Why this ride
A 207 km round trip from Tivissa - roughly 4 h 47 in the saddle. It goes by way of Cabra feixet, Prop de la Cova Pintada and back through Cabra feixet. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cova del Pi and Prop de la Cova Pintada
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 207 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 47
- 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. Cova del Pi
The Ebro takes a long turn through southern Catalonia before it reaches the sea, and in this stretch it flows wide and slow between orchards and dry hills, past old towns on rocky promontories. Miravet, with fewer than eight hundred people, is the most dramatic, a cluster of ochre houses stacked up below a Templar castle built in the twelfth century, with the river curving below. The castle was one of the main strongholds of the Knights Templar in the region, and in 1308, when the order was suppressed, its defenders held out for a time against the king's army. A small flat barge, the barca de Miravet, has long carried people across the river on a cable, and the crossing is a neat way to see the village from the water.
Read the complete Cova del Pi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova del Pi is where the day begins. Next is Cabra feixet.
2. Cabra feixet
El Perelló is a hill village on the old coast road between Tarragona and Tortosa, and it is famous for honey. Bees have been kept on these scrubby limestone slopes for centuries, feeding on rosemary, thyme and wild flowers, and every winter the village holds a honey fair that draws visitors from across Catalonia. In the hills around, sheltered under an overhang, is the rock art of Cabra Feixet, part of the Levantine paintings of eastern Spain inscribed together by UNESCO. The figures are small and faded, and the site is best visited with a guide or after asking at the village; please do not touch the rock.
Read the complete Cabra feixet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cabra feixet comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Prop de la Cova Pintada.
3. Prop de la Cova Pintada
The Ports massif rises abruptly at the meeting point of Catalonia, Aragón and Valencia, a tangle of limestone peaks, deep gorges and pine forest that feels surprisingly wild given how close it is to the Ebro delta and the coast. Prop de la Cova Pintada, meaning near the painted cave, sits on its southern side, between Mas de Barberans, Valderrobres and the old city of Tortosa.
Read the complete Prop de la Cova Pintada write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 98 km into the recorded legs you reach Prop de la Cova Pintada. Next is back through Cabra feixet.
4. back through Cabra feixet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cabra feixet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cabra feixet, late in the day. Next is Cova del Pi.
5. Cova del Pi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del Pi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Cova del Pi. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cova del Pi to Cabra feixet
Cova del Pi → Cabra feixet is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cabra feixet to Prop de la Cova Pintada
Cabra feixet → Prop de la Cova Pintada is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Prop de la Cova Pintada to back through Cabra feixet
Prop de la Cova Pintada → back through Cabra feixet is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cabra feixet to Cova del Pi
back through Cabra feixet → Cova del Pi is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.