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.
388 km from Tivissa to Tivissa, about 6 h 53 of riding. 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 makes a great loop through southern Catalonia, and the Cova del Ramat lies in the dry hills just west of it, above the villages of Ginestar and Rasquera. The river here is broad and slow, lined with orchards and reed beds, and in 1938 it became the site of the Battle of the Ebro, the longest and bloodiest battle of the Spanish Civil War, which raged for nearly four months in the summer and autumn and left the hills riddled with trenches. Their traces survive in the landscape, and several memorial sites and museums, notably around Gandesa, tell the story.
Read the complete Cova del Ramat write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cova del Ramat 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 59 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 107 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 189 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 323 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova del Ramat.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova del Ramat write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cova del Ramat closes the day.
Cova del Ramat → Abric de Gallicant is 59 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 Ramat is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.