Why this ride
A 70 km round trip from Candasnos - roughly 1 h 12 in the saddle. It goes by way of Val de mamet I, Sierra de los Rincones I and back through Val de mamet I.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
mas de Torres and Sierra de los Rincones I
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 70 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 12
- 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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. 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 Val de mamet I.
2. 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
Val de mamet I comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sierra de los Rincones I.
3. 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
about 35 km into the recorded legs you reach Sierra de los Rincones I. Next is back through Val de mamet I.
4. 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
back through Val de mamet I, 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 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 back through Val de mamet I
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 mas de Torres
back through Val de mamet I → mas de Torres is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.