The range of hills between San Carlos and the village of San Vicente provide stacks of great riding. The hills are densely wooded and criss-crossed with trails. The highest point is 404m (1325ft). I like to call them "the mountains" although this is something of an exaggeration.
The route at the link below is my favourite one in this area. It crosses the spine of hills twice - from the San Carlos side over to San Vicente and then back again. There is lots of sustained climbing and descending on rough, rocky tracks.
Distance 14.5 miles.
Ascent 2000 feet.
Time: 1.5 - 3 hours.
Difficulty: sustained and steep climbs.
Garmin Connect Link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42049935
You can do this route in either direction. Your choice is whether you prefer a 3 mile slog up the road from San Vicente followed by an exhillarating offroad descent (if you follow the direction of the GPS route given) or to do the ascent offroad and the descent on-road if you reverse the direction.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
San Carlos to Torre Den Valls
I first rode in Ibiza four years ago. I borrowed an 80s, no suspension, MTB and headed out on the trails with very little idea of what I would find. I was captivated by that first ride. The trails of Ibiza take you to remote-feeling forests of pine, loud with cicadas; through characteristic tiny rust-red fields dotted with almond, olive and carob trees; onto rocky foreshores where you can watch the mega-yachts cruise by. The common characteristics are heat, dust, rocks and steep hills. This ride follows much of the route of that first ride, but I've used the knowledge gained in the last four years to make it even better. It's a great introduction to Ibiza riding and is a route I do frequently.
I offer you three challenges within this ride. Two of these are sections that I have never managed to ride but that I believe are possible. The third is a section that I have ridden once but which is hard enough to provide some fun.
Distance 10.5 miles.
Ascent 1200 feet.
Time: 1-2 hours.
Difficulty: some sustained and steep climbs. Some small sections of moderate technical difficulty.
Garmin Connect Link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/43008001
The ride starts and ends at Anita's bar in San Carlos.
Ride away from the bar, behind the church, in the direction signposted Cala Llena.
Take the first left, signposted to the museum, after about 200 metres. The road rises steeply and, on the first bend, you will see the path up to the museum. This is worth a visit. It opens only when the tourist train comes to visit, but this seems to be reliably at 4pm on weekdays, and if you roll up at the same time then the custodians are happy to let you in for a small charge.
Where the road turns sharp left, carry straight on up a roughly surfaced track.
This climbs steeply up the hill until it reaches a house on the brow. The track continues straight ahead, to the left of the house, and is reasonably clear if rather overgrown with wild fennel.
The track extends over the brow and then drops steeply, initially over bare rock and then loose stones. Typical Ibizan fields extend on both sides and you often see peacocks here.
Enjoy the descent and stick with the track as it is joined by another from the left. The track then rises past a large house on the right then drops again before taking a sharp right, at which point you should take the smaller track straight in front.
Continue until you reach a T-junction: turn left. Ride along this track until it turns sharply left by a garage. You have a choice of three tracks: take the middle one.
Now you start a long climb out of the valley which will eventually take you over the ridge and into the next valley. Ride up the track for just under a mile. It is initially quite a gentle climb, leaving farmland and entering the woods. There is an interesting circular stone structure on the right hand side on the way up - perhaps a well. A track joins from the right and the track gets steeper and rougher, passing a tennis court which appears to stand alone in the middle of deserted woods. Eventually you reach a T-junction, where you go right and continue a short way until you see a ruined building on another T-junction.
Go right and then right again onto a steep concrete road. Ride up to the top of this road and along until you see the sign for Can Talaias. Take the road to the left of the sign.
Ride into the grounds of Can Talaias and almost immediately take the track to your left. This takes you past first chickens and then pigs before dropping steeply down to a large clearing in the woods. Turn left, where there is a steep, rocky trail. Ride about one tenth of a mile down this trail, and then look carefully for a path on the right: it is easy to miss. This is the entrance to a very rare (in Ibiza) section of single-track. If you reach a much wider section of the main track then you have gone about 10m too far - backtrack.
Drop onto the section of single-track and fiddle your way down over rock steps and roots.
Eventually you will rejoin the main track. Go right and follow the track down to the road.
Turn left on to the road and after only about 50m turn right into a farm track with a gate.
Go through the gate and along the track past the farmhouse, through another gate and then right at the T-junction following.
This is a great track which runs all the way down to the coast. You can get up some serious speed down here, but be careful, there are houses at the bottom and it's possible that you might meet a car.
At the bottom you hit the coast. I usually pause here to enjoy the view.
You can see a tower high on the headland opposite: this is your eventual destination. The coast here is unusual layered sandstone and is quite spectacular. When you are ready to continue go right and follow the coast until you can do so no longer. You will find a short but steep and extremely rocky descent to the beach. This is challenge number 1. I have never managed to ride down to the beach but I'm sure it's possible if you have some combination of guts, skill and body armour.
Ride across the beach and up to the gravel access road to the main road where you emerge alongside the Pou D'es Lleo restaurant (apparently renowned for fish). Remember this junction, you will be returning to it shortly. Turn left onto the road and take the track that forks right as the road terminates at the very picturesque little bay. Ride along the track, past the Salvado restaurant on the left (my favourite paella restaurant, very popular with locals on Sunday lunchtime) onwards and upwards, sticking to the main track. Eventually you will reach a very steep and rocky access road to the tower. This is challenge number 2. I have got so, so close to riding to the top but I have never quite managed it.
Have a poke around the tower and then retrace your steps. The descent is fun - be careful on the initial steep section from the tower but then you can blast it all the way back down to the Salvado restaurant.
Continue to retrace your steps until you get back to where you emerged from the track from the beach, alongside the Pou D'es Lleo restaurant. Opposite this is another track -
- take this. Follow the main track past farm buildings and dovecote, winding through farmland, until you see a large white building. Turn left before it, into the car park, and exit the car park onto the road (photo). This is Cala Boix.
After a short while there is a junction on the left signposted Cala Mastella. Follow this road along and then steeply down through hairpins into Cala Mastella. On the right there is a steep, white, concrete road with a no-through-road sign.
Go up here. You are pretty much at sea level here so brace yourself for the long climb up over the pass, at 500 feet, that lies about a mile and a half further on. Follow the track, up, up, up and then up some more. The main track turns sharply left not far after you start, but it's pretty obvious. After much climbing you will eventually find yourself in the clearing in the woods that you visited earlier. Retrace your steps back up past the pigs and chickens, out of Can Talaias grounds, down the steep concrete hill and then first left - but when you see the ruined building carry straight on instead of turning left. Ride up this (quite steep) track until you reach the summit, where there is a ludicrously steep bit of concrete road that will lead you back down to Anita's bar.
This is the third challenge. Can you turn around and ride up the top section of this concrete road? It's surprisingly difficult.
That's it. The concrete road will take you right back to the starting point of the ride. Be very careful - it is tempting to go very fast down here but the junction at the end arrives unexpectedly and is onto a busy road. It would be easy to slide out of the end of the track and straight under a truck.
Anita's bar provides the obvious refreshment stop at the end of the ride, although there are several others in close proximity that are equally good if not better.
I offer you three challenges within this ride. Two of these are sections that I have never managed to ride but that I believe are possible. The third is a section that I have ridden once but which is hard enough to provide some fun.
Distance 10.5 miles.
Ascent 1200 feet.
Time: 1-2 hours.
Difficulty: some sustained and steep climbs. Some small sections of moderate technical difficulty.
Garmin Connect Link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/43008001
The ride starts and ends at Anita's bar in San Carlos.
Ride away from the bar, behind the church, in the direction signposted Cala Llena.
Take the first left, signposted to the museum, after about 200 metres. The road rises steeply and, on the first bend, you will see the path up to the museum. This is worth a visit. It opens only when the tourist train comes to visit, but this seems to be reliably at 4pm on weekdays, and if you roll up at the same time then the custodians are happy to let you in for a small charge.
Where the road turns sharp left, carry straight on up a roughly surfaced track.
This climbs steeply up the hill until it reaches a house on the brow. The track continues straight ahead, to the left of the house, and is reasonably clear if rather overgrown with wild fennel.
The track extends over the brow and then drops steeply, initially over bare rock and then loose stones. Typical Ibizan fields extend on both sides and you often see peacocks here.
Enjoy the descent and stick with the track as it is joined by another from the left. The track then rises past a large house on the right then drops again before taking a sharp right, at which point you should take the smaller track straight in front.
Continue until you reach a T-junction: turn left. Ride along this track until it turns sharply left by a garage. You have a choice of three tracks: take the middle one.
Now you start a long climb out of the valley which will eventually take you over the ridge and into the next valley. Ride up the track for just under a mile. It is initially quite a gentle climb, leaving farmland and entering the woods. There is an interesting circular stone structure on the right hand side on the way up - perhaps a well. A track joins from the right and the track gets steeper and rougher, passing a tennis court which appears to stand alone in the middle of deserted woods. Eventually you reach a T-junction, where you go right and continue a short way until you see a ruined building on another T-junction.
Go right and then right again onto a steep concrete road. Ride up to the top of this road and along until you see the sign for Can Talaias. Take the road to the left of the sign.
Ride into the grounds of Can Talaias and almost immediately take the track to your left. This takes you past first chickens and then pigs before dropping steeply down to a large clearing in the woods. Turn left, where there is a steep, rocky trail. Ride about one tenth of a mile down this trail, and then look carefully for a path on the right: it is easy to miss. This is the entrance to a very rare (in Ibiza) section of single-track. If you reach a much wider section of the main track then you have gone about 10m too far - backtrack.
Drop onto the section of single-track and fiddle your way down over rock steps and roots.
Eventually you will rejoin the main track. Go right and follow the track down to the road.
Turn left on to the road and after only about 50m turn right into a farm track with a gate.
Go through the gate and along the track past the farmhouse, through another gate and then right at the T-junction following.
This is a great track which runs all the way down to the coast. You can get up some serious speed down here, but be careful, there are houses at the bottom and it's possible that you might meet a car.
At the bottom you hit the coast. I usually pause here to enjoy the view.
You can see a tower high on the headland opposite: this is your eventual destination. The coast here is unusual layered sandstone and is quite spectacular. When you are ready to continue go right and follow the coast until you can do so no longer. You will find a short but steep and extremely rocky descent to the beach. This is challenge number 1. I have never managed to ride down to the beach but I'm sure it's possible if you have some combination of guts, skill and body armour.
Ride across the beach and up to the gravel access road to the main road where you emerge alongside the Pou D'es Lleo restaurant (apparently renowned for fish). Remember this junction, you will be returning to it shortly. Turn left onto the road and take the track that forks right as the road terminates at the very picturesque little bay. Ride along the track, past the Salvado restaurant on the left (my favourite paella restaurant, very popular with locals on Sunday lunchtime) onwards and upwards, sticking to the main track. Eventually you will reach a very steep and rocky access road to the tower. This is challenge number 2. I have got so, so close to riding to the top but I have never quite managed it.
Have a poke around the tower and then retrace your steps. The descent is fun - be careful on the initial steep section from the tower but then you can blast it all the way back down to the Salvado restaurant.
Continue to retrace your steps until you get back to where you emerged from the track from the beach, alongside the Pou D'es Lleo restaurant. Opposite this is another track -
- take this. Follow the main track past farm buildings and dovecote, winding through farmland, until you see a large white building. Turn left before it, into the car park, and exit the car park onto the road (photo). This is Cala Boix.
After a short while there is a junction on the left signposted Cala Mastella. Follow this road along and then steeply down through hairpins into Cala Mastella. On the right there is a steep, white, concrete road with a no-through-road sign.
Go up here. You are pretty much at sea level here so brace yourself for the long climb up over the pass, at 500 feet, that lies about a mile and a half further on. Follow the track, up, up, up and then up some more. The main track turns sharply left not far after you start, but it's pretty obvious. After much climbing you will eventually find yourself in the clearing in the woods that you visited earlier. Retrace your steps back up past the pigs and chickens, out of Can Talaias grounds, down the steep concrete hill and then first left - but when you see the ruined building carry straight on instead of turning left. Ride up this (quite steep) track until you reach the summit, where there is a ludicrously steep bit of concrete road that will lead you back down to Anita's bar.
This is the third challenge. Can you turn around and ride up the top section of this concrete road? It's surprisingly difficult.
That's it. The concrete road will take you right back to the starting point of the ride. Be very careful - it is tempting to go very fast down here but the junction at the end arrives unexpectedly and is onto a busy road. It would be easy to slide out of the end of the track and straight under a truck.
Anita's bar provides the obvious refreshment stop at the end of the ride, although there are several others in close proximity that are equally good if not better.
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