Why this ride
424 km from Juneda to Juneda, about 7 h 03 of riding. It goes by way of Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso, Aqueduct, Mas d'En Llort and Paleochristian cemetery. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Roques Guàrdies II and Paleochristian cemetery
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 424 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 03
- 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: 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. Roques Guàrdies II
Les Garrigues is the dry, stony corner of western Catalonia, south-east of Lleida, a land of low hills, terraced olive groves, almond trees and stone huts, where the light is hard and the summers are hot. Roques Guàrdies II is a rock shelter in these hills near Juneda and Arbeca, with traces of prehistoric paintings in the Levantine style, part of the World Heritage site of rock art in the Mediterranean Basin of the Iberian Peninsula.
Read the complete Roques Guàrdies II write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roques Guàrdies II is where the day begins. Next is Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso.
2. Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso
Behind the Conca de Barberà, where the Catalan plain begins to lift towards the Serra de Prades, a small valley holds the monastery of Poblet, one of the largest and best-preserved Cistercian abbeys in Europe. The Mas d'en Ramon d'en Besso is a farmhouse a few kilometres from Montblanc and from the village of Vimbodí, in wooded country of holm oak, pine and dry-stone terraces with the red cliffs of the Roques Guàrdies nearby.
Read the complete Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso comes up about 47 km into the recorded legs. Next is Aqueduct.
3. Aqueduct
The Pont del Diable, the Devil's Bridge, is not a bridge for people. It is a Roman aqueduct, a tall, two-tiered stone arcade that carried water to Tarraco, modern Tarragona, from the Francolí river, about fifteen kilometres away. It spans a small valley near the road to Constantí, two hundred metres long and about twenty-seven metres high at its tallest point, built of big dressed stones without mortar, and it has stood for roughly two thousand years. UNESCO included it in the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco in 2000.
Read the complete Aqueduct write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 120 km into the recorded legs you reach Aqueduct. Next is Mas d'En Llort.
4. Mas d'En Llort
Montblanc is one of those small Catalan towns that still has its medieval walls, and the Mas d'en Llort label lies a few kilometres from it in the Conca de Barberà, a basin of vineyards and wheat fields ringed by low, scrubby mountains. A mas is a farmhouse, so the spot is probably a rural building or a field track rather than anything with a name on the map, and what you are really riding into is the countryside around it.
Read the complete Mas d'En Llort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mas d'En Llort, about halfway. Next is Paleochristian cemetery.
5. Paleochristian cemetery
When the Roman city of Tarraco converted to Christianity, its people began burying their dead beside the Francolí river, west of the town, and the necropolis that grew up there over the fourth and fifth centuries is now one of the most important early Christian burial sites in the western Mediterranean. Hundreds of tombs were found, from simple graves to carved marble sarcophagi, along with remains of a basilica. Tradition links the site with Saint Fructuosus, the bishop of Tarraco burned in the amphitheatre in the year 259 along with two deacons.
Read the complete Paleochristian cemetery write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Paleochristian cemetery sits at 145 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mas d'En Llort.
6. back through Mas d'En Llort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mas d'En Llort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mas d'En Llort comes up about 255 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Aqueduct.
7. back through Aqueduct
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Aqueduct write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 330 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Aqueduct. Next is back through Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso.
8. back through Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso, late in the day. Next is Roques Guàrdies II.
9. Roques Guàrdies II
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Roques Guàrdies II 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 424 km.
Leg by leg
Roques Guàrdies II to Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso
Roques Guàrdies II → Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso to Aqueduct
Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso → Aqueduct is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Aqueduct to Mas d'En Llort
Aqueduct → Mas d'En Llort is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mas d'En Llort to Paleochristian cemetery
Mas d'En Llort → Paleochristian cemetery is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Paleochristian cemetery to back through Mas d'En Llort
Paleochristian cemetery → back through Mas d'En Llort is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mas d'En Llort to back through Aqueduct
back through Mas d'En Llort → back through Aqueduct is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Aqueduct to back through Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso
back through Aqueduct → back through Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso to Roques Guàrdies II
back through Mas d'En Ramon d'en Besso → Roques Guàrdies II is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.