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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
534 km from Albarracín to Albarracín, about 9 h 11 of riding. It goes by way of Torre de la iglesia del Salvador, Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano, Abric mas de los Perez and Balma de la fabriqueta. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,450 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. Las Balsillas
Las Balsillas means the little pools, and in a sandstone forest where rain drains away fast, a hollow that holds water is worth naming. What matters is the setting: red rock under dark pine, with a floor of needles that muffles every sound.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Las Balsillas is where the day begins. Next is Torre de la iglesia del Salvador.
2. Torre de la iglesia del Salvador
Teruel spent decades as the Spanish joke about forgotten provinces, until its people adopted the slogan Teruel existe, Teruel exists, and turned it into a political movement. Ride into the old centre and you will agree it exists rather vividly. The Torre del Salvador is one of its four great Mudéjar towers, built of brick and glazed ceramic in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by craftsmen trained in the Islamic tradition. The road, or rather a street, still passes through an archway at its base, and you can climb inside, between the outer and inner shells of the tower, up narrow stairs to the bells.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Torre de la iglesia del Salvador comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano.
3. Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano
High in the interior of Valencia province, where the coastal orange groves give way to limestone plateaus and pine forest, the village of Titaguas sits on the road towards the Rincón de Ademuz. Close by lies the Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano, a rock shelter with prehistoric paintings, one of the hundreds of sites that make up the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula, listed by UNESCO in 1998.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 135 km into the recorded legs you reach Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano. Next is Abric mas de los Perez.
4. Abric mas de los Perez
Between the Turia and the Palancia rivers, northwest of Valencia, the land rises into a maze of limestone mountains, pine forest and small villages that rarely see foreign visitors. The Abric del Mas de los Pérez is a rock shelter in the hills near Andilla, Viver and Alcublas, one of hundreds of painted sites in eastern Spain listed by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. These shelters were decorated by hunter-gatherers and early farmers thousands of years ago, and while some feature vivid hunting scenes, many are faint and hard to see without a trained eye. Respect any fences and signs, and never wet or touch the rock.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Abric mas de los Perez, about halfway. Next is Balma de la fabriqueta.
5. Balma de la fabriqueta
The Serra Calderona is the green ridge that rises north-west of Valencia, separating the city's plain from the valleys of the interior. It is a natural park of pine forest, cork oak and rocky hills, close enough to the city for weekend walkers and riders, yet surprisingly wild once you get into it. The rock shelter of Balma de la Fabriqueta lies near the village of Olocau on its southern side, one of the painted shelters that make up the Levantine rock art inscribed by UNESCO. Access to many of these sites is restricted or guided, so check with the local tourist office before trying to visit.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 534 km.
Leg by leg
Las Balsillas to Torre de la iglesia del Salvador
Las Balsillas → Torre de la iglesia del Salvador is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Torre de la iglesia del Salvador to Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano
Torre de la iglesia del Salvador → Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano is 98 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano to Abric mas de los Perez
Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano → Abric mas de los Perez is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Abric mas de los Perez to Balma de la fabriqueta
Abric mas de los Perez → Balma de la fabriqueta is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Balma de la fabriqueta to back through Abric mas de los Perez
Balma de la fabriqueta → back through Abric mas de los Perez is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric mas de los Perez to back through Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano
back through Abric mas de los Perez → back through Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano is 79 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano to back through Torre de la iglesia del Salvador
back through Abric del Rincón del Tío Escribano → back through Torre de la iglesia del Salvador is 99 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Torre de la iglesia del Salvador to Las Balsillas
back through Torre de la iglesia del Salvador → Las Balsillas is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.