CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
401 km from Villajoyosa to Villajoyosa, about 7 h 36 of riding. The stops in between: Barranc de frainos- Abric I, Barraac de la Palla, Barranc de frainos- Abric II and Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Behind the Costa Blanca, only a few kilometres from the busy beaches of El Campello and the high-rises of Benidorm, the land climbs steeply into limestone mountains that feel surprisingly wild. The Cabeçó d'Or, a jagged massif above the village of Busot, dominates the area, and its slopes are riddled with caves and shelters. The Cueva de los Arcos is one of the sites in this area included in the World Heritage inscription of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin, with faint painted motifs on the rock. Nearby, the Cuevas del Canelobre, a huge cave with towering stalactites, is open for visits and is one of the most impressive show caves in the region.
Read the complete Cueva de los Arcos write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Cueva de los Arcos is where the day begins. Next is Barranc de frainos- Abric I.
The mountains behind Benidorm are a world away from the high-rise hotels and the beaches. Inland from the Costa Blanca, the land rises quickly into a jumble of limestone ridges, the highest of which, the Serra d'Aitana, reaches over fifteen hundred metres, the roof of the province of Alicante. Between Sella, Benilloba and Relleu, deep in this rugged country, the Barranc de Frainos holds a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO listing of Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. The sites here are small and fragile, and access is usually limited to guided visits, but the landscape is worth the journey.
Read the complete Barranc de frainos- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc de frainos- Abric I comes up 35 km in. Next is Barraac de la Palla.
Tormos and Sagra are tiny villages at the foot of the mountains in the north of Alicante province, at the point where the plain of the Marina Alta meets the hills. They are surrounded by orange groves and orchards, with the mountains of the Vall de Laguar and the Serra del Migdia rising steeply behind. The Barranc de la Palla, the ravine of the straw, cuts into the hills near Tormos, close also to Orba and the town of Pego.
Read the complete Barraac de la Palla write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
70 km in you reach Barraac de la Palla. Next is Barranc de frainos- Abric II.
A barranc is a ravine in Valencian, and the country behind Alicante is full of them, deep cuts in the pale limestone where the winter rains drain toward the sea. This one lies in the foothills of the Aitana range, near the villages of Benilloba and Sella, and hides a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, protected under the same World Heritage banner as the painted caves of the whole Spanish Levant. The interior of Alicante province is quite different from the coast, with almond and olive terraces, pine forest and little white villages tucked into the folds, and the air smells of pine resin and thyme.
Read the complete Barranc de frainos- Abric II write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc de frainos- Abric II, about halfway. Next is Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I.
The painted shelter of Barranc d'Alpadull sits in the folds of the Serra de Mariola, the limestone massif that rises between Bocairent, Alfafara and Agres in the inland corner where Valencia, Alicante and the old kingdom's hill country all meet. It is one of the many small overhangs in eastern Spain that carry Levantine rock art, the group of sites inscribed together by UNESCO as the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin. Do not expect a museum. These are faint, reddish figures under a lip of stone, usually fenced, often hard to read unless the light is low and raking, and part of the pleasure is simply knowing that hunters drew here thousands of years before anyone thought of building a road up this valley.
Read the complete Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I sits at 141 km, about halfway. Next is back through Barranc de frainos- Abric II.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de frainos- Abric II write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Barranc de frainos- Abric II comes up 176 km in. Next is back through Barraac de la Palla.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barraac de la Palla write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
211 km in you reach back through Barraac de la Palla. Next is back through Barranc de frainos- Abric I.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Barranc de frainos- Abric I write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Barranc de frainos- Abric I, late in the day. Next is Cueva de los Arcos.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de los Arcos write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 401 km.
Cueva de los Arcos → Barranc de frainos- Abric I is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de frainos- Abric I → Barraac de la Palla is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barraac de la Palla → Barranc de frainos- Abric II is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc de frainos- Abric II → Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Barranc d'Alpadull- Abric I → back through Barranc de frainos- Abric II is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc de frainos- Abric II → back through Barraac de la Palla is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barraac de la Palla → back through Barranc de frainos- Abric I is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Barranc de frainos- Abric I → Cueva de los Arcos is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.