We took a ride to Sineu to the market via some of the less used "cami" (small roads) just to soak up a little more Mallorca before we returned our bikes late this afternoon.
It was a day of some shopping and just enjoying some beautiful scenery and sunshine. Our lunch in Sineu at a cafe in the market was good and the ride back to Alcudia bittersweet, knowing it would be awhile before we return to this beautiful island.
I'll try to post some pics when time permits. We are packed for an early departure on Thursday for our return to USA.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunny day and ride to Arta and Capdepera
The weather was soooo much better today. Bright sunshine and hardly any wind. We took a ride down the coast to Arta and then on to Capdepera. 77Km total, with some rolling hills and only a few minor climbs- except for the 16% grade to the castell (castle) in Capdepera. That road had cobbles and we walked our bikes up the last two meters as the grade got very steep.
Our ride to Arta was uneventful and we had a number of groups which split off for different options after our coffee stop in Arta. We were joined in Arta by Dana and Joyce, who took a more leisurely pace from Alcudia to Arta. And they had discovered some good shopping in the Arta market which operates on Tuesdays.
Milan, Kathie, Bill, Jan and Sylvie in Arta.
Bruce and Axel at our coffee stop in Arta.
After our coffee Kathie, Ken and Jerry strolled through the market and the streets of Arta. Milan, Dana and Joyce enjoyed a bit of a longer stay at the restaurant and then took a leisurely ride back to Alcudia. Sylvie wanted to see a place she had come in the 1960's with her family from France at Costa de los Pinos. Bill, Jan, Axel and Bruce headed of with Sylvie to that vacation area about 10Km from Arta.
Ken, Kathie and Jerry headed to Capdepara where we had a spectacular view of the one of the defensive castles built on Mallorca. We proceeded through Capdepera and made our way up the streets to the castle, walking the last 50m due to the 16% grade on cobbles. The castle was impressive and has been in place since the 12
th century. It became a place of refuge for local citizens when the Arab pirates raided the island. A view of the castell from below.
And Jerry coming up the narrow cobbled lane where we walked our bikes the last 50 meters.
The fortified town of Capdepera was started in 1300. It had good visibility of the sea, from whence attacks usually came, since it was on a hill. The distance and visibility gave the citizens time to retreat to the defensive castell when attacks came.
Ken and Kathie up on the ramparts near the church inside the castell.
Kathie on the rampart with the view to the sea.
We have one more day in Mallorca and it looks like we will ride to Sineu again for a trip to the market, but we will make our final decision at breakfast tomorrow.
Our ride to Arta was uneventful and we had a number of groups which split off for different options after our coffee stop in Arta. We were joined in Arta by Dana and Joyce, who took a more leisurely pace from Alcudia to Arta. And they had discovered some good shopping in the Arta market which operates on Tuesdays.
Milan, Kathie, Bill, Jan and Sylvie in Arta.
Bruce and Axel at our coffee stop in Arta.
After our coffee Kathie, Ken and Jerry strolled through the market and the streets of Arta. Milan, Dana and Joyce enjoyed a bit of a longer stay at the restaurant and then took a leisurely ride back to Alcudia. Sylvie wanted to see a place she had come in the 1960's with her family from France at Costa de los Pinos. Bill, Jan, Axel and Bruce headed of with Sylvie to that vacation area about 10Km from Arta.
Ken, Kathie and Jerry headed to Capdepara where we had a spectacular view of the one of the defensive castles built on Mallorca. We proceeded through Capdepera and made our way up the streets to the castle, walking the last 50m due to the 16% grade on cobbles. The castle was impressive and has been in place since the 12
th century. It became a place of refuge for local citizens when the Arab pirates raided the island. A view of the castell from below.
The fortified town of Capdepera was started in 1300. It had good visibility of the sea, from whence attacks usually came, since it was on a hill. The distance and visibility gave the citizens time to retreat to the defensive castell when attacks came.
Ken and Kathie up on the ramparts near the church inside the castell.
We have one more day in Mallorca and it looks like we will ride to Sineu again for a trip to the market, but we will make our final decision at breakfast tomorrow.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Randa in the rain...and wind....and more rain! And a celebration!
No pics of our ride today as the camera stayed in the waterproof bag all day. The day started out with 6 riders heading west to Randa, a hill with all the aviation radar equipment for Mallorca overlooking Palma. 114Km later......four riders returned wet and cold. Sylvie and Bruce did a shorter ride after a turn back in Sineu. Ken rode, Kathie was much smarter.
Kathie, Joyce and Donna took a walk through Alcudia and up to Old Alcudia towards the port. They stopped for coffee and cake and returned to Bar Hawaii (next to the hotel) for Pa Amb Oli (bread with olive oil and ham for lunch. The pic shows the weather in the morning with mist on some of the peaks north of Alcudia.
We all left on our separate ways this morning knowing the potential for some bad weather today.
Jerry took his car with Peter and Bill and went hiking. Their hiking was cut short by the same fog and mist, but they were able to retreat to the car, wet but not as wet as the bikers. Bill found a great Italian restaurant in Manacor for their lunch.
We started out with hopes for a reasonably dry ride with some expectation of showers, and until we virtually were at the point of no return, the weather was just OK. As we started our climb of the last 200 meters to the top of Randa to the Mare de Deu de Cura monastery, the weather turned for the worse with steady high winds and fog at the top. The last 2km as we wound to the top was in the fog and heavy mist. It was good to get inside the restaurant at the top for our coffee and Mallorcan sweet bread!
We gathered our courage and put on our wet clothes for the 5km descent into the Randa village and immediately went for another coffee stop with some food to warm up again.
I now know how the Tour de France riders feel as they climb into the mountains putting on their rain gear and then trying to stay warm for the rest of the ride.
It was a test of will for Milan, Robin, Jan and Ken to complete the day. We all made it back safely, thank God. At times we endured downpours and water sheeting across the road so we were extremely cautious as we returned to Alcudia. The warm shower back at Ivory Playa hotel was heaven sent.
The warmest part of the day, both literally and figuratively, was the chance to celebrate a special birthday for Dana. We had planned a surprise and had a cake delivered to our table in the dining room. Robin and Peter will leave us tomorrow to return to US, so we celebrated in advance of the actual day later this week.
Kathie, Joyce and Donna took a walk through Alcudia and up to Old Alcudia towards the port. They stopped for coffee and cake and returned to Bar Hawaii (next to the hotel) for Pa Amb Oli (bread with olive oil and ham for lunch. The pic shows the weather in the morning with mist on some of the peaks north of Alcudia.
We all left on our separate ways this morning knowing the potential for some bad weather today.
Jerry took his car with Peter and Bill and went hiking. Their hiking was cut short by the same fog and mist, but they were able to retreat to the car, wet but not as wet as the bikers. Bill found a great Italian restaurant in Manacor for their lunch.
We started out with hopes for a reasonably dry ride with some expectation of showers, and until we virtually were at the point of no return, the weather was just OK. As we started our climb of the last 200 meters to the top of Randa to the Mare de Deu de Cura monastery, the weather turned for the worse with steady high winds and fog at the top. The last 2km as we wound to the top was in the fog and heavy mist. It was good to get inside the restaurant at the top for our coffee and Mallorcan sweet bread!
We gathered our courage and put on our wet clothes for the 5km descent into the Randa village and immediately went for another coffee stop with some food to warm up again.
I now know how the Tour de France riders feel as they climb into the mountains putting on their rain gear and then trying to stay warm for the rest of the ride.
It was a test of will for Milan, Robin, Jan and Ken to complete the day. We all made it back safely, thank God. At times we endured downpours and water sheeting across the road so we were extremely cautious as we returned to Alcudia. The warm shower back at Ivory Playa hotel was heaven sent.
The warmest part of the day, both literally and figuratively, was the chance to celebrate a special birthday for Dana. We had planned a surprise and had a cake delivered to our table in the dining room. Robin and Peter will leave us tomorrow to return to US, so we celebrated in advance of the actual day later this week.
Cap de Formentor
Cap de Formentor is a cape, by geographic definition. It juts out into the Mediterranean Sea on the North East point of Mallorca. The end of this feature is a beautiful restaurant sitting out on a point on the sea.
The journey to get there is quite another story. On this profile the restaurant is at the point designated "Far Formentor". The journey includes two significant climbs of 200 meters each and there is only one way back- unless you want to swim the 400 miles to Barcelona.....so it's best to bike back the same way you came AND repeat the climbs!
Our group made it out there and enjoyed our coffee, tea, cake, Mallorcan sweet bread, and sunshine.
The ride out to Far Formentor is an ever changing scene of sea and mountains, all the while climbing and twisting out to the end of the cape. It's a challenging ride and everyone in our group agreed the vistas unfolding at each turn make it special. It even includes a tunnel at one point. Below are Axel, Peter, Jerry and Ken coming out of the tunnel.
After our successful climb back up we took a flat ride over to Cala San Vicenq, a beautiful cove north of Pollenca and had more coffee and Mallorcan cake. This spot is peaceful and just a short distance up the coast from our hotel, so it is a nice place to visit on a sunny day without adding lots of extra miles, especially after the climbs on Formentor.
This pic shows the beach, bay and mountains taken from the vantage point where we enjoyed our refreshements. It was a great place to relax and be satisfied that we had truly enjoyed the day's ride and God's beauty around us.
Bruce and Axel have also been posting a blog of the trip and it can be found at: www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/mallorca2011 Copy and paste this into your browser. Having trouble trying to get the link embedded in our blog. Our connection is sometimes dropped while updating.
The journey to get there is quite another story. On this profile the restaurant is at the point designated "Far Formentor". The journey includes two significant climbs of 200 meters each and there is only one way back- unless you want to swim the 400 miles to Barcelona.....so it's best to bike back the same way you came AND repeat the climbs!
Our group made it out there and enjoyed our coffee, tea, cake, Mallorcan sweet bread, and sunshine.
After our successful climb back up we took a flat ride over to Cala San Vicenq, a beautiful cove north of Pollenca and had more coffee and Mallorcan cake. This spot is peaceful and just a short distance up the coast from our hotel, so it is a nice place to visit on a sunny day without adding lots of extra miles, especially after the climbs on Formentor.
Bruce and Axel have also been posting a blog of the trip and it can be found at: www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/mallorca2011 Copy and paste this into your browser. Having trouble trying to get the link embedded in our blog. Our connection is sometimes dropped while updating.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Palma- day off the bike
We woke up to noisy waves outside our hotel and some ominous clouds. Not much to worry about in Mallorca, but it gave us an excuse to take the bus to Palma and do some sightseeing. It never rained, but remained cloudy most of the day. We did enjoy the bus ride to Palma and a chance to see some of the "city" side of this beautiful island.
Our first stop on the walk in Palma was at the Cathedral of Majorca. A magnificent structure started in 1306 and completed in 1601. Almost 300 years to build this church. Generations of families worked on this building. It is a large cathedral with columns 21.5 meters high supporting the structure. The height makes it an impressive sight inside and in the course of all the centuries many side altars and naves have been dedicated to saints and bishops.
The famous architect Antonio Gaudi worked in Palma starting in 1904 and did a major redesign of the main altar over ten years.
Inside the many altars are brightly decorated.
The main altar with the "canopy" redesigned by Gaudi.
Before we returned to catch our bus, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch and walked around the old city for the rest of the afternoon. Around the park by the sea and the cathedral were many street performers.
Two men making huge soap bubbles were having a difficult time keeping up with the kids running through them breaking the bubbles. Of course the kids were covered in soapy water. There's a lot of water in a bubble that size.
And here's Dana with the Invisible Man behind her.
The park between the cathedral and the sea had a huge promenade with many cafes, seating areas, and gardens.
It was a great day to contemplate tomorrow's ride- Cap de Formentor.
Our first stop on the walk in Palma was at the Cathedral of Majorca. A magnificent structure started in 1306 and completed in 1601. Almost 300 years to build this church. Generations of families worked on this building. It is a large cathedral with columns 21.5 meters high supporting the structure. The height makes it an impressive sight inside and in the course of all the centuries many side altars and naves have been dedicated to saints and bishops.
The famous architect Antonio Gaudi worked in Palma starting in 1904 and did a major redesign of the main altar over ten years.
Inside the many altars are brightly decorated.
The main altar with the "canopy" redesigned by Gaudi.
Before we returned to catch our bus, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch and walked around the old city for the rest of the afternoon. Around the park by the sea and the cathedral were many street performers.
Two men making huge soap bubbles were having a difficult time keeping up with the kids running through them breaking the bubbles. Of course the kids were covered in soapy water. There's a lot of water in a bubble that size.
And here's Dana with the Invisible Man behind her.
The park between the cathedral and the sea had a huge promenade with many cafes, seating areas, and gardens.
It was a great day to contemplate tomorrow's ride- Cap de Formentor.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Town tour of the valley
Today we rode from our hotel out through the marsh at the national park through Sa Pobla and then across the central valley on the bike path to Santa Maria. We were on cycle paths almost exclusively the entire way from Sa Pobla, however you do encounter cars from time to time on these multipurpose roads throught the farmland in Mallorca. We had lunch in Santa Maria and reversed our ride back towards Alcudia.
It was a good day to give our legs a rest from the
We had a chance to revisit a place we rode through yesterday after our mountain adventure which was a small hamlet with cobbled streets. It gave us an appreciation for some of the cycle races which include racing on cobbles. It's pretty hard to ride on them! It was a very small place, just off the cycle path and had just a few houses and what appeared to be a winery in the start up mode. As in the rest of Mallorca, everything was spotless and in it's proper place. The stonework on the houses and walls along the road are just beautiful.
We took cycle paths back heading to Alaro, then to Llosetta, Selva, skirting around Moscari and then around the outside of Campanet and on towards Pollenca. We were on cycle path the entire way except for a .6Km piece of the highway to connect to the next path. We exited the path in Alcudia and rode the main street to our hotel for only about 4Km. It was a glorious day in the countryside with orchards of almonds, oranges, lemons, olives, fig trees, vineyards and lots of sheep and goats.
We rode through a few sections of the towns and enjoyed the beauty of the original wood or iron doors on the houses and the cleanliness of each village.
It was a good day to give our legs a rest from the
We rode through a few sections of the towns and enjoyed the beauty of the original wood or iron doors on the houses and the cleanliness of each village.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
To the mountains...Sa Colabra
To put it in perspective, today's ride is one of the most challenging rides in Mallorca. The ride takes you from the sea in Alcudia around Pollenca and then up to the Col de Femenia near the Lluc monastery. The following graphs show the detail of the topography, but not the beautiful scenery of this part of Mallorca. The mountains have been mastered by roads engineered with switchbacks, bridges and all manner of curves to climb 500+ meters up the very steep mountains. Most of the grades are at 5-7% and go on for over 7Km (4+ miles). It's a long grind up, but the views are spectacular!
Following, a pic of us at the second peak.
Another short climb of 115 meters takes us to the top of the descent into Sa Colabra. The descent is technically challenging with many switchbacks and the road even going under itself at one time. Fascinating engineering!
More of the descent into Port de Sa Colabra.
We took a ferry from Port de Sa Colabra to Soller. And there is only one way out of Soller- over Col de Soller! So after the climb up to enjoy that glorious descent into Port de Sa Colabra our journey by sea ended with the start of another long climb to almost 500 meters.
But the climb is rewarded by another glorious descent! And then a 40Km ride back through the valley across Mallorca to Alcudia. A long day, over 5000 feet of climbing (per Kathie's Garmin 705), capped with hot showers and a good dinner. It will be early to sleep and I'm sure we will sleep well!
Left, a happy Bill Spitale completing the descent from Col de Soller into Bunyola.
And that blue dot in the center of the next pic is Kathie beginning her descent to Port de Sa Colabra.
Yes! That's really her.
Tomorrow? Probably a gentle ride day in the valley to help our legs recover! But it will include a very Mallorcan lunch!
Following, a pic of us at the second peak.
Another short climb of 115 meters takes us to the top of the descent into Sa Colabra. The descent is technically challenging with many switchbacks and the road even going under itself at one time. Fascinating engineering!
More of the descent into Port de Sa Colabra.
Left, a happy Bill Spitale completing the descent from Col de Soller into Bunyola.
And that blue dot in the center of the next pic is Kathie beginning her descent to Port de Sa Colabra.
Tomorrow? Probably a gentle ride day in the valley to help our legs recover! But it will include a very Mallorcan lunch!
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