Why this ride
292 km from Valdeltormo to Valdeltormo, about 5 h 01 of riding. On the way it passes mas de Torres, Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés and back through mas de Torres. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Punta del Alcañizano and Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 292 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 01
- 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. 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 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 66 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
132 km in you reach Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés. Next is back through mas de Torres.
4. 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 Punta del Alcañizano.
5. 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 at Punta del Alcañizano. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Punta del Alcañizano to mas de Torres
Punta del Alcañizano → mas de Torres is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
mas de Torres to Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés
mas de Torres → Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés to back through mas de Torres
Pintures Rupestres d'Alfés → back through mas de Torres is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through mas de Torres to Punta del Alcañizano
back through mas de Torres → Punta del Alcañizano is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.