Double Up on the Way to Valdemossa.

May 24, 2022

Another day, another ride. Today's planned route took us along the gorgeous Mallorcan coastline as far as Valdemossa and then doubled back on the same road back to Soller. We had ridden the first part of this route to Deia on our day off a couple of days ago, and the extension today adds a significant climb to that route. It's a double 'up'.

We start every day with a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, bread, fresh melon, yogurt, nuts, cereal, cheese, pastries, fresh OJ and coffee. It holds us over well into the mid afternoon.

We rolled out at about 9:45, cruised through the main square, searched out a supermercato for water then headed down the main drag to begin the climb to Deia.

The historic Soller tram runs tourists between Soller and the Port de Soller. It starts right outside our hotel and runs through the central square.

Oh alright then, we qualify for this one way street!

We toodled through the neighborhoods on our way out of Soller and saw this lemon orchard along the way. Citrus trees are squeezed into any arable land here. Though it's not clear in the photo, there are zillions of lemons.

It was another lovely day for cycling. Temps were about 22-23 degrees and a light breeze wafted over us. Somewhere after the first summit on our way to Deia, we met our first traffic jam. A local TIB transit bus was heading towards us but could not navigate the corner, so all the traffic had to stop. Some had to back up, including us. Eventually, the bus inched its way through and we were all on our way. This must happen all the time and it put in perspective the cautious nature of the drivers. You never know when you might encounter a blockage like this.

Beautiful view framed by the trees, which provide shade for us.

Beautiful Deia. It's such a photogenic place.

The coastline is stunnng.Goats, sheep, chickens and donkeys meander the olive groves.

After Deia, the second climb begins. It is significantly steeper this time. David's GPS recorded a section of 9.4% which is getting up there! My Komoot map suggested the grades were even steeper than this. At one point, a couple of hot dog cyclists who looked as though they knew what they were doing, flew past us on the downhill as we were pedalling uphill. I am sure they were doing 60+ kmh and loving every second of it. Then there was the fellow we passed on the uphill who was not doing so well. We were both pretty sure he was overheating as we saw him slumped over his handlebars not once but twice, taking a break. It wasn't actually that hot out. He was cycling alone and said he was fine, just heavy legs, but we both saw overheating as the culprit. We wished him well and advised him to take it easy.

There were quite a number of hikers and walkers on the route today. We caught a glimpse of the rocky trail at this trailhead. Poles are strongly advised for hiking here, as is water!

There are many trailheads shooting off from the roads throughout the Tramuntana mountains.

Our cafe stop for coffee and cakes in Valdemossa.

Giro d'Italia is on and it's exciting to watch on the big screen. No, really, it is!

The grade of this climb is significant in the scheme of things, which meant it was a very fast descent. Weeeeee!

My bike had developed a malfunction just as we enteterd Valdemossa. I am riding Trek Domane with DI2 shifters, which are electronic (battery operated) shifters. Normally the batteries hold about 90 days of charge, depending on how much shifting you do. So it came as a complete surprise that I lost the shifting in the front derailleur. Fortunately, the system default is for the chain to stay on the small chainring when the battery loses power. This meant I could still climb the hills. I just couldn't click into high gear on the downhills. Boo-hoo!

This led to a brief interlude of consternation and confusion as I have no experience with electronic shifting and did not know what to expect. Would I lose all of my shifting? What I did know is that the majority of the return to Soller was downhill, so I crossed my fingers that the rear derailleur would continue to function. I sent off an email to the shop where we rented the bikes and said we would see them soon.

We rolled into Port de Soller in short order after a fun, long descent and went straight to the shop. The guys were great and said it would take about 45 mintes to charge the battery. So, we headed off for an avocado toast at a seaside cafe. I was shocked to see a number of people on the beach with serious sunburns. They were about to enter the house of pain when they next put on a t-shirt. As for us, we've been diligently applying SPF 50 suscreen every day and are still reasonably white skinned for all the hours spent outdoors. It's something we take seriously as a risk factor of cycling.

Beach at Soller, not many beach bums yet but the prevalence of sunburns is a little concerning.

The tram from Soller travels the length of the promenade at Port de Soller. It's pretty well packed with tourists.

The opening to this harbour is narrow, making it an ideal strategic location for its maritime history.

We returned to pick up the bike and chat with the business owner, Andy. He is a super fine, hard working guy. We scooped a couple of restaurant recommendations from him and cruised past one of his chosen spots to make a reservation for tomorrow before heading back to Soller.

Although we drink copiuos amounts of water during our rides, an ice cold beer hits the spot at the end of the day.

Elevation gain: 9597 metres.

Heart

Comment

Link

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 585 km (363 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	7
Comment on this entry	Comment	0