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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Izquierda E. de Santonje and Abrigo del milano

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
327 km
Riding-time estimate
9 h 12
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.

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Why this ride

A 327 km round trip from María - roughly 9 h 12 in the saddle. The stops in between: Los Paradores, Cueva de la Plata, Abrigo del milano and back through Cueva de la Plata. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 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. 1. Izquierda E. de Santonje

    The Indalo is everywhere in Almería: a little stick figure holding an arc over its head, painted on houses, sold as a souvenir and used as the symbol of the province. It comes from a rock shelter near Vélez-Blanco, the Cueva de los Letreros, where it was painted in prehistoric times, and the area around the village is rich in rock art, part of the World Heritage rock art of the Mediterranean. The shelters around Santonje, near the villages of María and Vélez-Blanco, are among them.

    Read the complete Izquierda E. de Santonje write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Izquierda E. de Santonje is where the day begins. Next is Los Paradores.

  2. 2. Los Paradores

    The far north of Almería province is not the desert most people imagine. Around Vélez-Blanco and María the land rises into the Sierra de María-Los Vélez Natural Park, a range of limestone peaks with pine and holm oak forest, high plains of cereal and almond and villages that can see snow in winter. Los Paradores is one of the rock art sites in this area, part of the UNESCO listing of the Mediterranean Iberian rock art, and the region holds one of the most famous painted shelters in Spain, the Cueva de los Letreros, home of the Indalo, a stick figure holding an arc over its head that has become the symbol of Almería.

    Read the complete Los Paradores write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Los Paradores comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cueva de la Plata.

  3. 3. Cueva de la Plata

    Aledo is a tiny village on a rocky spur in the hills of Murcia, a place that punches well above its weight in history. In the eleventh century, it was a fortress on the frontier between Christian Castile and the Muslim taifa kingdoms, and the siege of Aledo in 1088 was a major episode in the struggle for the peninsula. A tower still stands above the village. The Cueva de la Plata, the silver cave, lies in the hills nearby, between Aledo, Totana and Alhama de Murcia.

    Read the complete Cueva de la Plata write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Cueva de la Plata. Next is Abrigo del milano.

  4. 4. Abrigo del milano

    Bullas is wine country, and the vineyards of Monastrell grapes roll over the hills around the town in the northwest of Murcia, producing robust red wines under their own denomination of origin. The Abrigo del Milano, the kite's shelter, named after the bird of prey that circles over these hills, lies in the countryside between Bullas, Mula and Pliego. It is one of the many rock shelters in Murcia with prehistoric paintings, part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art, though access to many shelters is restricted to protect them, so ask locally before trying to visit.

    Read the complete Abrigo del milano write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Abrigo del milano, about halfway. Next is back through Cueva de la Plata.

  5. 5. back through Cueva de la Plata

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Cueva de la Plata write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Cueva de la Plata sits at 127 km, about halfway. Next is back through Los Paradores.

  6. 6. back through Los Paradores

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Los Paradores write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Los Paradores comes up about 277 km into the recorded legs. Next is Izquierda E. de Santonje, 32 km on.

  7. 7. Izquierda E. de Santonje

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Izquierda E. de Santonje write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Izquierda E. de Santonje closes the day.

Leg by leg

Izquierda E. de Santonje to Los Paradores

Izquierda E. de Santonje → Los Paradores is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Los Paradores to Cueva de la Plata

Los Paradores → Cueva de la Plata is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Cueva de la Plata to Abrigo del milano

Cueva de la Plata → Abrigo del milano is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Abrigo del milano to back through Cueva de la Plata

Abrigo del milano → back through Cueva de la Plata is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Cueva de la Plata to back through Los Paradores

back through Cueva de la Plata → back through Los Paradores is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Los Paradores to Izquierda E. de Santonje

back through Los Paradores → Izquierda E. de Santonje is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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