La Alamedilla and Abrigo del.melgar starting at San Lorenzo de Calatrava
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
577 km
Riding-time estimate
10 h 02
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
It goes by way of Abrigo de D. Pedro mota, Abrigo del.melgar and back through Abrigo de D. Pedro mota. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. La Alamedilla
Nobody lives close to this point, and that is its main fact. It lies in the eastern Sierra Morena, in the wild border country between Córdoba and Jaén, where holm oak and cork oak cover steep, empty hills and the nearest villages, Mestanza, Baños de la Encina and Cardeña, are all more than twenty-five kilometres away. The ride titles link it with the mercury mines of Almadén, whose Royal Forced Labour Gaol and miners' hospital are part of a UNESCO listing shared with Idrija in Slovenia, but Almadén lies far to the north-west, and the connection is a routing choice rather than a neighbourhood.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Alamedilla is where the day begins. Next is Abrigo de D. Pedro mota, 83 km on.
2. Abrigo de D. Pedro mota
Aldeaquemada means the burnt village, which tells you something about how rough the Sierra Morena used to be. This is a thinly populated corner of Jaén province, on the edge of the Despeñaperros range, and the shelter named after D. Pedro Mota is one of a large group of painted rock shelters in the hills. The paintings belong to what archaeologists call Levantine and Schematic rock art, small red and black figures of people, animals and symbols made by prehistoric hunters and later farming communities, and UNESCO listed the whole Mediterranean-arc group in 1998.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abrigo de D. Pedro mota comes up 83 km in. Next is Abrigo del.melgar, 83 km on.
3. Abrigo del.melgar
Quesada is a white town at the foot of the Sierra de Cazorla, in the province of Jaén, surrounded by an ocean of olive trees. The groves stretch to the horizon in every direction, a landscape that makes Jaén the world's largest producer of olive oil. Behind the town, the mountains rise steeply, with pine forest and limestone cliffs, and the Guadalquivir river has its source not far away. The Abrigo del Melgar lies in the hills just outside the town.