Why this ride
From Ontiñena it runs 323 km to Ontiñena; allow about 9 h 21 of riding. It goes by way of mas de Torres, Val de mamet I, Sierra de los Rincones I and Valmayor IV.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mallata C and Valmayor IV
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 323 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 9 h 21
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Mallata C
Ontiñena is a small farming village on the Alcanadre river, at the edge of the Monegros, the dry, wind-scoured steppe of central Aragón. Out in the ravines around it, prehistoric people left painted figures in rock shelters, among them the site labelled Mallata C, one of the many small components of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The paintings are small, simple and best seen with a local guide, and the walk there crosses a landscape that seems built for epic films: gypsum hills, eroded gullies and wide skies.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mallata C is where the day begins. Next is mas de Torres.
2. mas de Torres
The Monegros in high summer is the closest thing Europe has to a desert, a wide, dry plateau of gypsum hills, wheat stubble and steppe scrub under a hard, white sky. Near the village of Candasnos, close to the main road between Zaragoza and Lleida, the shelter labelled Mas de Torres is one of the rock art sites of the Mediterranean Basin listed by UNESCO, a reminder that people lived and hunted here long before the land dried out to its present state.
Read the complete mas de Torres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
mas de Torres comes up 23 km in. Next is Val de mamet I.
3. Val de mamet I
The Ebro river cuts through Aragon in a wide, dry valley, and where it meets its tributaries the Segre and Cinca around Mequinenza it was dammed in the twentieth century to make long, narrow lakes among bare hills. Val de Mamet is a dry side valley in this country, with a shelter that holds prehistoric paintings. The surroundings are arid and open, with low limestone cliffs, thyme and rosemary scrub, and scattered pines and almonds, and the silence is broken mostly by the wind and the occasional hawk.
Read the complete Val de mamet I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
46 km in you reach Val de mamet I. Next is Sierra de los Rincones I.
4. Sierra de los Rincones I
Aragon and Catalonia meet along the Segre and Ebro here, and the map is full of names that mean corners and nooks. The Sierra de los Rincones is a low range of dry, rocky hills above the confluence of the Segre, Cinca and Ebro rivers, with scrub of juniper, thyme and pine and a lot of bare ground, in a region that gets less than 400 millimetres of rain a year. The great reservoir of Mequinenza, the Mar de Aragón, lies to the south, and from the high ground the view takes in water, hills and a haze of dust. The Ebro here is more than a river, it is a reservoir, with the valley flooded and the old towns beneath the water.
Read the complete Sierra de los Rincones I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sierra de los Rincones I, about halfway. Next is Valmayor IV.
5. Valmayor IV
Where the Ebro, the Segre and the Cinca meet in eastern Aragon, a vast reservoir stretches for dozens of kilometres between bare, ochre hills. The locals call it the Mar de Aragón, the Sea of Aragon, and it was created in the 1960s when the Mequinenza dam flooded the valley. The old town of Mequinenza went under the water too, and its people were moved to a new town built above, a story told in moving detail in the local museums and in the novels of Jesús Moncada, who grew up there.
Read the complete Valmayor IV write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Valmayor IV sits at 91 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sierra de los Rincones I.
6. back through Sierra de los Rincones I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sierra de los Rincones I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sierra de los Rincones I comes up 114 km in. Next is back through Val de mamet I.
7. back through Val de mamet I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Val de mamet I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
137 km in you reach back through Val de mamet I. Next is back through mas de Torres.
8. back through mas de Torres
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete mas de Torres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through mas de Torres, late in the day. Next is Mallata C.
9. Mallata C
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 323 km.
Leg by leg
Mallata C to mas de Torres
Mallata C → mas de Torres is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
mas de Torres to Val de mamet I
mas de Torres → Val de mamet I is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Val de mamet I to Sierra de los Rincones I
Val de mamet I → Sierra de los Rincones I is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sierra de los Rincones I to Valmayor IV
Sierra de los Rincones I → Valmayor IV is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Valmayor IV to back through Sierra de los Rincones I
Valmayor IV → back through Sierra de los Rincones I is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sierra de los Rincones I to back through Val de mamet I
back through Sierra de los Rincones I → back through Val de mamet I is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Val de mamet I to back through mas de Torres
back through Val de mamet I → back through mas de Torres is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through mas de Torres to Mallata C
back through mas de Torres → Mallata C is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Mallata C and Val de mamet I · 203 km
- Els Secans and Cova del Tabac · 497 km
- Val del Charco del Agua Amarga and Cova del Tabac · 518 km