CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
330 km from Posada de Valdeón to Posada de Valdeón, about 7 h 06 of riding. The stops in between: Covaciella, Llonín, Chufín and El Pindal. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,350 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 89 km this is Picos de Europa Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Valdeón is the valley people forget to mention when they talk about the Picos de Europa, and that is a mistake. On the southern side of the range, in the province of León, it is a deep green bowl ringed by limestone peaks, with the village of Posada de Valdeón at its heart. The beech forests on its slopes, including those in the side valley known as the Canal de Asotín, are part of the UNESCO site of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, a transnational listing that grew to include several forests in Spain. Walking in them in autumn, when the leaves turn copper and gold and the ground is soft with moss, is unforgettable.
Read the complete Hayedos de Picos de Europa - Canal de Asot write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Hayedos de Picos de Europa - Canal de Asot is where the day begins. Next is Covaciella.
Between the coastal town of Llanes and the high limestone walls of the Picos de Europa, a small cave near Carreña de Cabrales holds images that have been in the dark for something like fifteen thousand years. Covaciella was only found in the 1990s, and its paintings of bison, horses and deer, in black and red, are among the finest examples of Palaeolithic art in Asturias. It was added to the UNESCO listing of the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain in 2008. The cave is closed to the public to protect the paintings, but the nearby interpretation centre explains what is inside and why it matters.
Read the complete Covaciella write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Covaciella comes up about 89 km into the recorded legs. Next is Llonín.
The cave of Llonín is not one you can walk into. It sits in the valley of the river Cares in Peñamellera Alta, in the far east of Asturias, and it is one of the decorated Palaeolithic caves of northern Spain listed by UNESCO alongside Altamira. Its walls hold engravings and paintings of deer, goats and other animals, and the cave has been studied by archaeologists for decades, but access is restricted to protect the art. What you get instead is the landscape that sheltered those artists, and that is very much worth the trip.
Read the complete Llonín write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 113 km into the recorded legs you reach Llonín. Next is Chufín.
The Nansa is one of the shortest and wildest rivers in Cantabria, running from the high mountains on the edge of the Picos de Europa to the Bay of Biscay, and halfway along its course, near the hamlet of Riclones, a cave opens in the limestone above the water. This is the Cueva de Chufín, where Palaeolithic people engraved and painted animals, signs and symbols on the walls thousands of years ago. It is one of the caves of the Cantabrian coast included in the World Heritage site of Altamira and Palaeolithic cave art of northern Spain.
Read the complete Chufín write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Chufín, about halfway. Next is El Pindal.
On the coast of eastern Asturias, near the village of Pimiango, a cave opens in the cliffs above the sea, and inside, Palaeolithic artists painted and engraved animals on the walls: a mammoth, horses, a bison, a fish, and many red dots and signs. El Pindal is one of the caves included in the World Heritage listing of the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain, and its location, with the sea pounding the rocks below and the Picos de Europa rising inland, is spectacular. Visits are limited and guided, to protect the paintings.
Read the complete El Pindal write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
El Pindal sits at 87 km, about halfway. Next is back through Chufín.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chufín write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Chufín comes up about 194 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Llonín.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Llonín write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 219 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Llonín. Next is back through Covaciella.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Covaciella write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Covaciella, late in the day. Next is Hayedos de Picos de Europa - Canal de Asot.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hayedos de Picos de Europa - Canal de Asot write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 330 km.
Hayedos de Picos de Europa - Canal de Asot → Covaciella is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Covaciella → Llonín is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Llonín → Chufín is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chufín → El Pindal is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
El Pindal → back through Chufín is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chufín → back through Llonín is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Llonín → back through Covaciella is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Covaciella → Hayedos de Picos de Europa - Canal de Asot is 89 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.