Day 9 Palma: Beaches, Windmills and a Castle
by Will Wattles

This day began with a dour forecast: light showers becoming more prevalent in the afternoon. It was a day to stray not far from home in between periods of rain.

First I pedaled the Montague MX folding bike up on a hill for a bocadillo (sandwich) and coffee at an outdoor place overlooking the harbor and the cathedral. I figured I must be adjusting to the climate to be able to eat outside. It is the best way to avoid the omnipresent smoke.

I rode my folding mountain bike down the beach for miles. A few sprinkles fell and then the sun came out a little bit. Encouraged, I stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant for a Roma Pizza. With its bike lane along the water, the beach area east of Palma consists of one hotel, condo and tourist business after another. Lino's II, a cheerful amalgam of tables and blue/white awnings, listed menu items in German. As I ate, I watched planes landing and felt the march of time toward the end of my chance to explore this delightful island.

Windmills, Windmills, Windmills
With the finish of my pizza, I rode into countryside. I passed one windmill after another; there must have been hundreds of them. Struggling into a stiff head wind, I was amazed that each windmill sat idly. I thought back to the electric power plant I had passed at Port D'Alcudia with huge piles of imported coal just waiting to be consumed. How sad that those pretty, pollution free windmills can't compete.

After my ride in the country I was dying of thirst so I went "home" and drank a few bottles of water from the tap. Then, since it still wasn't raining, I went out west of town. After riding up a long hill from the harbor, I saw some woods behind a tall rock wall, people on mountain bikes and a hole in the wall. I carried my folding mountain bike over the rubble for a look and pedaled the Montague MX up the trail.

Two guys were taking pictures of one another going over a jump and invited me to join them; I declined. They turned out to be former Londoners that have lived here for a couple of years. These friendly and enthusiastic cyclists told me the trail would lead up to the castle so I took off up the trail for my most serious mountain bike adventure of the trip. I rode the dirt, rocks, roots, mud and loose gravel trails quite a while. Sure enough, the single track mountain bike trail dumped me at the gate of the 14th century Castell De Beliver.

The Castle has survived in remarkable good condition but its real claim to fame is the grand view. A Japanese couple cheerfully took my picture overlooking the harbor and city of Palma. Then, I put all my flashing lights on for the ride back to my room. I had a great day of riding 40 miles on the beach, in the country and on rocky trails without ever getting more than a few miles from Palma and without getting rained on (sprinkles excluded).

Mileage for the day: 40
Total trip miles: 283

Perfect Mallorca 50 Mile Bike Tour

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-bike-tour, Montague-MX