Port d'Alcudia to Palma: closing the loop

April 24, 2013

Climbed 394 metres, 1292 feet

Weather: cloudy, some sun, strong ENE wind, high 16

The skies were cloudy in the morning, and the wind was blowing, but no rain. We walked downstairs for our last buffet breakfast and lingered a bit to fully enjoy the bounteous spread. We would miss the omelets made to order, the cut fruit and the good bacon. Not the usual Spanish breakfast of pastry and coffee, but perfect for hungry cyclists.

Al had mapped out a route to Palma that avoided the divided highway across the island, and some of the larger towns. This would be our first ride in two weeks with weight on the bikes, and we didn't know which way the wind would be blowing, so wanted to allow plenty of time in case of a headwind. Bernat, our host in Palma, was expecting us around 5 pm, which seemed like a safe bet. We finished packing and left the hotel around 10:30 amid crowds of cyclists on the main road through Port d'Alcudia. As we cycled into the countryside we happily discovered that the fierce wind was behind us, blowing from the northeast, therefore a TAILWIND! We speeded along in spite of the bikes' fully loaded panniers; maybe they even acted a little like sails.

For the first 25 km we retraced the pleasant route to Llubi through quiet lanes past fields of onions and artichokes. Suddenly in a field near the road, Eva caught sight of a mother pig with six small piglets peacefully feeding. They were a black variety apparently native to Mallorca, and were very curious. They all got up to have a good look at us.

During one of the sunny breaks on a lane through almond orchards

Instead of going on to Sineu like last time, we turned off on another small road which eventually went uphill into the tiny village of Costitx. Costitx was about 35 kilometres from Port d'Alcudia, halfway to Palma, and we had planned to stop here for lunch. We climbed quite a steep hill to the attractive village square and discovered that the larger of the two eating-places was closed. This left a small bar/bakery with outside tables. The baked goods inside were all either large loaves of bread or sweet pastries, and when we asked about lunch, the woman behind the counter shook her head, no. Then Al said the magic words, “pa amb oli?” and of course she could make us some, and of course they were very good with plenty of cheese and serrano ham. Sitting outside was a bit chilly and we kept our jackets on. The sun did peek out occasionally and there was no rain. We had large cafe americanos to finish and took a few photos before heading off again. Just as we were leaving, a large group of about 25 cyclists rode up to the square from the other direction, dismounted, and milled about in front of the bar. We hoped the small place could handle that many customers all at once.

The square in Costitx during a well-timed break in the clouds

The bar/bakery where we stopped for lunch

We continued on through the village of Sencelles and towards Santa Eugenia, still on small lanes with hardly any traffic and still with a great tailwind. Al knew we had to join the highway near Santa Eugenia, but we unexpectedly found extensions to the lane we were on, and got at least another kilometre of peaceful riding before we had to brave the main road. We needn't have worried. The highway had a wide paved shoulder and we zoomed downhill for 13 kilometres almost to the coast with hardly any traffic. We briefly encountered some traffic congestion skirting the airport near Can Pastilla, but by then we were very close to the bike path leading to Palma. Once on the bicycle path, we were only about 20 minutes from our apartment, and it was only 3:00 pm! Partly because of the terrific tailwind, the ride from the north coast had been easier and quicker than we had expected and the predicted rain had not developed.

On the outskirts of Santa Eugenia just before the lanes we had cycled joined a main road to the coast

The closer we got to Palma the heavier the clouds got

We stopped for coffee at a nice cafe on the waterfront and then pedaled the last few kilometres into Palma. Since we were early, the apartment was still being cleaned, so we left our panniers there and went around with our bikes through the downtown for an hour or so. All the buildings looked familiar, and it felt like more than three weeks since we had left the city at the beginning of our tour. When the apartment was ready, we unpacked and cleaned up and then went for dinner to bi bap across the market square. The waiter recognized us, and we had the same good soup and duck dish as before.

Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 887 km (551 miles)

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