Today’s Mountain biking outing with my good friend David, of Mountain Biking Valencia.
Starting in La Drova we set off at 10 am, via Barx and then a very steep climb up the Pinet Pass (ouch) then some high mountain riding and a very dramatic descent into the village of Pinet. Time for coffee and to discuss the rest of the route for the day.
We set off again on an off-road track that leads down to the village of Llutxent,… some really nice riding,… sharp short accents followed by lovely sweeping descents, through pine forests, olive grooves and orchards.
From Llutxent through to Castello de Rugat, we followed country lanes and bridal paths through the valley, to our next coffee stop, and route discussion. We decided to take the CV-705, mountain pass and avoid the steeper climb via Benicadell,… a good decision for the day, and we got to see the valley from a very different perspective. We lunched at the summit of the pass, with magnificent views back across the valley with our home mountains in the distance. Looking in the opposite direction was Beniares, and the next valley, and a descent that was just awesome!!
A very rapid descent followed lunch, and we managed speeds of up to 50km per hour, on a good surfaced road that took us to the base of the next valley and on to Lorcha,…We followed the river Serpis trail from here back to Villalonga, and by 5pm, we were celebrating the successful completion of the mountain biking route, with our final coffee of the day.
The route was 61kms, with 1952 metres of ascent! According to my GPS we burned 3266 calories. Maximum speed was almost 50km/hr.
