The Zip Tie Express and its entourage
Take four climbers, put them on (and in) bikes, point them towards the Tramuntana mountains, add the special sauce of this being a test for Sebastians handbike creation and see what happens: That was the plan for this two day round trip on Mallorca.
200+km and 2.500+ meters of elevation for fun, giggles and to proof a point
In late 2023 I met Sebastian while climbing in one of the local crags and we quickly noticed some overlaps in interests. While already being an accomplished para climbing athlete and diver he recently had jumped head first into a project of designing and building a solar powered e-handbike. Combine this with my own interest in cycling and we were starting to talk about rides we could do together.
After a lot of back and forth and one long ride together he asked whether I wanted to join him and two other guys on an overnight trip around the island. The plan was to have two consecutive days of longish riding including a few big climbs both to check if the kinks had been worked out in Sebastian construction and to just have fun. Naturally I agreed at once.
On a windy day in late March I met up with Sebastian Lars and Martin (who were completing our little peloton) and we started our joint ride towards the mountains. Cycling along at a steady tempo I experienced first hand that the Zip Tie Express (which has been the name given to Sebastians’ homemade vehicle) does draw a lot of attention. Almost anybody seems to be curious about what's going on and what this (admittedly kinda weird) three wheeler is.
A few hours in we hit the first real climb from Pollenca up towards the Lluc monastery, which was our target for the day. Conditions did get quite grim with the wind staying strong and rain coming down for the last 30 minutes. Still we dodged the thunderstorm that rolled through a few hours later!
The second day continued through the mountains, along some of the walls that host the big alpine climbs on the island, up and over the highest point of the trip at 870 meters above sea level. From there we dropped all the way down (I´d say this is where Martin, who is new to road cycling, did catch the bug) to Soller and continued over the Col de Soller. After this our paths diverged with me riding across the island with a strong tailwind and the other three making their way back to their starting point.
So did we achieve what we set out to do? Completely: No technical issues (not even a flat), laughs shared and another step taken towards bigger adventures!
Stay posted for what's to come!
Adventurers: Sebastian, Lars, Martin, Bengt