Why this ride
A 579 km round trip from Almadén - roughly 10 h 24 in the saddle. The stops in between: La Alamedilla, Abrigo de D. Pedro mota and back through La Alamedilla. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Royal Forced Labour Gaol and Abrigo de D. Pedro mota
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 579 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 24
- 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. Royal Forced Labour Gaol
Almadén sits on one of the great mercury deposits of the world, and its history is one of wealth, danger and forced labour. Cinnabar, the red ore from which mercury is extracted, was mined here from Roman times, and for centuries the town produced a large share of the world's supply of the liquid metal. It was vital to the economy of the Spanish empire, because mercury was used to extract silver from ore in the mines of Mexico and Peru, so Almadén in effect fuelled the silver trade. In the sixteenth century the Spanish crown leased the mines to the Fugger banking family of Augsburg, who ran them for a long time and brought German miners to the town.
Read the complete Royal Forced Labour Gaol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Royal Forced Labour Gaol is where the day begins. Next is La Alamedilla.
2. La Alamedilla
Nobody lives close to this point, and that is its main fact. It lies in the eastern Sierra Morena, in the wild border country between Córdoba and Jaén, where holm oak and cork oak cover steep, empty hills and the nearest villages, Mestanza, Baños de la Encina and Cardeña, are all more than twenty-five kilometres away. The ride titles link it with the mercury mines of Almadén, whose Royal Forced Labour Gaol and miners' hospital are part of a UNESCO listing shared with Idrija in Slovenia, but Almadén lies far to the north-west, and the connection is a routing choice rather than a neighbourhood.
Read the complete La Alamedilla write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
La Alamedilla comes up 95 km in. Next is Abrigo de D. Pedro mota, 94 km on.
3. Abrigo de D. Pedro mota
Aldeaquemada means the burnt village, which tells you something about how rough the Sierra Morena used to be. This is a thinly populated corner of Jaén province, on the edge of the Despeñaperros range, and the shelter named after D. Pedro Mota is one of a large group of painted rock shelters in the hills. The paintings belong to what archaeologists call Levantine and Schematic rock art, small red and black figures of people, animals and symbols made by prehistoric hunters and later farming communities, and UNESCO listed the whole Mediterranean-arc group in 1998.
Read the complete Abrigo de D. Pedro mota write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
189 km in you reach Abrigo de D. Pedro mota. Next is back through La Alamedilla.
4. back through La Alamedilla
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete La Alamedilla write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through La Alamedilla, late in the day. Next is Royal Forced Labour Gaol.
5. Royal Forced Labour Gaol
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Royal Forced Labour Gaol write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Royal Forced Labour Gaol. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Royal Forced Labour Gaol to La Alamedilla
Royal Forced Labour Gaol → La Alamedilla is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
La Alamedilla to Abrigo de D. Pedro mota
La Alamedilla → Abrigo de D. Pedro mota is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Abrigo de D. Pedro mota to back through La Alamedilla
Abrigo de D. Pedro mota → back through La Alamedilla is 72 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through La Alamedilla to Royal Forced Labour Gaol
back through La Alamedilla → Royal Forced Labour Gaol is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.