Day 8 Puig Randa to Palma
by Will Wattles

I awoke in my sparse, cold cell in the monastery and immediately looked outside. Thick fog hid everything. I could have been a sea level rather than looking out over a sheer drop of some 500 meters. I walked around outside for a few minutes before breakfast at nine. I noticed a couple had arrived on bikes after me.

The same waiter served me lots of food and two cups of coffee to get me started. Lest I give a false impression: the room had a bath with hot water and was brand new from head to toe. With only two narrow beds, minimal wood furniture and no decorations it had a wonderful Spartan feel. The food was great; so this is not really roughing it but, you can pretend.

I bundled up and started down the hill on my pannier laden Montague MX. I went only a kilometer or so before stopping at the Sant Honorat monastery. The fog turned out to be clouds and I could already see countryside from this spot.

After another kilometer, I stopped at the Santuari de Gracia, the third hermitage on Puig Randa. It sits dramatically on a ledge cut into the cliff and directly under Sant Honrat. I pedaled to the sanctuary's entrance where a man was opening the gate. I asked him if I could go down to Lluc Major using the left hand road leaving the hermitage. He firmly said no and, as I asked, I noticed the do not enter symbol on a sign so I didn't push the issue. It had looked on my map like this was an alternative way to exit Puig Randa and I always prefer not to back track.

Just as I was leaving, I noticed that the sign also said excepto autorizado y bicicletas. So I weighed the sign against the man and chose the former. It was a delightful road apparently almost unused. It's switchbacks were much tighter than those on the main road, making the ride down even more fun. Soon I rolled out into the countryside and to the town of Lluc Major.

Lluc Major is very photogenic so I took a few pictures and bought some apples at an inviting little shop. They had a map in the main plaza that allowed me to find my way to the back road indicated on the cicloturismo map I had picked up in Santa Ponca. I crossed a major highway and looked back from the bridge for a nice look at Lluc Major and Puig Randa, in the clouds.

Once on the bike route I found a cicloturismo kiosk with a map and followed the familiar wooden bicycle signs all the way to Palma. The first ten miles or so couldn't have been nicer biking. There were no cars and lots of what I call “share the road signs” indicating a speed limit of 40 kph which is only about 25 mph. Smooth pavement on flat roads through farm and ranchland with rarely a house and not even utility poles took me all the way to the coast road.

Several groups of bicycle racers passed me including one group with the coach close behind on a motorcycle. I passed a striking church and windmill but didn't determine what it was called. When we finally ended on the relatively busy road it had a nice marked off shoulder. I followed that for five miles or so and at Cala Blava was able to get on separate bike trails for the last 15 miles to Palma.

I pedaled the Montague folding bike through Arenal and by dozens of resort areas packed with hotels, restaurants and the like. It was warm enough now for the outdoor tables to be full and lots of walkers and bikers out giving the afternoon a festive feeling.

I checked into my room at the Hostal Terminus in the heart of Palma and between the two train stations. I noticed that it costs 21 euros a day to rent a mountain bike from the hotel. At that rate, I'd pay for my Montague MX folding mountain bike pretty quickly.

At lunch I chatted with a woman from Peru who lives in London and came here on vacation. She seemed quite envious of my having a bike. I also went to the train station just in case bad weather hits Monday when I have to travel back to Pollenca. A delightful young woman said there was no charge to take a bike on the train and the schedule had little bicycles next to the trains (75% during the week and 100% on weekends) that can carry them. Each hotel has been quite accommodating of my full size folding bike so this really is a bicycle-friendly island.

Mileage for the day: 50
Total trip miles: 243

Mallorca Mountain Bike Tour - Palma

More about Will Wattles... Will truly enjoys bicycle touring. Over the last decade, he's toured places such as Greece, Costa Rica, Malta, Chile and Venezuela. For more stories and photos from Will's previous bike trips, visit WillBike.com.

Labels: Mallorca, Montague-MX