La Grava del Pla

A gravel cycling overnighter on Mallorca

Keeping true to one of my goals (doing at least one trip per months be it short or long) I packed ye olde Fargo in late April 2019 and went on a two day exploration of the farm tracks and gravel paths of the Pla de Mallorca - the central plane of the island.

To plan a gravel trip just using a map is tricky in my experience as a dotted line might be a smooth double track (think: the white roads of Tuscany) or a rocky singletrack that might be better suited to a Ferguson Antarctic tractor(forgive this comparison but I have been reading View from the Summit recently). This is especially true in place like Mallorca where access is sometimes restricted and paths may be overgrown. So I set out with my route planned but knowing that there might be a few detours.

The first day took my from the east coast of the island right through the heart of the Pla to Pollenca. The weather on this day was less than ideal with strong wind (of course from the “wrong” direction) and the threat of rain all day. The route turned out to be great taking me on nice gravel roads through fields, wine yards and a random golf resort with its own helipad. Along the way are several nice villages and a few ermitas if one fancies a bit of culture. I spend the night at the Refugio Pont Roma (part of the network of cheap and well run “mountain” huts on the island) on the in the picturesque town of Pollenca. The town was founded by the Romans and has several archaeological sites - hence the name Pont Roma.

Day two should have been the easier one with the same distance (90km) but less climbing and a tailwind. However my planned route did take me into a few dead ends and along the aforementioned rough singletracks. So the going was tough but the the landscape and the sunny weather made up for it. I did discover a few new stretches of route that will be great on the full suspension bike as a opposed to the ridgid gravel steed. One highlight of the day was climbing the steep track up Puig de Sant Marti and having a perfect panoramic view of the bay of Alcudia. This lookout also gave me a good view of the ridge of the Serra de Bernat Cavall which will be climbed sometime later this year. The final part of the ride took me along the Via Verde(a former railway track turned hiking and cycling path) back to where I started.

I am a advocate of making sure you get out of your home as often as possible to do stuff and make memories even if it is just for a 24 hour time span. This is an example of this kind of micro adventure. Not every trip has to be epic - which does not mean there isn´t bigger stuff coming up this year!

Adventurer: Bengt