by Will Wattles
I'm writing this from another Cappuccino coffee shop. This one is near Palma's Plaza Espana so the atmosphere is terrific (and it has wi-fi to boot).I had given thought to a hard ride today but discarded that plan. I went for a 3-mile run to start the day. I've seen lots of runners out and wanted to join them. I checked out of the Hostal Terminus and into Hostal Brondo for my last night. For 40 euros, I got a very nice room with a full bath.
I verified that my Montague MX folding mountain bike box still waited in their crowded basement and went for breakfast. I ate at a great little outdoor place in the marina on Gabriel Roca, just west of Palma. Then I pedaled east all the way down the coast. Today I never spent more than a few minutes from the gorgeous coastline. Ten miles from Palma, the bike lane ran out but I found pretty roads in neighborhoods of exclusive homes.
I enjoyed going down dead end streets and finding that they weren't for a mountain bike. Little foot paths led to secluded beaches open to the public but not advertised. I also found some mountain bike trails through a big wooded area. Lastly there was a cool, very rough road on an undeveloped peninsular. From there I enjoyed a grand view of the enormous expanse of the Bay of Palma with the mountains across the entire horizon.
I pedaled back for an outdoor lunch and then went to work to pack up my folding mountain bike. Even with my needing to remove the luggage rack and working slowly it took only 15 minutes. It's nice to know that when I look for a taxi in the morning it won't have to be huge. Last year, in Costa Rica, I took a conventional mountain bike in a box from the bike shop. It took a full hour of disassembly and was then a box twice as large as this one.
Folding bikes are new to me and I'm impressed at how well the Montague MX worked. With my 57-year-old knees, I had to shift constantly; yet, the full size folding bike worked flawlessly. I also gave the brakes a workout and they were fine too. In the interest of a full report, I had one pedal that made an annoying clicking sound (a bad bearing I suppose) the last three days. It didn't affect performance or fun. So on a folding mountain bike you can see a lot of Mallorca in two weeks. I rode 466 miles on roads that could spoil a person for biking. This is the most bike friendly place I've ever ridden.Mileage for the day: 36
Total trip miles: 466
Recap of Will's Mallorca Bike Tour Posts:
Day 1 - Mallorca Via Montague Folding Bike
Day 2 - Touring Mallorca By Full Size Folding Bike
Day 3 - Mallorca - Bike & Hike to Castell d' Alaro
Day 4 - Bike Touring Mallorca From Alaro to Alcudia
Day 5 - Alcudia To Port De Pollenca By Folding Bike
Day 6 - Mallorca Bike Hike - Alcudia Peninsula
Day 7 - Alcudia To Mt Randa By Folding Mountain Bike
Day 8 - Mt Randa To Palma Via Montague MX
Day 9 - Mallorca Mountain Bike Tour - Palma Region
Day 10 - Perfect Mallorca 50 Mile Bike Tour
Day 11 - Rugged & Wild Formentor Peninsula By Bicycle
Day 12 - Delightful 55 Mile Mallorca Bike Tour
More about Will Wattles... Will truly enjoys bicycle touring. Over the last decade, he's toured places such as Greece, Costa Rica, Malta, Chile and Venezuela. For more stories and photos from Will's previous bike trips, visit WillBike.com.
1 comment:
Will,
Great account of your trip. I enjoyed reading it as RideTHISbike posted it. Glad to hear that the MX worked out well for the various conditions that you encountered. Looking forward to reading more accounts of your future trips.
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