Why this ride
From Calaceite it runs 488 km to Calaceite; allow about 10 h 09 of riding. It goes by way of Abrigo del Plano del Pulido, Val de Caballé I, Mallata C and Les Coves. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cueva de mas del Abogat and Les Coves
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 488 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 09
- 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 mas del Abogat
Calaceite is the kind of village that makes you slow down without being asked: honey-coloured stone, arcaded squares, a big baroque church and grand old houses with carved doorways, all perched on a ridge in the Matarraña, the corner of Teruel where Aragón meets Catalonia and Valencia. A few kilometres from it lies the Cueva de Mas del Abogat, one of the painted rock shelters that belong to the UNESCO listing of prehistoric art in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula. As with its sisters across eastern Spain, the paintings are small and often hard to read; the setting is what you take away.
Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva de mas del Abogat is where the day begins. Next is Abrigo del Plano del Pulido.
2. Abrigo del Plano del Pulido
South of Caspe, the lower Aragón country is a dry, sculpted landscape of ochre hills, flat-topped mesas and gullies cut into soft sandstone, with almond and olive groves clinging to the valley floors. In these sandstone outcrops, prehistoric people found shelter and left paintings, and the Abrigo del Plano del Pulido is one of the rock shelters of the area included in the World Heritage site of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. The painted figures, in the reddish tones of Levantine art, are small and faded, and as at most of these sites, access is controlled and visits may need to be arranged in advance.
Read the complete Abrigo del Plano del Pulido write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido comes up about 58 km into the recorded legs. Next is Val de Caballé I.
3. Val de Caballé I
Here the Ebro stops being a river and becomes a lake. Behind the great dams at Mequinenza and Riba-roja, the water backs up for kilometres into the dry hills of eastern Aragon, and locals call the reservoir the Mar de Aragón, the sea of Aragon. Val de Caballé is a gully in the hills south of the water, between Mequinenza, Nonaspe and Fabara, part of a scatter of prehistoric rock shelters in this corner where Aragon, Catalonia and the Matarranya meet.
Read the complete Val de Caballé I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 100 km into the recorded legs you reach Val de Caballé I. Next is Mallata C.
4. Mallata C
Ontiñena is a small farming village on the Alcanadre river, at the edge of the Monegros, the dry, wind-scoured steppe of central Aragón. Out in the ravines around it, prehistoric people left painted figures in rock shelters, among them the site labelled Mallata C, one of the many small components of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The paintings are small, simple and best seen with a local guide, and the walk there crosses a landscape that seems built for epic films: gypsum hills, eroded gullies and wide skies.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mallata C, about halfway. Next is Les Coves.
5. Les Coves
The western edge of Catalonia, around Lleida, is fruit country. Irrigation canals bring water from the Pyrenean rivers to a broad, flat plain of orchards growing apples, pears and peaches, laid out in neat lines that stretch to the horizon. Les Coves lies in this area, close to the Aragonese border, between Alfarràs, Albelda and Algerri, where the valley of the Noguera Ribagorçana spills out of the hills and onto the plain.
Read the complete Les Coves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Les Coves sits at 189 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mallata C.
6. back through Mallata C
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mallata C comes up about 313 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Val de Caballé I.
7. back through Val de Caballé I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Val de Caballé I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 387 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Val de Caballé I. Next is back through Abrigo del Plano del Pulido.
8. back through Abrigo del Plano del Pulido
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Abrigo del Plano del Pulido write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Abrigo del Plano del Pulido, late in the day. Next is Cueva de mas del Abogat.
9. Cueva de mas del Abogat
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva de mas del Abogat write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 488 km.
Leg by leg
Cueva de mas del Abogat to Abrigo del Plano del Pulido
Cueva de mas del Abogat → Abrigo del Plano del Pulido is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido to Val de Caballé I
Abrigo del Plano del Pulido → Val de Caballé I is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Val de Caballé I to Mallata C
Val de Caballé I → Mallata C is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mallata C to Les Coves
Mallata C → Les Coves is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Les Coves to back through Mallata C
Les Coves → back through Mallata C is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Mallata C to back through Val de Caballé I
back through Mallata C → back through Val de Caballé I is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Val de Caballé I to back through Abrigo del Plano del Pulido
back through Val de Caballé I → back through Abrigo del Plano del Pulido is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abrigo del Plano del Pulido to Cueva de mas del Abogat
back through Abrigo del Plano del Pulido → Cueva de mas del Abogat is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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