Mallorca: Day Two

28 April 2009

If our first full day in the saddle is any indication, this will be a wonderful bike tour. We did a 94 km (almost 60 mile) loop in the south central part of the island. The weather was terrific, cool, partly cloudy, steady breeze but never a painful headwind. The terrain here is mostly flat with just enough topography to keep it interesting. (We did climb a 500 m peak in the mid afternoon, so it is not all flat.) Mostly, we ride either on wide-enough shoulders on the major roads or (even better) on quiet country lanes.

Mallorca is just the right size for a cycling holiday, about 75 km across and 60 km north to south, roughly in the shape of a diamond. Now we are near the coast on the southwest side, closer to the southern point than to the western one. Tomorrow, we ride across the island to near the northern tip. The topography in the north is more rugged, and we will be spending most of our time there.



Among the highlights of the day were these:
• Superb pastries in Campos (maybe the riding helped, but these really were great!)
• Riotous wildflowers in the occasional fallow farm field
• The climb up and the glide down Puig de Ronda, from which we had a tremendous view in all directions extending over most of the island

So far, our energy is high and the aches are minor. From past experience, we know that the 3rd or 4th day of consecutive intense physical activity can be the toughest. We’ll see!