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.
From Calasparra it runs 387 km to Calasparra; allow about 8 h 39 of riding. The stops in between: Cueva de las Conchas, Cueva de los Cascarones, Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo and Río frío. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,450 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Cueva de los Pucheros
North-west of Cieza, the Segura river cuts through a dry landscape of limestone ridges, almond and fruit orchards, and rice fields that look out of place in arid Murcia. The Cueva de los Pucheros, a rock shelter in these hills between Cieza and Calasparra, is one of the many sites in the region holding prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Like most of these shelters, it is fragile and often protected by a fence, and access may require a guided visit arranged through the local authorities.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de los Pucheros is where the day begins. Next is Cueva de las Conchas.
2. Cueva de las Conchas
Cehegín's old town rises in a tight cluster of ochre houses and church towers on a hill above the Argos river, in the northwest of Murcia, and it is one of the best-preserved historic centres in the region, with narrow streets, noble houses and churches dating back to the sixteenth century. The Cueva de las Conchas, the cave of the shells, lies less than a kilometre from the town, and it is part of the rich network of prehistoric sites in this area, included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de las Conchas comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva de los Cascarones.
3. Cueva de los Cascarones
This is the country of the upper Segura, where Albacete and Murcia meet, and it is among the least visited corners of southern Spain. The river cuts through limestone sierras, with pine forests, reedy banks and small terraced fields where almond and olive trees grow, and the villages, Socovos and Férez among them, are small, white and quiet. The scale of the land is bigger than its population, and in summer the cicadas are the loudest thing you will hear.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 91 km into the recorded legs you reach Cueva de los Cascarones. Next is Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo.
4. Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo
A rambla is a dry riverbed that only runs after storms, and the Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo is one of many that cut into the limestone hills around Nerpio, in the remote south-western corner of Albacete. In a rock shelter above it, prehistoric people left paintings in the Levantine style, small, lively figures of people and animals, and the site is one of the many shelters around Nerpio that belong to the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Visits are normally arranged through the village, and a guide will know which shelters are accessible and when the light is right for seeing the faded pigment.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo, about halfway. Next is Río frío.
5. Río frío
Cold water is a rare luxury in southern Spain, and a stream called Río Frío promises exactly that. It is a land of pine forests, limestone crags, deep river gorges and tiny villages, and the painted rock shelters scattered through these hills are part of the UNESCO listing of rock art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 387 km.
Leg by leg
Cueva de los Pucheros to Cueva de las Conchas
Cueva de los Pucheros → Cueva de las Conchas is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de las Conchas to Cueva de los Cascarones
Cueva de las Conchas → Cueva de los Cascarones is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cueva de los Cascarones to Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo
Cueva de los Cascarones → Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo to Río frío
Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo → Río frío is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Río frío to back through Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo
Río frío → back through Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo to back through Cueva de los Cascarones
back through Abrigo de la Rambla de Pedro Izquierdo → back through Cueva de los Cascarones is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de los Cascarones to back through Cueva de las Conchas
back through Cueva de los Cascarones → back through Cueva de las Conchas is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cueva de las Conchas to Cueva de los Pucheros
back through Cueva de las Conchas → Cueva de los Pucheros is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.