Why this ride
From Calaceite it runs 313 km to Calaceite; allow about 5 h 04 of riding. It goes by way of Camino de la Cova Plana l, Albi II / Balma dels Punts and back through Camino de la Cova Plana l. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cueva de la font de la Bernarda and Albi II / Balma dels Punts
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 313 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 04
- 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. Cueva de la font de la Bernarda
Ask a rider where the best quiet roads in Aragon are and, sooner or later, someone says Matarraña. It is the river and the district at the southern end of Teruel province, a land of olive terraces, almond orchards, honey-coloured villages and low limestone ridges, and people in Zaragoza call it the Tuscany of Aragon without any irony. The Cueva de la Font de la Bernarda sits in the hills a few kilometres from Calaceite, with Valderrobres just over the hill and the Catalan border not far beyond.
Read the complete Cueva de la font de la Bernarda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de la font de la Bernarda is where the day begins. Next is Camino de la Cova Plana l.
2. Camino de la Cova Plana l
Where the Segre and the Cinca rivers meet the Ebro, the land opens out into a dry, tawny basin that feels far from the sea. Mequinenza sits at the heart of it, a small town of about 2,500 people that has a story unlike any other on the Ebro. The old town was flooded in the 1960s when the Ribarroja dam created the Mar de Aragón, a huge reservoir, and the inhabitants were moved to a new town built higher up. The writer Jesús Moncada, born here, wrote about the vanished town in his novel Camino de sirga, and the loss still colours the way people talk about the place.
Read the complete Camino de la Cova Plana l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Camino de la Cova Plana l comes up about 75 km into the recorded legs. Next is Albi II / Balma dels Punts.
3. 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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 160 km into the recorded legs you reach Albi II / Balma dels Punts. Next is back through Camino de la Cova Plana l.
4. back through Camino de la Cova Plana l
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Camino de la Cova Plana l write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Camino de la Cova Plana l, late in the day. Next is Cueva de la font de la Bernarda.
5. Cueva de la font de la Bernarda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de la font de la Bernarda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Cueva de la font de la Bernarda. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cueva de la font de la Bernarda to Camino de la Cova Plana l
Cueva de la font de la Bernarda → Camino de la Cova Plana l is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Camino de la Cova Plana l to Albi II / Balma dels Punts
Camino de la Cova Plana l → Albi II / Balma dels Punts is 85 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Albi II / Balma dels Punts to back through Camino de la Cova Plana l
Albi II / Balma dels Punts → back through Camino de la Cova Plana l is 76 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Camino de la Cova Plana l to Cueva de la font de la Bernarda
back through Camino de la Cova Plana l → Cueva de la font de la Bernarda is 76 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.