinary Sacra Capilla del Salvador, a funerary chapel built for Francisco de los Cobos, secretary to Emperor Charles V.
Read the complete Úbeda write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Úbeda, about halfway. Next is Cueva del Clarillo.
To understand this part of Jaén, you need to remember that it was a border. For two and a half centuries after the great Christian victory at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, the frontier between Castile and the Muslim kingdom of Granada ran through the mountains to the south and east of here, and the towns of Quesada and Cazorla were fortified outposts. Castle towers still crown hills all over the province, and the old name for the area, Adelantamiento de Cazorla, tells you that it was ruled for a long time by the archbishops of Toledo as a military lordship.
Read the complete Cueva del Clarillo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cueva del Clarillo sits at 189 km, about halfway. Next is back through Úbeda.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Úbeda write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Úbeda comes up about 290 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Abrigo del.melgar, 47 km on.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abrigo del.melgar write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 337 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Abrigo del.melgar. Next is back through Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda, late in the day. Next is Cerro de la Caldera.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cerro de la Caldera write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 466 km.
Cerro de la Caldera → Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda → Abrigo del.melgar is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo del.melgar → Úbeda is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Úbeda → Cueva del Clarillo is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva del Clarillo → back through Úbeda is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Úbeda → back through Abrigo del.melgar is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abrigo del.melgar → back through Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda → Cerro de la Caldera is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.