Why this ride
A 349 km round trip from Mequinensa / Mequinenza - roughly 6 h 55 in the saddle. On the way it passes mas de Torres, Mallata C, Les Coves and back through Mallata C. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Vallbufandes I and Les Coves
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 349 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 55
- 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. Vallbufandes I
Mequinenza sits where three rivers meet. The Segre and the Cinca flow into the Ebro here, and the town has lived by them for centuries, first as a river port and a fortress with a Gothic castle, then as a coal-mining town, with lignite dug from the hills and shipped by barge. In the 1960s, the Ebro was dammed downstream and a huge reservoir, now known as the Mar de Aragón, flooded the valley and swallowed much of the old town. Its people moved to a new town above the water, and the old streets lie under it. It is a poignant story, and locals have not forgotten it.
Read the complete Vallbufandes I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vallbufandes I 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 45 km in. Next is Mallata C.
3. Mallata C
Ontiñena is a small farming village on the Alcanadre river, at the edge of the Monegros, the dry, wind-scoured steppe of central Aragón. Out in the ravines around it, prehistoric people left painted figures in rock shelters, among them the site labelled Mallata C, one of the many small components of the UNESCO listing of Mediterranean rock art. The paintings are small, simple and best seen with a local guide, and the walk there crosses a landscape that seems built for epic films: gypsum hills, eroded gullies and wide skies.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
89 km in you reach Mallata C. Next is Les Coves.
4. Les Coves
The western edge of Catalonia, around Lleida, is fruit country. Irrigation canals bring water from the Pyrenean rivers to a broad, flat plain of orchards growing apples, pears and peaches, laid out in neat lines that stretch to the horizon. Les Coves lies in this area, close to the Aragonese border, between Alfarràs, Albelda and Algerri, where the valley of the Noguera Ribagorçana spills out of the hills and onto the plain.
Read the complete Les Coves write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Les Coves, about halfway. Next is back through Mallata C.
5. back through Mallata C
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mallata C write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mallata C sits at 179 km, about halfway. Next is back through mas de Torres.
6. 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 comes up 223 km in. Next is Vallbufandes I.
7. Vallbufandes I
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vallbufandes I write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vallbufandes I closes the day.
Leg by leg
Vallbufandes I to mas de Torres
Vallbufandes I → mas de Torres is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
mas de Torres to Mallata C
mas de Torres → Mallata C is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mallata C to Les Coves
Mallata C → Les Coves is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Les Coves to back through Mallata C
Les Coves → back through Mallata C is 66 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Mallata C to back through mas de Torres
back through Mallata C → back through mas de Torres is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through mas de Torres to Vallbufandes I
back through mas de Torres → Vallbufandes I is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Bco. de Campells II and Les Coves · 360 km
- Bco. de Campells I and Les Coves · 358 km
- Bco. de la Plana II and Les Coves · 351 km
- Bco. de la Plana I and Les Coves · 351 km