robert j. mang cycling/travel

Cycled a month in Andalusia using Montejaque as my base. The riding there is fantastic. Some photos are below.I also did 3 days of riding on Mallorca, and pretty much hit the highlights Northwest of the Ma-13, covering 185 miles with 19,000’.

On the plus side, Mallorca cycling certainly scores high on my three main criteria for day-trip rides. Roads: mostly perfect and a joy to ride on. Terrain: Loved the climbs and descents, couldn’t ask for a better cycling topography. Scenery: nothing short of spectacular. I have never in my life seen so many recreational cyclists (not counting the likes of commuters in Northern European cities, or Japan). It was truly amazing, which leads me to the not-so-plus-side.

Many places in the world, especially Europe are suffering from “over tourism”. Think, Amsterdam, Rome, Venice, Barcelona and a whole bunch more. In my opinion Mallorca has hit that for cyclists. I never thought I would say this, but I think there are far too may cyclists there. Add the staggering numbers of bikes – and lets face it, when you get those kind of numbers, you’re bound to have a lot or riders who don’t have a ton of experience with that type of cycling – to the endless stream of cars, trucks, and busses, and you get a situation that is less than idillic, and frankly, dangerous at times.

I left Selva pretty early for the climb up to the summit then to drop down to Sa Calobra, and on that initial climb I was alone, and it was wonderful. I was also alone on my descent into Sa Calobra so I could fly down the hill. At the bottom, zero tourists, no cyclists as it was still pretty early. However, on my ascent, as I got past the halfway mark, a phalanx of busses, cars, and a growing wave of cyclists were coming down. As the busses can’t make the turns around the switchbacks very effectively, it requires full attention to keep from getting squashed against the guardrail. Not exactly a peaceful ascent, though, as I was still pretty early, there were sections of serenity that I relished.

The ride to Cap Formentor was also pretty early, but once again, not early enough. There were literally thousands of cyclists, endless cars, and on my return, buses coming up as I got near Port de Pollenca on the final descent. 

Would I go back? Maybe, but only if it was convenient, say I was going there to sail, but I would do the rides leaving at Civil Twilight, and made sure I was finished well before noon. I like cycling in Andalucia better, plus there’s more to do here when you’ve finished riding.

the small street our rental house was on. There was a 24 hour run/ride that came down our little lane

Images from Andalucia

Images from Mallorca

~ by Robert on September 29, 2019.

Posted in Spain, Travels
Tags: Andalusia, cycling, Mallorca, photography, Spain