Tag: Barranc d’Almundaina y Planes Reservoir

Denia Cycling Adventure: Challenging Climbs & Scenic Descents – Day Five

Denia Cycling Adventure: Challenging Climbs & Scenic Descents – Day Five

gavscyclingadventures

Planes & Lorcha Loop

Today’s adventure began with a 30-minute commute in the car to the small town of Pego. We were riding by just after 9.30am & headed up a wide valley road CV-700) that gradually narrowed for the first 3 or 4 miles. As we passed through Benirrama the valley widened, with bare rock faces visible high above us.

We briefly left the main road & joined a narrow track that took us ever higher into the mountains & offered up brief view of Benissile. This was perhaps the most remote landscape of our adventures to date.

After 1 hour 45 minutes of climbing, we finally reached our first summit of the day – we had climbed 2,000 feet in 16 miles. Now it was time to enjoy the descent as we looked across to Planes, where would retrace our tyre tracks from Monday’s ride.

There was a short descent where in the space of ½ mile I went from a standing start (I wanted to get a photo of Sean with the mountains in the background) to 46 mph. The road was almost ruler straight except for an ‘S’ bend at the bottom which could be straightened out of there was no traffic coming the other way.

There were a couple of places where cars & camper vans could access the reservoir (the white blob in the middle photo below is a camper van parked on the beach) with huge views to the mountains in the far distance.

After skirting the reservoir & crossing the barrage, we picked up the main road into Beniarres where we topped up our water bottles & enjoyed our 2nd descent of the day into Lorcha, which had an ancient castle perched on a rocky outcrop high above us. As we hit the valley floor we knew we were in for a long climb up the valley wall.

The climb was just over 6 miles in length & the gradient hit 17% at its steepest. There was a ½ mile section where the gradient didn’t drop below 14% (I was doing less than 4mph) – that’s hard going on day 5 of a cycling trip! The views in all directions were stunning, but I only managed to get 1 photo, which was of Sean as he battled his way up a steep ramp.

We ascended 1,500 feet in a little under an hour, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story, or give the context. The climb split into a spiteful opening 2 miles, followed by a gentle 3.5-mile stretch, then a brutal final last ½ mile. This was the 1st climb that had an Alpine & Pyrenean feel to it.

The view from the summit made the climb worth every pedal revolution. We could see the Mediterranean in the far distance & we also quickly realised how much descending we would be enjoying.

The descent was switchback heaven with views across the coastal plains all the way across to Oliva, some 10 miles in the distance.

We were at sea-level in next to no time & all that remained was to battle a cross-headwind back into Pego.

On the drive back to the hotel I picked up my bike which had been repaired & also dropped off my rental bike. It was my 1st time riding a Scott Addict & it did me proud. A big thank you to Cycles Desnivell for sorting out my rental bike at no notice.

Denia Cycling Adventure: Challenging Climbs & Scenic Descents – Day Two

Denia Cycling Adventure: Challenging Climbs & Scenic Descents – Day Two

gavscyclingadventures

Beniarres Loop Including Mont Benicadell

Today’s adventure began with a 55-mile commute by car to the town of Ontinyent, a small town nestled in on the valley floor but surrounded by large hills & mountains. Our planned ride was 54 miles in length with 4,700 feet of climbing, so we would be either climbing or descending for most of the day.

Within 2 miles of leaving Ontinyent, we passed Pou Clar swimming lake in a small canyon & this marked the start of our first ascent of the day. The gradient was a gentle 3% to 5% as we climbed the river valley via the CV-81 for about 4 miles. As we reached the summit, we took a left onto the CV-700 & followed the valley floor for about 5 miles as we passed through the towns of Alfafara & Agres.

The road descended for the next 7 miles as we headed towards Benamer. This was a temporary reprieve as the next 6 miles were mainly uphill with no protection from the sun, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees centigrade. Much of the route was on remote roads, which meant we didn’t have a coffee stop & we were permanently on the lookout for public water fountains to keep our bidons topped up.

As we reached Planes we took a left & skirted the edge of Barranc d’Almundaina y Planes reservoir. There were a few steep climbs & descents (I hit 46 mph on 1 of the descents & less than 4.6 mph on the climbs!). After we crossed the dam, we had a choice of following a main road to Beniarres or taking the road less travelled via some small single-track lanes.

The summit of Mont Benicadell would mark the boundary between Provincia d’Alicant & Provincia de Valenciana, but first we had to conquer the 5-mile, 900-foot climb – today we had the added challenge of climbing into a headwind! The views back to the reservoir made the effort worthwhile.

The 3-mile descent into Salem offered huge views down to the valley floor below. By now we were 3 hours into the ride & had only covered 34 miles – the constant up & down nature of the route also started to play havoc with my feet, as I began to experience numbness / pins & needles from the pressure I was putting on the pedals. This has happened before, so I knew that my best way of managing the pain was to stop for 5 minutes & take the weight off my feet.

In addition to my sore feet, the gears on my bike were jumping, which was causing me a few gear selection issues on the uphill sections – as the ride progressed, the issues increased. Luckily the final 20 miles were a bit flatter, as we wound our way through orange & lemon groves which had been planted in terraces.

My first job in the morning will be to find a bike repair shop that can fix my gear cable issues & potentially get a hire bike sorted out. I’ve seen a few options already, so hopefully it won’t interrupt my cycling plans.