Part 4/6

From Lluc, we were heading back along the coast road to Soller where we had branched off earlier, although between Soller and Lluc the road runs inland quite a bit to avoid some of the highest peaks on the island (Puig Major at 1447m). This stretch of road again turned out to be superb. It just seemed that every bit of road that we rode was better than the last (or at least had a different character so was just as interesting). Stopping at a junction just after an aqueduct to check the map, the road that branched off looked like it could be interesting as it headed down the hills to the coast at sa Calobra. We would ride that on the way back to the monastery, as for now we were going to head towards Soller and up the Puig Major if we could.

The scenery was fantastic as the road went past a couple of reservoirs and through various little tunnels to cross from one side of the mountains to the other. Going from bright sunshine into the darkness of the tunnels, your eyes just had time to adjust to the dark before you emerged from the straight tunnel into the bright sunshine again with enough speed to make the impending 90 degree bend a slight problem! Going past the turning on the right for the road up to Puig Major, it looked to be closed off with a large fence. We would have another look at it on the way back, but it looked quite definitely closed. Not a problem, the road down towards Soller was excellent as it gently went downhill around one sweeping bend after another. After a while, we reached another useful point to stop and get a drink. There is an area on a sweeping corner with a car park and a small café. Unfortunately the café was not open, but there were machines where we could get a Coke and some water and go up on to the terrace that overlooks Port de Soller and the coastline. This place is known for the seabirds that fly around, and as we arrived we could see hundreds of them in the distance, although they had gone by the time we had got our drinks and sat down.





After the drink and a rest it was time to crack on as the day was getting on. We could see that the road down to Soller would just be a continuation of what we had just ridden, and although interesting we would be riding it later on in the holiday anyway as we planned to come back that way to ride the entire coast road on Sunday. I would far rather take the turning down to the coast at sa Calobra that we had seen earlier before getting back to the monastery before the light went completely. We had the route back past the lakes to look forward to as well, and if possible I wanted to turn off the main road and head up Puig Major. As this stretch of road had been fun, I switched on the video camera again to capture the experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4e0ruao1Yc

As it turned out, we could not climb the Puig Major as it was gated off and locked. However, we were able to open a gate and ride along the lake to the dam across the end of it. Motorcycles were not allowed, but we took a chance on it and rode carefully so as not to disturb the animals to much. There were several donkeys around that didn’t seem to care too much, but the sheep and young lambs were very jumpy. The dam was not as high as I’d expected, but nevertheless it was a nice photo opportunity.





Closing the gate behind us, we joined the main road again heading back towards the monastery. This time, we took the left turn at the aqueduct to take the road down to the coast at sa Calobra. The road first climbed upwards to the Coll dels Reis at 682m which in itself was a nice ride. But as we came through a cutting at the top and started to drop down the other side, a spectacular sight met our eyes – a sight that I had seen before in the magazine that had inspired us to come here:





The road does a 270° turn as it winds down the hill and then you see the amazing ribbon of tarmac as it drops further towards the coast.











Wanting to take more pictures, but conscious of the falling sun, we got back on the bikes and headed off down the stretch of motorcycling nirvana that we could see from above. Again, there were very few other vehicles on the road which meant that we could really enjoy it unlike in peak season I would imagine. I can’t really remember much about the ride down, just that it was taken probably too fast as we came down to each hairpin with a skid of the back tyre as we concentrated on staying the right way up and not going over the edges. Reaching the bottom at the coastal village of sa Calobra there was not much to see. In season, there are a couple of restaurants, and boat trips between here and Port de Soller, but we were just interested in the road and were keen to get back up in evening sun before darkness descended and took away our enjoyment. Having ridden down and experienced a good surface and no nasty surprises, we knew that the ride up would also be good so once again I switched on the video camera to record it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5wT9DEzJhs

Riding up a mountain road always seems easier than down, particularly on hairpins where on downward ones you have to keep your speed down with the back brake, so the ride up was even more enjoyable than the ride down. I can honestly say that this bit of road was not only the best that we had seen on the island, but the best that I have seen anywhere (and that includes the many Alpine passes that I saw last summer – although I have yet to see the best that the Alpine passes has to offer, the Stelvio). Reaching the Coll dels Reis again, we just had to stop and get some more pictures, and to ride the 270° corner again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n9u3pjx7-o

After getting the pictures and video, we saddled up and headed for home (for the night) at the monastery. We parked the bikes up underneath our room, but figured that they would be pretty safe in a monastery anyway. We had dinner on site in the restaurant which was delicious (I had a beautiful bit of steak), but a little expensive. The café was closed in the evening, but there was another at the entrance to the monastery that stays open into the night that does better value simple food. But we’d earned a good dinner and a few beers, and they would help us sleep through the night.

Saturday 16th

Saturday morning soon comes, and once again we wake up to lovely spring weather. We don’t know what the weather is doing back home, but we’re fairly sure that it’s not as good as this (although amazingly it turns out that it probably was, but is definitely not something that you can guarantee in England in mid February). We go down to the café to get the customary ‘café con leche’ to start the day and also get some breakfast of croissants. They have some lovely bread and cakes for breakfast in Spain and on Mallorca. Taking the opportunity to have a constitutional, we walk around the grounds of the monastery and up the hill to the cross that overlooks the whole site and the valley below.







After the coffee and constitutional had taken effect, we got our gear on and headed for the bikes. It was great to know that we were coming back to the same place again that night, so didn’t have to pack everything back into the rucksacks and take with us. Stu was particularly excited about the route for today, as we planned to go to the far North tip of the island where there is a lighthouse on the Cap de Formentor. One of the German guys that we had met on the first day of riding had told us that road is superb, and the guidebook had said that “Nervous drivers should not even think about tackling the 20km journey from Port de Pollença to Cap de Formentor, where the Serra de Tramuntana finally drop into the sea. Those that do, however, will be rewarded with some of Mallorca’s most dramatic scenery. The lighthouse’s café has views from the terrace to Menorca.”

Along with the Cap de Formentor, we also planned to take in a little more of the island by riding along the top coast road. Although flat, this would take us to see another side of the island quite different from the mountain terrain of the previous 2 days. There are some caves over on the East coast that I would like to visit depending on the timing and the weather. The route map for Saturday is shown below, with a link to an interactive version from Google maps that you can zoom in to show the roads or aerial photographs.



http://tinyurl.com/yqfbdp

Preparing the bikes, I stuck a bit of Velcro on the rear to have the video camera rearward facing for a bit of interest and to be able to get some shots of the rider behind that could be used later to edit up a more interesting video. I set the camera rolling and we headed off for what promised to be another superb day of riding. The roads were still damp in places, but that would soon dry up as we headed out from under the trees and out into the sunshine.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=035mOUxufpw

The Ma-10 out of Lluc was much like most of the Ma-10 had been all along the North coast, but it then descended towards the town of Pollença and turned into a flat, straight dual carriageway that skirts around the coastal towns of Port de Pollença and Can Singala. Leaving the towns behind, the road changes to the Ma-2210 heading for the Cap de Formentor. Expecting the road to be superb, we pull over and I switch on the video camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk9oOOrUTn8

We were not disappointed, and the road was great up to the point where it reached the top of the first hill where I stopped the recording. After that, it was not very interesting for a while around the village of Piedra where the road splits to go down to a couple of the beaches. As it got interesting again, I set the video camera to record, and captured the rest of the dramatic journey to the lighthouse at the end of the Cap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4k2lzwvnN8

Reaching the end of the road, we pulled up at the lighthouse and went up on the terrace to look back on the road that we had just ridden that was as good as the guide book had promised (although I still don’t think that it was as good as the road down to sa Calobra from the Coll dels Reis that we had rode the evening before). The scenery was definitely more spectacular though as you were right on the cliffs edge.





Getting a cup of coffee and a bit of cake (very expensive, but what do you expect when it’s the only place to buy from and is a major tourist spot?), we sat out on the terrace in the blazing sunshine. Stripping down to a tee shirt, it was a chance to top up the tan from Thailand at Christmas. Unfortunately we couldn’t see Menorca as the bright sunshine made it hazy in the distance. What we did see was pretty funny though – a cyclist had parked her bike up and left her packed lunch on the wall by it whilst she went over to have a look over the cliff. Meanwhile, a circling seagull had spotted her rolls and swooped down to make off with them in the plastic bag. Luckily for her, it picked the bag up by the bottom and immediately tipped the rolls out onto the grass bank below and she saw it happen and quickly ran over to get them before it came down again.

After sitting in the sun and enjoying the view for a while, we got dressed again and got back on the bikes as we had quite a bit more road to cover in the plan. Riding so close to the cliff edge had affected Stu’s confidence – his fear of heights had made him lose his riding mojo – and I can understand why. I have only had my licence for 4 and half years and I still sometimes get a fear of the edge of the road, and concentrate my view on it instead of looking around the corner to the vanishing point. So for someone to come and ride such roads after having only a couple of month’s experience was quite brave in the first place, particularly on an unknown bike with the constantly changing surfaces.

Going back along the Cap de Formentor peninsular, we arrived at a junction where I had seen cyclists climbing higher when we had passed it earlier. Taking that very small winding road to the top of that peak we found several derelict buildings that looked like something left from the 2nd World War. From these buildings, there was a superb view over the bay of Pollença where you could see down to the (once private and famous) Formentor beach at Piedra and across the bay to Cap des Pinar. Again, due to the haziness we could not see as far as Menorca which was a little disappointing (for some weird reason – I think it has to do with Britain’s coming from an island, although we often don’t think of it like that).