Covacha Picayo- abrigo l and Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Covacha Picayo- abrigo l

   Hannibal is the name that should come to mind as you ride toward this part of the Valencian coast. In 219 BC the Carthaginian general besieged the Iberian city of Saguntum, now Sagunto, just north of Puçol, and the eight-month siege that followed set off the Second Punic War. The city fell, and Rome declared war. The castle that crowns the hill at Sagunto today is a long, thin fortress with Roman, Moorish and medieval layers, and its Roman theatre has been restored to a degree that some people find controversial but nobody finds dull.

   Read the complete Covacha Picayo- abrigo l write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Covacha Picayo- abrigo l is where the day begins. Next is La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia.

2. 2. La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia

   In the heart of Valencia's old town, a Gothic building with crenellated walls and gargoyles looks more like a castle than a market, and that was rather the point. The Lonja de la Seda, the silk exchange, was built in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries when Valencia was one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean, and it was meant to show the power of its merchants. Its great hall, the Sala de Contratación, is one of the masterpieces of late Gothic architecture, with slender columns that twist like palm trunks up to a ribbed vault. It was listed by UNESCO in 1996.

   Read the complete La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I.

3. 3. Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I

   Alginet sits in the Ribera Alta, the flat, fertile plain south of Valencia where the Júcar river spreads out among orange groves, rice fields and small towns. To the west, the plain meets the first hills of the interior, low ridges of limestone covered in pine and scrub. The Barranc de la Falaguera, the ravine of the fern, cuts into these hills near Alginet, Alfarp and Benifaió.

   Read the complete Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I 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 Barranc de la falaguera- Abric I. Next is back through La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia.

4. 4. back through La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia, late in the day. Next is Covacha Picayo- abrigo l.

5. 5. Covacha Picayo- abrigo l

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Covacha Picayo- abrigo l write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Covacha Picayo- abrigo l. That is the ride.