Cycling on Mallorca, 2006

In late May 2006 we got a week free and booked a trip to Mallorca. We booked just a couple of days before departure, and got a package with a flight and a small appartment in Alcudia, where we had been mountainbiking several times.

We stayed in an enormous resort, Ses Fotges, that would not permit us to have our bikes in the appartment. Needless to say, we are not going back.

Most days we rode up into the Serra de Tramuntana. There are some splendid climbs up to Lluc, from Pollenca and Caimari: great fun in descent.

Of course we did the classic Sa Calobra again but opted to go down to Cala Tuent instead of the tourist bus ghetto at Sa Calobra. Crossing Coll de Sant Llorenc on skinny tires pumped up to nine bars was extremely delicate; the road was so bad we dared not go faster than 10 km/h in descent.

Unfortunately, we had some heavy weather, cold and rain and we were not equipped for it. So, two days we only made short rides close to Alcudia.

Comparing Alcudia to the south west side of the island we felt we had slightly better cycling in Illetas. In fact at some moments we thought we would have been better off in Alcudia with our mountainbikes, ridning the trails to Binifaldo, etc. Though that may be an unfair comparission. We never made it south east to Arta and Cala Torta, as a cold torrential downpour stopped us just a few kilometres into the ride and made us return shivering to our hotel.

Next time on Mallorca our first choice would be Palma or Soller.

In late May 2006 we got a week free and booked a trip to Mallorca. We booked just a couple of days before departure, and got a package with a flight and a small appartment in Alcudia, where we had been mountainbiking several times. We stayed in an enormous resort, Ses Fotges, that would not permit us to have our bikes in the appartment. Needless to say, we are not going back. Most days we rode up into the Serra de Tramuntana. There are some splendid climbs up to Lluc, from Pollenca and Caimari: great fun in descent. A beautiful ride is out to the very nothern tip of Mallorca, Cap Fermontor. There is also a network of backroads that are well signed bike routes. Of course we did the classic Sa Calobra again but opted to go down to Cala Tuent instead of the tourist bus ghetto at Sa Calobra. Crossing Coll de Sant Llorenc on skinny tires pumped up to nine bars was extremely delicate; the road was so bad we dared not go faster than 10 km/h in descent. Unfortunately, we had some heavy weather, cold and rain and we were not equipped for it. So, two days we only made short rides close to Alcudia. Comparing Alcudia to the south west side of the island we felt we had slightly better cycling in Illetas. In fact at some moments we thought we would have been better off in Alcudia with our mountainbikes, ridning the trails to Binifaldo, etc. Though that may be an unfair comparission. We never made it south east to Arta and Cala Torta, as a cold torrential downpour stopped us just a few kilometres into the ride and made us return shivering to our hotel. Next time on Mallorca our first choice would be Palma or Soller.	Boxing the bikes	Lunsen	Elisabeth honking on Coll de la Creueta
	Climbing Coll de sa Batalla	Above Lluc	Break at Turixant de Baix
	Sa Calobra road	Cala Tuent	Climbig the gravel of Coll de Sant Llorenc
	Sa Calobra from above	Fixing a flat	Sa Caloobra switchbacks
	Relaxing	Cap Fermentor	Posing
	Coll de sa Batalla		Designated bike route near Pollenca
	A windy, no swimming Cala Sant Vicenc	Ready to go home