One of the advantages of being self-employed with Zegepraal is being able to work independent of time and place. It is 23 February 2024 as I write this. To my mind, it has been raining and blowing non-stop for the past few months. As a good-weather cyclist, I maintain my fitness somewhat during the winter months on my Tacx. A necessary evil in the absence of summer temperatures and the forecast shows no improvements for the time being. In short, time to seek out the sun!
In late January, I watched a couple of stages of the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana on Eurosport. The seed was planted. How wonderful it would be to cycle there now too. Previously, I also went on cycling holidays to Mallorca, each time with Fred Rompelberg. In 2018 and 2021 from Playa de Palma and in 2022 from Alcudia. Looking at my heatmap on Strava, I decide that this time Peguera in the southwest of the island will be the base. Using Strava and the MyCols app, I have already put together some nice routes. The plane ticket is booked and the hotel room reserved. We will rent a bike there, which can be done on any street corner.
Day 1: Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Today is the day. At 06:10 we take off from Cologne-Bonn airport. Right on time, we land on Palma de Mallorca at 08:30. By public transport, we continue our journey towards the hotel. Check-in, freshen up, change and then go outside. The sun is shining and the cycling holiday can begin! We explore the neighbourhood and have brunch at the beach. At RideMallorca, we rent a bike for the next week. We are just in time, between 12:00 and 15:00 everything closes, apparently siesta is not limited to tropical temperatures.
Despite the lack of sleep, we get on our bikes right away. On the schedule is a 70 KM route. The first 30 KM are fairly flat and take us to the western edge of Palma, Mallorca’s capital. We pass Son Moix, the football stadium of RCD Mallorca, which is playing away against FC Barcelona this weekend. From Palma we set course for Esporles where we start the climb of the Coll d’es Grau (5.5 KM-3.8%): normally, we don’t turn our hand to this, but the fatigue of the trip means the heart rate soon goes into the red. The descent comes just in time and takes us to the second climb of the day: Coll de Galilea (3.9KM- 4.9%). This climb, too, is not easy. Via Es Capdella, we cycle back to the hotel. On the way, we stop at the bike rental to raise the saddle a little. Which is nice for the next few days.
After showering, we end the day with a healthy pasta meal at the beach. We can probably put the carbohydrates to good use next week. At 20:45 we are in bed and fall asleep like a log.
Day 2: Thursday, March 7, 2024
After a wonderful night’s sleep, the first “real” ride is planned today. We get on our bikes at 10:00 for a 90 KM and 1,700 HM ride. From Peguera we set course towards Andratx and turn onto the MA-10 northwards. The Germans call this road the “Küstenstraße”. A beautiful, generally well-paved road along the island’s rolling west coast. The MA-10 runs from Andratx to Pollenca (or vice versa) and is 112 KM long. After each kilometre there is a signpost showing the number of kilometres to the end of the road.
From Andratx, we immediately start the 1st climb of the day: Coll de Sa Gramola: (5.0 KM- 5.0%). An ideal climb to get into the rhythm. Once at the top, beautiful sea views follow and we set course towards Estellencs where we take a short break. We order a cappuccino and a slice of apple pie. We make every effort to avoid the always lurking hunger pangs. After the short break, we continue the route towards Banyalbufar where the Coll d’en Claret (10.5 KM-4.1%) awaits us. The first part of the climb, officially the Coll de sa Bastida (3.0 KM-6.2%) is the toughest. We also survive the Coll d’en Claret and quietly cycle on towards Valldemossa where we leave the MA-10 for the day.
A lovely descent follows where we are treated to stunning views over Valldemossa. Down in Establiments, we set course for the final climb of the day: Coll de Sa Creu (6.3 KM-4.4%). On the approach, near Puigpunyent, a sign on the right side of the road indicates Mallorca’s toughest climb: the Sobremunt: (6.6 KM-9.8%). This climb, with peaks of up to 22% (!), we’ll “ignore” for the moment today
After the photo opportunity on top of the Coll de Sa Creu, we descend towards Calvia where we have lunch. It is now 14:30 and the apple pie and banana have only just prevented the hunger pangs. We order a cola and a “Bocadillo Jamon” and enjoy half an hour in the sun. Via Es Capdella, we cycle back to the hotel. After freshening up, we end the day at the beach. The pizza tastes delicious! Back in the hotel room we study the route for tomorrow and once again the light goes out early.
Day 3: Friday, March 8, 2024
It’s raining when we wake up. Ai, we hadn’t reckoned with that. Can happen, of course, even in Majorca and certainly this early in the year. We head towards the breakfast room and take a bit more time than usual for this. During breakfast, the sun comes out again. We decide to take a different, shorter route today. We park the route we put together last night for later this week.
We get on our bikes at 11:30 for a 50 KM and 800 HM round trip. Via Galatzó and Calvia, we set off towards the foot of the Coll de n’Esteve. A short climb with beautiful views. The descent towards Andratx is also fantastic. The tarmac has not yet dried completely in the shade so we take it easy and stop every now and then for a photo. From Andratx we head towards ‘s Arracó where the ascent of the Coll de sa Palomera begins. Probably since we would take the same road back after the descent to Sant Elm, and thus climb the Col de sa Palomera again, Garmin sends us straight to Port d’Andratx. We find this out too late and decide to leave it as it is for today.
You can’t cycle past Port d’Andratx without shooting some pretty pictures. Luxury yachts, lavish villas, exclusive restaurants and expensive cars. You come across them all here. We let it sink in and, ten minutes later, continue the ride via Es Camp de Mar. On this stretch of the route, too, we are treated to beautiful views. The ride for today is over. Despite the false start, it still turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. In Peguera, we settle down on a terrace and end the afternoon with a snack and a drink. The weather forecasts for tomorrow don’t look too good so we enjoy the sunshine a little longer today.
Day 4: Saturday, March 9, 2024
As predicted, it is raining practically all day today. Tomorrow’s forecast is better: plenty of sunshine. Today we swap the bike for the laptop and update all orders and e-mails from the past few days. We also add two more routes to our Garmin so we have a bit more choice in the coming days, even if the weather should be disappointing.
Day 5: Sunday, March 10, 2024
Yes, sunshine! That’s nice waking up. After breakfast, we set off at 09:30 for a 95 KM and 2,200 HM ride to Port des Canonge .
We set off north via Es Capdella to the foot of today’s first climb: the Coll de Galilea (4.5 KM-6.1%), immediately followed by the Coll d’es Grau (3.4 KM-6.6%). Earlier this week, we climbed both cols from the north side. After this double, it’s mainly downhill towards Port des Canonge. In 2021, we have already descended to Port de Valldemossa a few kilometres away. Unlike Port de Valldemossa, there are few catering establishments here in Port de Canonge. We spot one and order a coffee there. They don’t have pastries and we think it’s a bit early for the deep-fried squid rings offered as an alternative. So we don’t stay long and put the climbing legs to work again: 4.9KM (6.9%) zigzagging back up over narrow roads.
Having reached the top, we continue south on the MA-10. There is a strong wind here and this, in combination with the abyss in the corner of our right eye and a healthy dose of vertigo, makes our sweaty hands bother us spontaneously. Safety first and so we cycle a little more in the middle of the road here. We pass the fairytale-like Banyalbufar and have lunch in Estellencs, followed by the Coll de sa Gramola (3.5 KM-5.2%) where we are somewhat hidden from the wind. The descent to Andratx also follows without any problems.
We are not done for today. The excursion over the Coll de sa Palomera still awaits us. Earlier this week we missed this turn, so today on repeat. This climb takes us to Sant Elm, a remote part of Majorca where, according to Strava, relatively few cyclists come. A shame really because it’s a nice climb, especially from Sant Elm back towards Andratx. Via es Camp de Mar we cycle back to Peguera on rolling roads. The best is off for today though, we are now at over 2,000 HM.
Day 6: Monday, March 11, 2024
Today’s route takes us to Port de Sóller. The ride planned for last Saturday. The weather is beautiful and ideal for this slightly longer and tougher ride of 130 KM and 2,000 HM.
From Peguera we set course for Palma Nova from where it is continuously uphill towards Calvia. Here the first climb of the day presents itself: Coll des Tords (4.4 KM-3.5%). We then descend towards Establiments after which 12 tough kilometres to Valldemossa follow. The final stretch involves the climb of the same name (4.5 KM-5.7%). Before that, however, a long stretch of false flat with the wind full on the nose. Arriving at the top, we decide it is therefore time for coffee and a piece of cake.
After the short coffee stop, we continue the drive towards Deia, a beautiful mountain village. We stop for a few snapshots and move on to Port de Sóller where we take a seat on a terrace. We order a Majorcan speciality, the Pa amb Oli and give the legs some extra rest knowing that we will soon have the Col de Sóller (7.4 KM-5.7%) shoved in front of our wheels. After the water bottles have also been refilled, we start the climb. The kilometres of the past few days are starting to take their toll. We get to the top without any problems but the power is out of our legs. Once at the top, we quickly put on our body warmer and dive straight into the descent. After all, there is still a long way to go to Peguera. In one of the first corners of the descent, there has been a nasty fall just in front of us. At least the unfortunate one has a large open wound above his left eye. Hopefully the damage to him is not further. There are already plenty of bystanders taking care of him and so we quietly continue our descent.
Where towards Valldemossa we had the wind at our nose, we now have it at our back. A dead straight road towards Palma de Mallorca, this time viciously flat downhill (does that expression exist?) Anyway, the kilometres fly by. The Cami dels Reis in Palma de Mallorca is partly open due to roadworks. Like earlier this week, we have to puzzle out how to get to Sa Teulera this time. That too we eventually manage after which we get back to our hotel via undulating roads. Another beautiful ride in our legs!
Day 7: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Even before we get on our bikes, we decide that today will be the last ride of this cycling holiday. Tomorrow we will fly back to Cologne in the early evening and we want to take it easy on the last day. We have a leisurely breakfast and work through some e-mails before we get on our bikes at 11:30. We have plotted a 70 KM and 1,200 HM ride over roads we have already “walked” largely the other way round last week. Whereas last week we cycled from Andratx back to Peguera twice before, this time we leave in precisely that direction. After cycling just under 10 KM we pass Port d’Andratx and set course for the first climb of the day: Coll d’Ensteve. Just as beautiful as the descent earlier this week! Once descended to Es Capdella, despite my Garmin’s protests, we decide to take this climb from this side as well. We don’t need to take pictures of the beautiful views this time which results in a pulverisation of our PR on Strava. We continue towards Calvia to climb the Coll de Sa Creu (6.7 KM-3.7%). At the top, we pause for a moment and realise that this was the last climb of this trip. The rolling landscape means that we will still have to climb some more metres, but we don’t really have to. And to be honest, we are quite happy about that.
We descend over military training grounds towards Palma and move on to Portals Nous where we end the wonderful cycling holiday with a coffee and crepes with fresh fruit. After this, it is only 10 KM back to Peguera where we neatly return the bike to the rental company and walk back to the hotel in our socks.
Day 8: Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Our last day of holidays today. After quietly enjoying breakfast first, we walk towards Cala Fornells. Again, the weather is beautiful today. Most people are relaxing on a terrace or, like us, walking. Yet you can already see some people in swimsuits on the beach. Out of the wind, they certainly can, blame them. We shoot a few more photos and have lunch for the last time this holiday. Every now and then we dream away and imagine ourselves to be residents of Mallorca. How cool it would be to live here, at least part of the year. To exchange the cold and wet winters at home for the mild winters here on Mallorca. It will probably never happen, but if it does, we will raffle off our Tacx!
