......long time (partly why I wanted to write this story, so that we had a record to remember it all by). I fully intend to go back to Mallorca on my own bike, travelling by ferry to Spain and riding across the bottom of the Pyrenees to Barcelona and then getting the ferry across to Mallorca, but you never know what might happen in the future so it’s important to have your memories and photographs.
We had a lot left to ride, and Stu was looking forward to the stretch of the Ma-10 from Soller to Andratx as he had been enthralled by it during the first day’s riding. Before that though, there was plenty of ground to cover and we had to stop somewhere for lunch as Stu still hadn’t had a paella that he had been crazing for. We picked up the Ma-10 again at the aqueduct and headed higher into the hills. Through a short tunnel (you just have to hit maximum revs in a tunnel don’t you?) and we burst out into the sunshine to be immediately confronted by a tight right hander again as the road turned to follow the shore of the damned reservoir that we had stopped at on Friday evening. A couple more tunnels and a bit more of a climb later, and we passed the base of Puig Major again and I was once again annoyed by the fact that the road was closed off, although we had possibly seen why when we were over on the dam on Friday as we could see what looked like an observatory and perhaps some military equipment on the top of the mountain.
The next phase of the ride was just awesome – the best ride that I have ever had by a long way. The run down the hill from the base of Puig Major to the seabird café at Fornalutx was taken at a very good pace, and we were both using all of the road available to us to take smooth, fast lines. It was a fantastic feeling to follow in the same line as my older brother and be doing the pace that I wanted to do, and I felt very proud of how he had improved during the time on the island. Living in Norfolk, he doesn’t come across many roads like the ones on Mallorca, and I honestly believe that the 4 days riding there all day was the equivalent experience of several months back home. I also felt that my riding had improved as I was constantly putting into practice things that I had been taught on various advanced riding courses, whereas back home when you are only out for an hour or 2 and constantly battling traffic in the South East of the country you don’t get that chance. The bikes were very easy to ride, although the tyres did not help with confidence at the beginning. I think that when we were pressing on a bit we had enough heat in the for them to be grippy enough, but you can understand a rental place putting long lasting tyres on to make maximum profit. I know that I will not be swapping my Michelin Pilot 2CT’s for Metzeler Roadtecs anytime soon though!
Stopping at the café, it was time for a well earned drink of freshly squeezed orange juice. Going up on the terrace we sat next to a group of bikers that were parked up below. Again, so far in this day we had not come across many at all. From the terrace we had a superb view of Port de Soller and the lighthouse across the harbour on Cap Gros.
We hadn’t been down the Ma-10 further than the café before as far as Soller as we’d approached it from the South and turned inland to go over the mountain pass on Thursday, and turned around to head back to the monastery on Friday. The town of Soller didn’t particularly appeal, but we decided to head to Port de Soller for lunch as we had been told that it was worth a visit. Setting off from the café at the same time as the other group of bikers, we noticed that there were a few of them about now, but heading in the opposite direction to us. We joined the main road just after a group of cyclists had bombed past, and had to sit behind them all the way down the hill as they were only very marginally slower than we wanted to ride! Overtaking was impossible as there wasn’t a straight as such between the bends and it was a large group taking up the whole side of the road. Eventually the road levelled out and straightened up and we were able to blast past them and on towards Port de Soller. Turning off just before we got there, we took a small road up again to the lighthouse at Cap Gros for a good view of the harbour and port and some pictures. We learnt that the Spanish word for navy is armada from the writing on the sea wall in both English and Spanish, but then we already knew that really. I wonder if Spanish schoolchildren learn about Drake and the English Navy or the Armada Inglesa? We also learnt that lighthouses make great comedy hats in pictures.
Back down the hill and we rode into Port de Soller. We parked the bikes up and found somewhere for lunch that did Paella for Stu. That was probably like finding a place at the English seaside that does fish and chips, but he was crazing for it. Unfortunately, the bikes were no longer parked in view, and I didn’t want to leave them unsighted with all of our luggage attached to them so I went to collect them while Stu chilled out in the sun by the harbour and waited for his dream dish. The ‘paella mista’ (meat and seafood) came and it was pretty impressive actually. I could not have any as I am allergic to shellfish so even the sight of prawns and things makes my stomach turn, but Stu enjoyed it. While we sat there, the tram that runs from Soller to Port de Soller came past. The German tourist had recommended taking it, and if we had taken the scenic railway from Bunyola to Soller at some point we may have done, but it didn’t look as interesting as the riding that we had done instead. Just by the side of the restaurant tables were some pieces of public art, including one of 3 bulls heads – the horns of which looked like chopper handlebars. It just had to be done; the question was which one of us was going to do it.
After chilling out in the sun for a bit with a drink, it was time to go. We got back on the Fazers and headed out of town back to the Ma-10 at Soller and on to Deia and Valdemossa. We carried on towards Banyalbufar, stopping only for petrol where we came across a little bike-engined car rusting away by the side and a nice Mustang.
Arriving back in Andratx we had done the length of the Ma-10 coast road. Although it was brilliant riding with no traffic, it had not seemed as exciting as the very first day when we first rode it. The phenomenal roads of the Cap de Formentor and Coll dels Reis and Coll de Soller had overshadowed it. If I had a road like the Ma-10 within riding distance of my house I would be out there nearly everyday, so it was very good riding. And not being as tight and twisty as the mountain roads it was challenging but not so challenging that you couldn’t get your head down and crack on. It was definitely worth going for.
Having a bit of time left before we needed to be back at the bike shop, we road across country and took the back roads via es Capdell and Calvia to Palma Nova, and then took a look at Magaluf in the off season. It actually didn’t look too bad without all the chavs puking, fighting and shagging everywhere, but I bet that it’s a nightmare in the high season. But it was no worse than the other side of Palma where ze German chavs go. Instead of the Schnitzels of s’Arenal, you had the burgers and chips of Magaluf. But there was no sign of any of that at this time of year anywhere on the island and it was all very clean, tidy and quiet. At Magaluf beach instead of topless English birds with their pink wobbly bits getting sunburnt you had a group of kite surfers that was brilliant to watch for a bit. But we had to get off as ideally we’d like to find a hotel for the night while we still had transport.
Riding back via the harbour of Palma where all the expensive yachts were bobbing up and down in the gentle swell of the Mediterranean, we got back to Can Pastilla and the Anfora hotel that we had stayed in for the first night. By this time, they had another seafront room available for the night which was brilliant as the location was nice.
Up in the room we unloaded all the bike gear and got into normal clothes and trainers as there was a good walk back along the seafront from the bike shop at s’Arenal. Just as we set off for the bike shop it started to spit with rain. We were lucky that we had had lovely dry weather all 4 days of riding, so didn’t mind that we might now get wet without jackets on for 5 minutes. It only drizzled a few spots, but there must have been more rain earlier as the road was quite wet. The surface was kind of tiled as the road along the main strip was only one way and not meant for much traffic as in the summer it would be full of people milling about. The rain had made me cautious, ‘wet after dry, risk is high’ and all that, so I dragged my trainer along the ground and it felt like an ice rink. I don’t know if it really was that slippery or it was the trainer bottoms, but I didn’t want to have to make any sudden movements and find out. As we had cars in front and behind, I was taking it quite cautiously as I have dropped a bike on ice before and it has made me wary of slippery surfaces. Stu was not being quite as prudent, and his incident the day before when he nearly went into the back of something didn’t seem to have taught him anything. The car in front came up to a cross roads and dithered a bit as if they did not know where to go, so I hung back and covered the back brake. Just as Stu had had enough of the dithering and went to go around them, they decided that they wanted to turn left and turned sharply into his path. Again he
bed a handful of front brake (and everything else) and came to a stop just about upright with feet skidding along the road and engine revving as the clutch was pulled in. Again I had to laugh and hoped that this time he had learnt something – incidents like that do happen when you first ride or drive, and as long as you can experience them and learn from them without getting hurt, then it’s all good.
We got back to the bike shop and gave the bikes back and sorted the paperwork. Our bikes for 4 days worked out at just over £50 per day each, which is not bad considering the entertainment that we got out of them. As we hadn’t yet managed to check in for our flight the next day, I asked the guy in the shop if we could use his computer and printer to check in and print our boarding passes and he generously let us. They were really nice and helpful, and I would recommend them to anyone thinking of renting bikes out there. He would have given us a lift back to our hotel, but we fancied walking having spent all day on the bikes as we thought it would loosen us up and we might stop for a drink and a bite to eat. In the end, we got back to the hotel and took a couple of outside shots and chilled out in the room for a bit.
Getting hungry, we headed out for dinner. We had seen a Thai place just down the road, and fancied giving that a try. When we got there, there was one couple in there already, but they soon left and we were the only people in there. The waitress wheeled a gas heater over to beside our table as it was basically an outdoor restaurant with a grass roof not really built for February. But he food and Singha beers went down a treat. I was warned by the German waitress (possibly the owner?) that my dish would be spicy, but I had my doubts as the area caters for German tourists that can’t handle really spicy food. I was right, but it was good all the same, and cheap enough. That left us with just enough cash left for a coffee and cake back at the hotel and a chat with a couple from Berlin who had never been to Mallorca before either and were just starting a week’s holiday. Shattered, but satisfied with the day’s, and the whole holiday’s, riding we retired to bed. It had been superb biking, and no serious incidents had occurred which is always a bonus.
Monday 18th
Our flight was not until 4pm, so we had a bit of time to kill. Getting up a bit later than the previous days when we had wanted to crack on, we soon realised that we would not be doing much walking – our legs were destroyed from the shifting about on the bikes. We had breakfast and got our stuff together to head into Palma and have a look around. The guy on reception told us how to get the bus, and it was very easy. Just a short walk away was the bus stop for the number 15 or 25 bus into Palma that would cost just €1.10 each. A big difference to the €15 that we had paid for the taxi on Wednesday. We stayed on the bus as it went through the city to get a look about and a feel of it and got off at the end of the route. We walked through the city and found where the bus would depart from to the airport and as it was such a nice day we just sat out in the park and I finished my book that I had taken for the holiday, Under Asian Skies, by Sam Manicom about his travels on a bike though Australia, Asia and back to Europe through Turkey. Soon it was time to get the bus to the airport and head home.
Passage through Palma airport was smooth and we got on the plane almost first to get the coveted emergency exit row seats in the middle for luxury spec legroom. Back at Stansted was a saga though. Passport control was not too bad, but then we joined a huge queue outside for the bus back to the long term car park. It’s outrageous how they make you wait an hour until you get back to your car. That’s nearly as long as the flight from Spain! To cap it all, the weather was freezing cold and foggy and you really wonder why you didn’t stay out there.
All in all, it was a superb trip, and something that I would highly recommend to any biker. To get out in the warm sunshine whilst it’s freezing back home is great, and the brilliant roads compared to back home made it superb riding (I suppose that depends on where in the UK you live, as there are some excellent roads, but maybe not in February). Although the flight out there was exceptionally cheap, the whole thing doesn’t come out that cheap in the end when you add up all the food, drink, petrol, bike hire etc. I think that it cost nearly £500 each in the end including everything, but for that much good riding I think it was well worth it.
Tips:
Taxi’s out of the airport have a minimum charge of €15! Take the number 1 bus out to Palma city centre and change at Placa d’Espanya (the main bus and railway station)
Take the 15 or 25 bus out of town to Calle de Octavi August for the Anfora Hotel in Can Pastilla. Open all year round with lovely sea views.
http://www.bqhoteles.com/publico/ver/en/128-anfora
Walking distance to Rent Zoom (a good long walk along the seafront, aprox. 1 hour, but plenty of places to stop for a coffee and cake (it is a German resort after all!) or an ice cream, or they will collect you.
Stay in the monastery at Lluc – around €35 for a twin room.
http://www.lluc.net/eng/index.html
Bakery and 2 cafés on site for breakfast, and a fancy restaurant (café at the top is cheaper for dinner) and the café on the main road by the bridge and petrol station is a popular stop for bikes on a Saturday night and they have superb cake.
Best roads – Coll dels Reis and Cap de Formentor.
Good views of Palma from the Bellver Castle high up above it.
Maps of routes:
Thursday 14/02/2008 – http://tinyurl.com/35r6tl
Friday 15/02/2008 – http://tinyurl.com/yu32k3
Saturday 16/02/2008 – http://tinyurl.com/yqfbdp
Sunday 17/02/2008 – http://tinyurl.com/ywjabz
Oh.. was that scrotum 1 or scrotum 2 
