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Factfile
Distance & Terrain:
The day rides range from 30 to 80 miles, all on well-maintained, paved
road. The terrain is generally flat by the coast, gently hilly inland, and very
mountainous in the Tramontana.
Marked cycle routes are increasing in number and details can be
found on several Mallorcan websites including the following:
http://www.balearnet.com/mallorca/biking
Getting there:
Flights to Palma de Mallorca are plentiful from many UK airports. I flew
from Liverpool with Easyjet. The airline insists that a bicycle is boxed or
wrapped safely and charge £15 per journey to carry it.
www.easyjet.com
Wrapping your bicycle:
My carbon fibre bike is obviously fairly valuable, and I carry it in a
hard case from Scicon. The cases are not cheap, but worth it, to ensure the bike
arrives in one piece. Depending on the size of the bike, you will have to remove
rear derailleur, wheels, pedals and handlebars, so make sure you have enough
tools to put everything back together again.
www.scicon.it
Maps:
The AA Island Map series, of Mallorca at 1:75,000 shows all the main and
minor roads, as well as marking the cycle routes, and cycle shoulders on main
roads. Highly recommended.
www.theAA.com/travel
Accommodation:
There is no shortage of hotels in Port de Pollenca. I prefer to spend
the time in an apartment, giving more flexibility to cook, and safe storage for
the bicycle. I can highly recommend the following website. Los Geranios is
English-owned, set in a quiet suburb, just 400 meters from the beach and town
centre.
www.puertopollensa.com/losgeranios2fl
Amenities:
Port de Pollensa has everything you will need for a two week holiday.
The Caprabo supermarket is on the edge of town. There is an English-run bike
shop, stocking spares as well as doing excellent bike hire.
www.procyclehire.com
Restaurants are plentiful and the food is excellent. I can
particularly recommend the seafront restaurant Sail and Surf for its
friendly staff and exotic fish. Also try the Hibiscus, hidden away in a
back street, and the Dakota Tex Mex in the main square for a fill-up on
that comfort food and a few beers, after a long ride.
It is also worth being a daily customer at the Helado Garrido
ice crème parlour on the pedestrianised promenade. There are enough varieties of
ice crème there to have a different one after every ride....
When to Go:
From March, the cycle training camps start up in earnest. You can expect
cool mornings but temperatures to reach a comfortable 18 degrees during the day.
The island enjoys lots of sunshine, and I found June very pleasant, but July and
August would probably be too hot, and November through to February a touch cold.
The island does tend to be a bit windy, but then, for every
headwind, there is a welcoming tailwind on the way back!
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