Tag: Castell de Castells

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

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

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Pego Loop via Puerto de La Vall d’Ebo & Puerto de Tollos

The last day of my Denia cycling adventure has arrived already & today we embarked on a loop on some of the most remote roads in the area. We began with another commute to Pego & parked just outside town on an industrial estate. Under slate grey skies, we began the climb up to the Puerto de la Vall d’Ebo, perhaps the most scenic climb in the region.

The lower slopes rose through a forested section, & during this section a group of Brits quickly cruised onto my wheel, said a cheery ‘Good morning’ & pedalled off into the distance. A timely reminder of my place in the pecking order on the climbs!! About halfway up the 6 mile climb, the view opened up & we could make out the road below as it snaked its way up the mountain, with the Mediterranean providing the perfect backdrop.

58 minutes after setting off we were at the summit of Puerto de la Vall d’Ebo, some 1,800 feet above out start point. We stopped for a selfie, then descended into the village of Vall d’Ebo, where we took a left onto a tiny track that immediately started climbing again.

The lower slopes were both steep & barren, but soon the gradient eased off & we entered a lush, green, ‘hidden’ valley.

We descended to the larger CV-720 for the gentle climb into Castell de Castells where we stopped for a café con leche & a slice of manzana brazo gitano (think of an apple filled Swiss Roll).

We stayed on the CV-720 & continued climbing through the trees until we reached the summit of the climb at the small village of Fageca. The views across the valley were stunning – in the far distance we could make out Planes, which we had visited earlier in the week.

Our next climb was short but brutal, as the gradient pitched up to 16% again on the way to the Puerto de Tollos. We were in an area of forest that had been affected by fire – I’m not sure if the charred trees were the result of natural fires or controlled burning.

As we bounced along a ridgeline, we spotted a natural arch in the far distance, something that instantly transported me back in time to 2009, & a previous cycling adventure in Moab, Utah that included a side trip to Arches National Park.

We hadn’t seen a car for more than 45 minutes as we continued to follow the natural contours of the surrounding landscape – we built up enough speed on the sweeping descents that we could get halfway up the next drag without needing to pedal.

Cova del Rull provided 1 last opportunity to capture the majesty of the surrounding mountains before we swooped back into Vall d’Ebo to complete the ‘loop’ element of the ride. Ahead of us was the short side of the climb back up to Puerto de La Vall d’Ebo.

The views on the descent of Vall d’Ebo were completely different now the sun was out & backdrop was a blue sky, rather than grey clouds of earlier in the morning.

Even the Mediterranean looked a different colour. We stopped to stage 1 final action shot, before heading back to the car in Pego.

Today’s ride felt like the perfect way to end our adventure, as we explored remote backroads, experience rugged scenery & enjoy a local delicacy. I had to delay writing Friday’s update, as we had to take the bikes apart & pack last night, due to having an early start this morning.

Denia was a great base, with lots of bars & restaurants within a 15 minute walk of our hotel. The Hotel Nou Roma was perfect for our needs, with car parking on-site, delicious breakfast options & peaceful rooms. At some point in the future I feel sure I’ll return to explore more of the region. In the meantime, I’m already beginning to think about my next cycling adventure!

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

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

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Coll de Rates & Puerto de sa Crueta Loop

My final cycling adventure of 2024 finds me in the cycling mecca that is Denia, Spain. Denia is over 2,000 years old & much of its history revolves around its port & castle. We’re staying in the Nou Roma Hotel which is situated next to the castle. Once more we’ve picked a great base for a week of cycling!

We woke up to grey skies, which turned to showery rain as we met up at 9.15. This wasn’t going to deter our plans, as the temperature was in the high 20’s centigrade & the forecast predicted the rain wouldn’t last long. After navigating our way across town, we picked up a small 2-lane road that took us past orange & lemon groves. The first 5 miles were flat, so it gave us an opportunity to get our legs warmed up for the challenge ahead.

As we crossed under the motorway at Pedreguer we got our first peak of the big hills / small mountains that makes this region so popular with cyclists. Although we were still on wet roads, the rain had stopped & we could see a small sliver of blue sky in the distance, so things were already looking up in more ways than 1.

Our first climb of the day didn’t have a name, but it was about 5 miles in length & we gained about 1,000 of elevation. The gradient was a friendly 3% to 5% for most of the climb & the 1 standout sight was seeing a fully loaded horse & cart that was heading to Pedreguer for the Sunday market.

As we reached the small town of Parcent, we hit the lower slopes of the Coll de Rates which rises about 1,200 feet in a little under 4 miles – the pro riders will use this as a full-gas effort (the King of the Mountain record is 12 minutes 38 seconds & the Queen of the Mountain is 14 minutes 45 seconds), whereas my time of 44 minutes 30 seconds suggests I’m not quite at that level!!

We began the climb in a pine forest, but as we neared the summit, the views opened up all the way across to Denia, some 20 miles away.

We stopped for strawberry cheesecake, café con leche & an ice-cold coke. Due to the early morning rain, I was wearing water resistant kit (that also retains heat), so I was feeling like a boil-in-the-bag meal by this point!

After a brief descent into the town of Tarbena we turned right & began the last big climb of the day up to Puerto de sa Crueta. This was a 1,000-foot ascent in the space of 4 miles, but the gradient was inconsistent the whole way up. The final couple of hundred yards hit 13%, which certainly tested my climbing legs!

The good news was it was literally all downhill from this point – we had climbed 4,000 feet in the first 26 miles, whereas the next 26 miles would have less than 500 feet of uphill. Happy days!

My extra ballast pays dividends on the descents & I quickly freewheeled away from Sean as we headed towards Castell del Castells (ironically, it didn’t have a castle of any sort!). At 1 point Sean tagged on to a couple of locals who rode him back up to my wheel.

Our loop returned us to Pedreguer & from there we retraced our tire tracks to out hotel in Denia. Having set out in light rain, we enjoyed sun for most of the day & ended up riding on near deserted roads. I think we saw more cyclists today than motorists – always the sign of a great route on a cycling trip.