Why this ride
A 294 km round trip from Candasnos - roughly 5 h 14 in the saddle. It goes by way of Punta del Alcañizano, Cova de les Calobres and back through Punta del Alcañizano.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
mas de Torres and Cova de les Calobres
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 294 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 14
- 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 Punta del Alcañizano.
2. Punta del Alcañizano
Bajo Aragón has the look of a country that works for a living. Olive trees climb the terraces in tidy grey-green rows, almond orchards fill the gaps, and every village seems to own a mill or a cooperative that presses oil under a protected regional name. The Punta del Alcañizano sits in the rolling hills of the Matarraña district, near Valdeltormo and Mazaleón, two villages of a few hundred people each, on the southern edge of Aragón where the land begins to tilt toward Catalonia and the Ebro.
Read the complete Punta del Alcañizano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Punta del Alcañizano comes up 63 km in. Next is Cova de les Calobres.
3. Cova de les Calobres
The Ebro is near its end here. South of Tortosa the river spreads into a flat delta of rice fields, lagoons and sand spits, and the coast of the Baix Ebre curves out into the sea. The Cova de les Calobres, the Cave of the Snakes, is a shelter inland from El Perelló, in the dry limestone hills of the Serra de Cardó. The rock paintings of this area belong to the Mediterranean-arc group that UNESCO listed in 1998, and the nearby shelters have given their names to the ride titles.
Read the complete Cova de les Calobres write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
125 km in you reach Cova de les Calobres. Next is back through Punta del Alcañizano.
4. back through Punta del Alcañizano
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Punta del Alcañizano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Punta del Alcañizano, late in the day. Next is mas de Torres.
5. 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 at mas de Torres. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
mas de Torres to Punta del Alcañizano
mas de Torres → Punta del Alcañizano is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Punta del Alcañizano to Cova de les Calobres
Punta del Alcañizano → Cova de les Calobres is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cova de les Calobres to back through Punta del Alcañizano
Cova de les Calobres → back through Punta del Alcañizano is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Punta del Alcañizano to mas de Torres
back through Punta del Alcañizano → mas de Torres is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.