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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Villaroges and Cova de Gargán

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
217 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 57
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.

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Why this ride

A 217 km round trip from Ares del Maestre - roughly 4 h 57 in the saddle. The stops in between: Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla, Cova de Gargán and back through Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Villaroges

    Villaroges is one of those names that appears on a map of prehistoric sites rather than a road atlas, somewhere in the high country of the Alt Maestrat between Benassal, Culla and Vilafranca. It belongs to the extraordinary concentration of rock art in the mountains of Castellón, where small painted shelters are scattered through the ravines, protected as part of the UNESCO-listed rock art of the Mediterranean Basin. Exactly where the panel lies, and whether it can be visited, is a question for the local tourist office or the museum at Tírig; treat the name as an invitation into one of the emptiest and most beautiful corners of eastern Spain.

    Read the complete Villaroges write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Villaroges is where the day begins. Next is Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla.

  2. 2. Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla

    This is high Maestrat country, where Castellón's mountains roll into Teruel's, and the small rock shelter called the Covatina del Tossalet del Mas de la Rambla belongs to a family of sites that UNESCO lists together as the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula. Under overhangs like this one, hunters and early farmers painted small, lively figures in red and black: archers in mid-stride, deer and ibex, scenes of hunting and gathering. The style, called Levantine art, is unusual for its movement and its storytelling, and many of the shelters are tiny, fragile and kept behind fences. Access is often by guided visit only, so check with the local tourist office before you count on seeing the paintings.

    Read the complete Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cova de Gargán.

  3. 3. Cova de Gargán

    High in the interior of Castellón, where the coastal orange groves are long forgotten and the land climbs toward the Penyagolosa massif, the shelter known as Cova de Gargán sits in a country of limestone ledges, holm oak and dry-stone terraces. Vistabella del Maestrazgo is the nearest village, a handful of kilometres away on its high plateau, with Villahermosa del Río down in its valley to the other side and Lucena del Cid a little further south. It is quiet up here in a way that the coast never is.

    Read the complete Cova de Gargán write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 108 km into the recorded legs you reach Cova de Gargán. Next is back through Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla.

  4. 4. back through Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla, late in the day. Next is Villaroges.

  5. 5. Villaroges

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Villaroges write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Back at Villaroges. That is the ride.

Leg by leg

Villaroges to Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla

Villaroges → Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla to Cova de Gargán

Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla → Cova de Gargán is 86 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Cova de Gargán to back through Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla

Cova de Gargán → back through Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla is 77 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla to Villaroges

back through Covatina del Tossalet del mas de !a Rambla → Villaroges is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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