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 319 km round trip from Ramales de la Victoria - roughly 4 h 37 in the saddle. The stops in between: Hornos de la Peña, Llonín and back through Hornos de la Peña. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Covalanas is known as the cave of the red deer. Its walls carry red ochre paintings of hinds, drawn in a distinctive dotted technique, and they are among the finest Palaeolithic paintings in the Cantabrian region. The cave sits on a steep, wooded hillside above Ramales de la Victoria, in eastern Cantabria, and it was one of the first painted caves to be recognised in Spain, in the early twentieth century. It is part of the UNESCO-listed Cave of Altamira and Palaeolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain, and visits are limited to small groups, so booking ahead is advisable.
Read the complete Covalanas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Covalanas is where the day begins. Next is Hornos de la Peña.
Above the village of San Felices de Buelna, on a limestone hillside in the Besaya valley of Cantabria, a cave called Hornos de la Peña holds engravings made by Palaeolithic hunters. The most famous is the outline of a horse, scratched into the rock thousands of years ago, along with other animals and signs that take time and a good guide to pick out. The cave is one of the seventeen in northern Spain listed by UNESCO alongside Altamira, and visits are limited and guided, so check ahead rather than simply turning up.
Read the complete Hornos de la Peña write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Hornos de la Peña comes up about 85 km into the recorded legs. Next is Llonín.
The cave of Llonín is not one you can walk into. It sits in the valley of the river Cares in Peñamellera Alta, in the far east of Asturias, and it is one of the decorated Palaeolithic caves of northern Spain listed by UNESCO alongside Altamira. Its walls hold engravings and paintings of deer, goats and other animals, and the cave has been studied by archaeologists for decades, but access is restricted to protect the art. What you get instead is the landscape that sheltered those artists, and that is very much worth the trip.
Read the complete Llonín write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 159 km into the recorded legs you reach Llonín. Next is back through Hornos de la Peña.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hornos de la Peña write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Hornos de la Peña, late in the day. Next is Covalanas.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Covalanas write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Covalanas. That is the ride.
Covalanas → Hornos de la Peña is 85 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hornos de la Peña → Llonín is 74 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Llonín → back through Hornos de la Peña is 75 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Hornos de la Peña → Covalanas is 85 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.