Cala Ratjada to Port d'Alcudia: north across the hills

April 11, 2013

Climbed 345 metres, 1131 feet

Weather: sunny and warm, high 24 C

We left the hotel about 9:30 and rode through the back streets of Cala Ratjada, joining the highway that skirted Capdepera below the hill with the Castello. There was a good shoulder, and the terrain was gently rolling for the 10 kilometre ride to Arta. After a very brief look at Arta we carried on into the hills on the only route north. We knew in advance that today's ride would be the only day of the tour on a main road for the whole way. It turned out that the traffic was only moderate, but there was a headwind as we negotiated a series of uphill sections climbing up and over the east/west range of hills. The wind was then behind us as we descended the other side which featured some pretty steep downhills, and we noted cyclists coming in the other direction struggling with the grade against the wind. Once we turned closer to the coast the terrain was rolling with a few descents into river valleys and short climbs out. There were no obvious lunch stops anywhere after Arta, although there were turnoffs to several resort villages, which would have meant significant detours.

By the time we reached the resort town of Ca'n Picafort at 35 km, we were hot, tired and really hungry,. Our hearts sank as we viewed the unappealing strip of fast food joints along the highway, and we decided to ride a bit further through the town towards the water. We soon came to a paved bike path along the sandy beach with one eating place after another, many of them still closed for the season. We chose Don Denis, largely because its outdoor tables were in the shade, and were soon feasting on flavourful gazpacho and our first ever pa amb olis. These are open-faced sandwiches on whole-grain Mallorcan bread, rubbed with garlic and tomato and topped with almost anything. Eva had a chicken filet and grilled vegetables on hers and Al tried the squid, which was delicious. We both indulged in dessert—apple cake for Al and chocolate brownie for Eva, both with ice cream. While we ate, we watched people walking and cycling along the path with moored boats in the harbour behind them.

The ride after lunch was only 10 kilometres along a busy road to our hotel in the major resort area of Port d'Alcudia. Luckily there was a wide shoulder or frontage road most of the way. So many cyclists descend on Port d'Alcudia that safe bicycle routes have to be provided for them. We couldn't see the long sandy beach from the road, since it was hidden by high-rise hotels, many of them still closed for the season. Riding past hotel after hotel, we wondered if we had made a mistake planning to spend almost two weeks here. There were cyclists everywhere, all dressed in lycra and on road bikes.

Near the bridge along the main highway at the south end of Port d'Alcudia

We soon saw that Port d'Alcudia was very popular with cyclists

We reached our hotel, the Ivory Playa, and checked in to our apartment on the third floor with a separate bedroom and fully-equipped kitchen, as well as a balcony overlooking the swimming pool and the Mediterranean beyond. We were very pleased to have a sea view, since the rooms on the other side of the hallway looked out on the busy road below. We had reserved this hotel after reading favourable accounts from other cyclists who had stayed here recently, and it turned out to be an excellent choice. No bicycles were allowed in the rooms, and we were told to take our bikes over to the hotel's special storage facility across the road, which was a large secure space with racks to hang 260 bikes.

The large storage room for bicycles across the street from the hotel. Our Bike Fridays were the only anomalous bikes on the racks

The pool area at the hotel turned out to be quiet and underutilized at this time of year.

The living area and balcony of our suite

In spite of the kitchen, we had booked half-board—we couldn't resist the very reasonable tariff--and wondered what the meals would be like. Dinner service began at 6:30, which was unbelievably early for Spain and suited us just fine. Although the dining room was a bit noisy, the buffet featured a large choice of salads, main dishes, nicely cooked vegetables and desserts. Wine was extra, of course, but we could buy a bottle to last for several meals. German was the main language we heard from the other guests, but the dining room staff could also manage English quite well. After dinner we returned to our room and watched a few boats cruising by and lights gradually coming on along the shoreline.

Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 197 km (122 miles)

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