Why this ride
A 112 km round trip from Calasparra - roughly 2 h 05 in the saddle. It goes by way of Los Grajos I, Abrigo del Canto Blanco and back through Los Grajos I. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Cueva-sima de la Serreta and Abrigo del Canto Blanco
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 112 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 05
- 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-sima de la Serreta
Calasparra is rice country, which surprises people who think of Murcia as parched and brown. The rice grows in terraced paddies fed by the clear, cold waters of the Segura, and the short-grain variety grown here has protected status and a reputation among Spanish cooks as the best for paella and slow rice dishes. Just upstream, the river squeezes through the Almadenes gorge, a narrow cleft between limestone walls where vultures soar and the water runs deep green. The Cueva-sima de la Serreta lies in the dry hills above, near the border with Cieza, in a land of rock and pine.
Read the complete Cueva-sima de la Serreta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cueva-sima de la Serreta is where the day begins. Next is Los Grajos I.
2. Los Grajos I
The painted women of Los Grajos are among the most famous figures in Spanish rock art. In a shelter in the limestone hills just outside Cieza, prehistoric painters depicted a group of human figures, several of them women with wide skirts and raised arms, often interpreted as dancers, alongside animals and other motifs. The Los Grajos shelters are part of the UNESCO-listed Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, and they are protected, so visits need to be arranged with the local tourist office in Cieza.
Read the complete Los Grajos I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Los Grajos I comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abrigo del Canto Blanco.
3. Abrigo del Canto Blanco
Jumilla is wine country, and you know it as soon as you arrive. The town sits in the north of the Murcia region, surrounded by a high, dry plateau of vineyards growing the Monastrell grape, which produces powerful, dark red wines. A castle tops the hill above the old town, and the bodegas on its outskirts welcome visitors. The Abrigo del Canto Blanco, the shelter of the white stone, lies in the hills about five kilometres away.
Read the complete Abrigo del Canto Blanco write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Abrigo del Canto Blanco. Next is back through Los Grajos I.
4. back through Los Grajos I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Los Grajos I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Los Grajos I, late in the day. Next is Cueva-sima de la Serreta.
5. Cueva-sima de la Serreta
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cueva-sima de la Serreta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Cueva-sima de la Serreta. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Cueva-sima de la Serreta to Los Grajos I
Cueva-sima de la Serreta → Los Grajos I is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Los Grajos I to Abrigo del Canto Blanco
Los Grajos I → Abrigo del Canto Blanco is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abrigo del Canto Blanco to back through Los Grajos I
Abrigo del Canto Blanco → back through Los Grajos I is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Los Grajos I to Cueva-sima de la Serreta
back through Los Grajos I → Cueva-sima de la Serreta is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.