Mallorca 2012 Day 10

Second Rest Day, rephrase "active recovery day"
The goal was to do a shorter, flat ride, the only problem was,
as mentioned in previous blogs, there is no really flat spots on the island of Mallorca,
at least in the area we we're residing.

Taking some advice from Peter we explored some new beautiful roads with absolutely no traffic.
Small detour in Son Carrio due to the annual fair brought us to Porto Cristo, this time
with perfect weather.

Mallorca 2012 Day 9

Race Day!

Today was the Ironman 70.3 Mallorca.
We had two participants competing, Tom Dreyer from Eugene Oregon and Daniel Brandis from
Potsdam Germany, the winner of the Monster Mango in February.

The weather was great, maybe a little to hot for the run, 86F, both finished, congratulations.

A small group rode down to the 3/4 way on the bike course to cheer our athletes on.

The best way to end a ride is "Apes Bike" at our favorite restaurant by the pool.

Mallorca 2012 Day 8

Wondering why nothing is posted?
No camera, no pictures!

Even I make mistakes, kind of hectic morning, left my camera in the room, sorry.

Still went for an awesome ride, Scott, Franz and I tried desperately to brake the 30kmph average
speed barrier, with no luck, just short of it . This is not Kona, I could swear that there is not one
flat part on this island.

Might need to climb a few more hills on my Scott bike when I get back home.

Mallorca 2012 Day 7

Rest Day

7 continuous days of riding finally took its toll.
We needed a rest day, as we called it "active recovery"

As most of recovery days turn out, we won't slow down.
Visited Colonia St Pere, a sleepy fishing village 17 miles north of us
for some great views and coffee.

Mallorca 2012 Day 6

Another perfect day.

Clear skies, only a little wind, it's been like Kona lately with a brisk head wind both ways,
heading strait north today to the famous Cap Formentor, riding along the bays of Alcudia and Pollensa on the bike route of the weekends half Ironman 70.3.

Word was not to ride all the way to the Lighthouse at the end of the Cap due to the  road condition,
I was looking forward to the last part because of its beauty, last time I saw the Lighthouse was 20
years ago!

So we stopped at the first platform after a really nice 5k uphill at 7%.

Absolutely mind blowing are the views every where you ride.

Mallorca 2012 Day 5

Last day of airport transfers!
Cynthia and Tom arriving today from Oregon, this is it, vacation starts today.

We woke up to blue sky and little warmer temperatures on our 6th day in Mallorca.
A promising 78 degrees was announced by the local weather man.

Due to another transfer day I only had 2 1/2hrs to get a ride in.
Decided to ride short and hard, another climb up to the Bethlem Monastery.

Mallorca 2012 Day 4

Another short one today for me,
more riders to pick up from the airport, so no time to ride long, Julia, Franz and a our fellow cyclist from New Zealand Scott planned a longer ride to the monastery on top of San Salvador at around 1600 feet.

I took advice from Peter and rode on a new to me road to Cala Torta, not far from were we are staying.
It was a beautiful road with a new black top. winding up a small mountain with 8-10% grades all the way to the first top and 12-14% on the second part, so I call this road from now on "Small Kaloko".

Mallorca 2012 Day 3

 A mixed bag of weather waited for us today.
Our  planned ride of 70+ miles turned into a wet, cold and windy 35miler.

Brr, under shirt and arm warmers plus the "just in case" rain jacket were necessary today.
It was still ok at the start of the ride, but coming into the second roundabout in Arta, rain began to hit,
well, than we just turn left toward Port Cristo where it look promising warm and sunny.

Only to find out that 2 miles down the road, the rain picked up even more.
Fighting a stiff head wind we made our way to Porto Cristo and found shelter at one of the board walk cafes to warm us up with hot cocoa and coffee.

Amazing how small the world is, taking a picture of a business across from the coffee shop.

The weather never got better, so we made the decision to ride back and bite the bullet.
Darn...headwind and more rain and a flat, by then we looked like coal miners, so much grid and grime
on Spanish roads.

A hot shower and the afternoon in the restaurant watching the Giro made up for the miserable morning. Before 5pm it all cleared up.

Mallorca Day 2

We woke up to another perfect morning, no clouds and a crisp 64 degrees.
After a hefty breakfast Franz, Julia and I went for a, lets say, quick ride, due to the fact that
we needed to pick up more riders from the airport.

It was a long day with hours of delays, but I tell you, lots of things to see at an airport,

we spent exactly six hrs until we had every body in the van and made our way back to the hotel, right in time for dinner.

Mallorca 2012 Day 1

The first day started with bad news from our friends and fellow cycling vacationers Sue and Dennis.
What? They are not coming! Serious health issues with Dennis' leg, that turned out later not being
life threatened. Thank God, we'll miss them dearly. Get well soon Dennis.

Besides that, Julia and I went for a nice first day of riding through the beautiful country side
around Petra and concurred a short but steep climb to the Santuri di Betlem at a mere 1000 feet elevation.

The weather has been great so far, not as warm as usual, 69F in the morning with a stiff breeze more feeling like 60F. Tomorrow Franz and Lisa are coming, so short ride in the morning with an afternoon airport pick-up.