Why this ride
A 271 km round trip from Candasnos - roughly 4 h 53 in the saddle. On the way it passes Bco. de la Plana II, Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés, Albi II / Balma dels Punts and back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
mas de Torres and Albi II / Balma dels Punts
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 271 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 53
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Bco. de la Plana II, 35 km on.
2. Bco. de la Plana II
Mequinenza is a town that was moved. In the 1960s the Ebro was dammed below the confluence with the Segre and the Cinca, and the new reservoir, known as the Mar de Aragón, drowned the old river valley. The old town was largely abandoned and its people rehoused up the slope, which is why the place feels more planned than ancient. What remained was the castle on its rock, a coal-mining history that fed the power stations of the lower Ebro, and a landscape of limestone ridges, pine and rock rose dropping to a long, green-blue lake. The Barranco de la Plana is one of the dry ravines running down to it, and the shelter that gives this stop its name sits among the rock art of the Mediterranean Basin that UNESCO listed in 1998.
Read the complete Bco. de la Plana II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bco. de la Plana II comes up 35 km in. Next is Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés.
3. Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés
South of Lleida the irrigated orchards give way abruptly to dry, open steppe, and the little village of Alfés sits on the edge of that change. The Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés are rock paintings in a small sandstone shelter near the village, schematic designs in red pigment, mostly abstract lines, dots and simplified figures, that belong to the later, more symbolic phase of prehistoric art in eastern Spain, and they are included in the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean Basin rock art. They are modest to look at, but there is something powerful about seeing marks left by people thousands of years ago in such an open, wind-swept place.
Read the complete Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
69 km in you reach Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés. Next is Albi II / Balma dels Punts.
4. Albi II / Balma dels Punts
L'Albi is a small village on a hill in Les Garrigues, the dry, olive-covered district southeast of Lleida, and its name appears in the archaeological record thanks to rock shelters in the area, including the Balma dels Punts, the shelter of the dots. The name suggests schematic paintings in the form of dots and lines, typical of the later phase of prehistoric art in the region, and the site is part of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The shelters are small and fragile, and some can only be visited with a guide, so check with the town hall or a local interpretation centre before heading out.
Read the complete Albi II / Balma dels Punts write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Albi II / Balma dels Punts, about halfway. Next is back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés.
5. back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Bco. de la Plana II, 34 km on.
6. back through Bco. de la Plana II
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bco. de la Plana II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bco. de la Plana II comes up 173 km in. Next is mas de Torres.
7. 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
mas de Torres closes the day.
Leg by leg
mas de Torres to Bco. de la Plana II
mas de Torres → Bco. de la Plana II is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bco. de la Plana II to Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés
Bco. de la Plana II → Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés to Albi II / Balma dels Punts
Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés → Albi II / Balma dels Punts is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Albi II / Balma dels Punts to back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés
Albi II / Balma dels Punts → back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés to back through Bco. de la Plana II
back through Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés → back through Bco. de la Plana II is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bco. de la Plana II to mas de Torres
back through Bco. de la Plana II → mas de Torres is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.