Leonie and I were in Mallorca cycle touring over the last six days… It was generally good but very hot… too hot. The trip went a bit like this.

Day 0 – Freiburg to Palma, Mallorca

We took Leonie’s race car (i.e. her car which makes a continuous grrrrr sound as the gears are bung) and drove to Baden-Baden airport after work. We flew to Palma, the capital city of Mallorca. From there we unpacked our bikes and spent a long long time trying to put them together. Somehow we twisted the chain on Leonie’s bike and couldn’t seem to work out how to untwist it. Finally after a long time of trying, I applied brute force and we were in action. We rode to our hotel in the heat of the night passing along the seaside on our way.

Above left: On arrival we spent ages trying to get the chain back onto my bike after it had twisted horribly. By the time we left the airport it was dark. Above right: We set off well laden towards a hotel in Palma.

Above: Arrival at our hotel.

Time: 0:54:14 Dst: 14.47 km Avg: 16.02 km/h Max: 33.43 km/h

Day 1 – Palma to near Port Andratx

We left late and it was already scorching hot. We got some food from a supermarket and rode a wee way along the coast until we found a beach to have breakfast. Then it was further along near the coast melting all the way. After some time the heat got too much and we stopped at a little beach and I went swimming and Leonie showered in the little after-swimming shower at the shore. After some cooling down we set off again heading further around the coast and finally finding a camping spot in the evening near Port Andratx. We were of course free camping which is not allowed. It’s actually quite hard to find a spot to free camp as everything seems to be fenced off.

We found a little slightly sloping track which was likely on private property and set up our tent. It was very very dry and lighting fires is not allowed (at least not in summer). I was a little apprehensive about using my cooker so Leonie constructed a little cooking spot from rocks and I set up the cooker on top of that. To reduce the chances of fire further we washed ourselves from a bike bottle over the stones. I started making dinner only to find once I had everything chopped and ready that the cooker wouldn’t work. I took it apart and cleaned it and we got 5 minutes out of it before it stopped working again. Instead of curry we ate the vegies with coconut milk semi-raw. Leonie seemed to be in good-spirits regardless.

Above:  Going off road.

Time: 3:25:34 Dst: 47.87 km Avg: 13.97 km/h Max: 48.05 km/h

Day 2 – Near port Andratx to Banyalbufar

We tried to leave earlier than yesterday but it was already very hot when we got on the road shortly after 8 am. We started climbing and reached Andratx. We sheltered in the cool of a supermarket and bought a cold drink and some food. It was then back into climbing. Luckily the road was in shade and it was bearable. We reached a high point and then dropped down some way. The road meandered along not far from the coast climbing and dropping. It was really far too hot. We were sweating like pigs – except that I’m told pigs don’t actually sweat but despite this we were still sweating like pigs. Mostly because in German you can sweat like a pig. We came across a town and stopped for some refreshments before continuing our battle against the elements. Around 2 pm we gave up and checked into a hotel and hid from the heat for a while. We had reached a little coastal town named B. In the evening we went swimming down at the sea.

Above right: The sea was a fantastic colour.

Above left: Us. Above right: Looking along the coastline.

Above: We ate out in the evening near our hotel.

Time: 2:04:47 Dst: 29.04 km Avg: 13.96 km/h Max: 51.23 km/h

Day 3 – Banyalbufar to Lluc

Determined to beat the heat today we left just before 7:30 am. It was straight into a climb then some meandering and more climbing. The weather was a little cooler in general and we made good progress. We stopped at Delia and grabbed some supplies before heading onto Sollier. We spent an hour or so lazing in a park by the sea to avoid the sun. It started to threaten to rain and be stormy which we took as a good opportunity to begin a big climb up to a pass. The rain came to nothing and soon it was hot again although as we climbed it got cooler due to the altitude. We climbed for something like a couple of hours. Just as we neared the pass the weather abruptly changed. It cooled dramatically, got quite dark as we were engulfed by clouds, and seconds later the sky opened up and it began to pour. Luckily we had just reached a tunnel that leads through to the pass and we sheltered in that as the wind howled and the rain rained.

Above right: There was stone fruit on the side of the road occasionally. Leonie wonders whether she can do some feasting.

It wasn’t long before the storm passed and we were back on our bikes. We had planned to stay beside one of two lakes not far from the pass but decided against it as they weren’t particularly pretty. Instead I tried to resurrect the cooker again and we ate some pasta before continuing into the evening. We headed towards Lluc where our map told us there was a camp site. The last section of road along the way was great. We were still very high and the vegetation was different than out on the coast; more bushy and altogether more my thing. No pine trees… The road was also great to ride. It wandered up and down but not by much. It would be great for a road race. Lots of little power climbs.

Above: Just before the storm hit.

Above: Hiding from the storm in the tunnel at the top of the pass.

We arrived in Lluc and found an almost entirely empty campsite which surprised me. I was also surprised that it was free. We pitched our tent for the evening.

Time: 6:13:05 Dst: 81.55 km Avg:13.11 km/h Max: 65.86 km/h

Day 4 – Walking around Lluc (Puig Tomir)

We went for a walk up a hill near Lluc. It was a nice little stroll. Unfortunately on the ride back from the walk to our campsite Leonie’s gears broke and I spent a while in the afternoon trying to repair them. It turned out a small spring in the right shifter had broken which stopped the shifter from being able to increase the tension on the gear cable. I guess it’s probably a pretty common failure mode for the shifters. Nicely designed such that the spring can’t be replaced as the unit is sealed after manufacture. I considered the possibilities of ball point pen springs before giving up and setting the bike up in the third gear on the back.

Time: 0:55:02 Dst: 11.80 km Avg: 12.86 km/h Max: 46.54 km/h

Day 5 – Lluc to near Alcudia

We set off early in the morning from Lluc. Leonie’s bike annoyed her with it’s reduced possibilities for gears. The first 20 km to Pollença were mostly downhill though and after a change to 5th gear we got there quickly. We wandered around the old town. It was quite nice. Lots of old houses. Still not quite as nice as Trogir in Croatia though. We amused ourselves with icecream and peaches for a little while and then headed out to the coast where the tourists swarmed like flies… We left the crowded beach areas as quickly as possible and spent quite a while looking for our camp site for the night which doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Take note if you’re looking for camping at Club del Sol it doesn’t seem to be there. Instead we kept going and checked into a youth hostel on the other side of the coast. We spent the afternoon swimming and walking in the hills before cooking dinner on the coast at sunset. Nice.

Time: 3:02:00 Dst: 53.82 km Avg: 17.74 km/h Max: 53.76 km/h

Above: Leonie riding down out of the hills.

Day 6 – Near Alcudia to Palma

Another early start to beat the heat. We had a fairly unexciting ride back along the flat to Palma. We collected our extra gear from the Hotel there and after a session of arguing road towards the airport. I swam briefly on the way. The water was very warm but it was still cool enough to be refreshing. I sloshed about in the waves for a few minutes before we continued. We should have done some sloshing a little earlier as it was a very good combatant against the heat-grumpiness. We packed our bikes at the airport and Leonie transformed out of her biking gear into a revealing top before deciding that the large uneven tan stripes on her back were too much. She then transformed into a slightly less revealing top. I transformed out of my smelly bike gear into my smelly other t-shirt and pants. Yes, very sexy.

We flew out of Palma and enjoyed some good sunset on our way back landing again at the airport near Baden-Baden before grring back to Freiburg in the race car. All in all a good trip. A tad too hot. Not sure if I’d recommend Mallorca for cycle touring. It might be quite different in spring. Perhaps much greener, not as hot, and with fewer tourists. The mountains were definitely worth seeing if you happen to be going there anyway. But they’re nothing spectacular like the mountains in Switzerland. Definitely worth a look at if you happen to find yourself there though.