Why this ride
From La Roca del Vallès it runs 238 km to La Roca del Vallès; allow about 4 h 09 of riding. It goes by way of Hospital de Sant Pau, Cova dels Segarulls, Cova de Vallmajor and back through Cova dels Segarulls.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
La Pedra de les Orenetes and Cova de Vallmajor
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 238 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 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.
Scenic road chapters
Monserrat Mountain Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 29 km this is Monserrat Mountain Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 29 km
- Named road
- Monserrat Mountain Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. La Pedra de les Orenetes
La Pedra de les Orenetes, the Swallows' Stone, is a granite boulder in the hills above La Roca del Vallès, and its surface is covered with small carved hollows and other marks left by people in prehistory. Nobody knows exactly what they meant; such engraved rocks are found across Catalonia, and theories range from ritual offerings to maps of the stars. The rock sits among cork oaks and pines in the Serralada Litoral, the coastal range that separates the Vallès plain from the sea, and the walk to reach it is short and pleasant, through scented forest with views over the plain.
Read the complete La Pedra de les Orenetes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Pedra de les Orenetes is where the day begins. Next is Hospital de Sant Pau.
2. Hospital de Sant Pau
There is a hill in Barcelona that most visitors reach by accident, on the walk from the Sagrada Família down a long avenue named after Gaudí. At the end of it stands the Hospital de Sant Pau, one of the greatest works of Catalan Modernisme, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and built between 1902 and 1930 with money left by a banker called Pau Gil. The architect rejected the idea of a single block. Instead he built a garden city of pavilions, joined by underground tunnels, each with brick walls, tiled roofs and mosaics, so that patients could look out on trees and sky. It worked as a hospital until 2009, and has since been restored as a museum and cultural centre. UNESCO listed it in 1997 together with the Palau de la Música Catalana, also by Domènech.
Read the complete Hospital de Sant Pau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hospital de Sant Pau comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova dels Segarulls.
3. Cova dels Segarulls
The vineyards of the Penedès roll out in every direction from Vilafranca, and the Cova dels Segarulls lies among them, a few kilometres outside the town in the low hills toward the coastal range.
Read the complete Cova dels Segarulls write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 89 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova dels Segarulls. Next is Cova de Vallmajor.
4. Cova de Vallmajor
Inland from the Costa Daurada, behind the beach towns of El Vendrell and Calafell, the land rises into the low hills of the Baix Penedès, a landscape of vineyards, almond and olive groves, pine woods and small villages. The Cova de Vallmajor, near Albinyana and Bonastre, is a rock shelter in these hills with prehistoric paintings, part of the Levantine rock art of the Mediterranean that is recognised as a World Heritage Site. The paintings are faint and the shelter is protected, so visits are usually by arrangement.
Read the complete Cova de Vallmajor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cova de Vallmajor, about halfway. Next is back through Cova dels Segarulls.
5. back through Cova dels Segarulls
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cova dels Segarulls write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cova dels Segarulls sits at 149 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hospital de Sant Pau.
6. back through Hospital de Sant Pau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hospital de Sant Pau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hospital de Sant Pau comes up about 209 km into the recorded legs. Next is La Pedra de les Orenetes.
7. La Pedra de les Orenetes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Pedra de les Orenetes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Pedra de les Orenetes closes the day.
Leg by leg
La Pedra de les Orenetes to Hospital de Sant Pau
La Pedra de les Orenetes → Hospital de Sant Pau is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hospital de Sant Pau to Cova dels Segarulls
Hospital de Sant Pau → Cova dels Segarulls is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova dels Segarulls to Cova de Vallmajor
Cova dels Segarulls → Cova de Vallmajor is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova de Vallmajor to back through Cova dels Segarulls
Cova de Vallmajor → back through Cova dels Segarulls is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cova dels Segarulls to back through Hospital de Sant Pau
back through Cova dels Segarulls → back through Hospital de Sant Pau is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hospital de Sant Pau to La Pedra de les Orenetes
back through Hospital de Sant Pau → La Pedra de les Orenetes is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.