Hitting the road in 2020
To stay on track with my ongoing commitment to do a trip at least once a month I headed out for a two day road bike excursion from the East coast of Mallorca, into the Tramuntana mountains and back in January - and was convinced again that this place just keeps being awesome.
2 days + 270km + 4.000m of elevation + smooth tarmac
After living on Mallorca for a few years I have ridden many thousand kilometers on the local roads. However, I do like to rediscover and revisit the parts I am not seeing that often and that was the purpose of this trip. I mapped out a route from memory beforehand and started off right from my doorstep.
Firstly I had to cross the island from the east coast via small roads to the foot of the Tramuntana in Caimari (in slightly annoying headwind...). From there the ride went up the Coll de sa Batalla and further up to Puig Major pass. After the long descent back to sea level in Soller I climbed the winding road through Deia and Valldemossa and reached Esporles. After a nice Cortado (an espresso with a tiny shot of milk) in the afternoon sun I checked into the local refugi called Son Trias (actually the same place I stayed at a year earlier during the Galatzó loop). Again the refugees here are highly recommended: Cheap, well kept and cosy.
Day 2 started in the brisk morning air with a climb over Coll des Grau and over two other passes in the southern Tramuntana. After two hours (and one flat tire) I rolled down the perfectly smooth tarmac into the capital of Mallorca: Palma. The juxtaposition of the quiet Tramuntana mountains and the busy city of Palma is very obvious especially coming down this road as you emerge from the trees, pass the motorway and a few minutes later meet the sea with its Yachts and the giant catedral. The final bit of the ride would be flatter and for once the wind was in my favor and the last 70km back home flew by on roads that got more and more familiar again as I got further to the east.
So what was special about this short trip? On paper: Nothing - just two longish rides on roads that I already know. In reality however I love how this kind of trip reminds me of how lucky I am to be able to do this kind of stuff. Besides: Now I am even more stoked for the stuff that is planned for 2020!