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.
A 384 km round trip from Tivissa - roughly 6 h 42 in the saddle. The stops in between: Abric de Gallicant, Albi II / Balma dels Punts, Roca Roja and back through Albi II / Balma dels Punts. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
The Ebro still has rope ferries. At Miravet, a flat boat attached to a cable across the river carries cars, bikes and walkers from bank to bank, driven only by the current and the skill of the ferryman, as such ferries have done for centuries. Above the village, on a rocky hill, stands one of the great Templar castles of Catalonia, a stern stone fortress that controlled the river. Nearby, among the hills of the Ribera d'Ebre near Ginestar and Rasquera, the Cova del Cingle is a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, part of the World Heritage Site of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin.
Read the complete Cova del Cingle write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cova del Cingle is where the day begins. Next is Abric de Gallicant.
Alforja is a village on the southern edge of the Prades mountains, where the plain of the Camp de Tarragona meets the steep slopes of the Serra de l'Argentera and the Serra de la Mussara. The Abric de Gallicant lies in the hills near Alforja, Vilaplana and Ulldemolins, and it is one of the many prehistoric shelters in these mountains that form part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The name means rooster's song, a poetic touch typical of Catalan place names. The paintings in this area are generally schematic, with simple figures and geometric shapes, and many shelters are protected by fences.
Read the complete Abric de Gallicant write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Abric de Gallicant comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Albi II / Balma dels Punts.
L'Albi is a small village on a hill in Les Garrigues, the dry, olive-covered district southeast of Lleida, and its name appears in the archaeological record thanks to rock shelters in the area, including the Balma dels Punts, the shelter of the dots. The name suggests schematic paintings in the form of dots and lines, typical of the later phase of prehistoric art in the region, and the site is part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The shelters are small and fragile, and some can only be visited with a guide, so check with the town hall or a local interpretation centre before heading out.
Read the complete Albi II / Balma dels Punts write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 105 km into the recorded legs you reach Albi II / Balma dels Punts. Next is Roca Roja.
Roca Roja, the red rock, is a fitting name for this corner of inland Catalonia, where sandstone and conglomerate cliffs glow rust-coloured in the evening light above pine forest and small terraced fields. The point lies in the hills between Querol and Mediona, where the comarques of Alt Camp, Alt Penedès and Anoia meet, a rugged, thinly populated upland that most people speed past on the motorway between Barcelona and Lleida without realising it exists.
Read the complete Roca Roja write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Roca Roja, about halfway. Next is back through Albi II / Balma dels Punts.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Albi II / Balma dels Punts write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Albi II / Balma dels Punts sits at 187 km, about halfway. Next is back through Abric de Gallicant.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abric de Gallicant write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Abric de Gallicant comes up about 321 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova del Cingle.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del Cingle write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cova del Cingle closes the day.
Cova del Cingle → Abric de Gallicant is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric de Gallicant → Albi II / Balma dels Punts is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Albi II / Balma dels Punts → Roca Roja is 81 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roca Roja → back through Albi II / Balma dels Punts is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Albi II / Balma dels Punts → back through Abric de Gallicant is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric de Gallicant → Cova del Cingle is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.