I needed some fresh air, and I also needed fair weather conditions to do some intense bike training. Options were very limited, but Mallorca sounded like a perfect plan so here I come!
Day 1
I drove through the Pyrenees to arrive in Barcelona late in the afternoon, ahead of time to board on the ferry.
The crossing takes around 7h30, overnight, so I arrived in Mallorca the next morning on time to watch a beautiful sunrise at my base camp in Can Picafort.
After some rest, let's start riding and going to Cape Fromentor! It's an amazing road, especially in the evening. The view all along is gorgeous and it's has gentle hills all the way.
Day 2 - Sa Calobra
New day, new direction, and this time it's the famous Sa Calobra!
The windy road is indeed a pure pleasure to climb!
Day 3 - Betlem
It's time to discover the other side of the island, less hilly but still pretty!
Impressive Coves d'Artà.
Day 4 - Col de Soller
A very windy day ahead, so I was planning to do some strength training to ride against the wind towards Col de Soller.
And then a short walk during the beautiful evening in Can Picafort's sea front.
Day 5 - Puig Major's loop
Large loop with a lot of climbing that day, including the highest point in Mallorca. I was freezing cold at the summit, but all went well... despite a road closure on the way down that blocked me for 2h!
Day 6 - Tower Albertcutx
Picture day! I usually don't like to stop my bike ride just to take pictures, but today was an exception. The landscapes were amazing with a major contrast between the intense blue and green trees.
Day 7 - Far de Estalella and Soller's sunset
Heading to Soller for a very promising sunset for my last day on the island!
Day 8 - Heading back
After an awesome week discovering the island and riding 700km it's time to head back. First, taking the ferry early in the morning, to reach Barcelona later in the afternoon, and then driving straight back 900km..
Mallorca has been on my list of places to visit for a while, and this was the perfect destination despite being planned at the very last minute. The weather is very fair, much more windy than I expected but it was great to ride under the sun. It's also a great place to ride a bike, but it's less demanding than what expected, so it's hard to do long climbing efforts..
