In June 2024, I had the pleasure of visiting Mallorca, Spain. Mallorca is the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands. Known for its beach resorts and limestone mountains, it is a popular cycling destination and frequently marked as “cyclist’s paradise” because of the warm weather, fantastic food, varied terrain, and well-maintained roads.

Getting sick right before the trip

While I was in relatively good shape (albeit most of my training was for running, as the Brooklyn Half Marathon had recently happened), I got sick right before leaving New York. My initial symptoms appeared like a cold, so it didn’t present as a blocker for going on the trip.

I rarely get sick, but unlucky timing? More on this later …

Figure 1.1: Garmin HRV insights leading up to the cold. HRV (heart rate variability) measures the time variation between consecutive heart-beats. It is an indirect measurement of physiological stress, and when the body is under stress the sympathetic branch is more active, leading to increased heart rate and beats in a more regular rhythm hence decreasing HRV. You can learn more here

Trip Plan

Situated right outside Port de Pollenca, the plan was to do several rides with my dad, and spend the off-days with my mom on the island. The main routes of interest were Cap de Formentor, a flagship ride from Andratx to Port de Pollenca, and Sa Colobra. Since I was sick, exceeding the aerobic heart-rate (Zone 2) was undesirable so my intention was to cruise most climbs if possible until my HRV fully recovered.

Figure 2.1: Hotel in Port de Pollenca, the food was great and within close distance to most famous routes. The bike was a Trek Emonda which worked quite well and had comfortable 11-36 gearing

Day #1: Cap de Formentor

52.06km, 1006m Elevation Gain

The first ride was going to the famous Formentor Lighthouse. The ride was moderate in difficulty, with a few category 3 and 4 climbs. It was very scenic, and had a good variety of geographies while being secluded from traffic. I also almost crashed into a goat on the way back!

Figure 2.2: Hair-pin turns from behind Cap de Formentor, at the end of the island

Figure 2.3: Myself looking at Cala Figuera

Figure 2.4: View overlooking Alucdia Bay from the watchtower

Day #2: Ermita la Victoria

28.42km, 408m Elevation Gain

This ride was a fairly easy spin to a millitary base on the other side of the Alcudia Bay. There were a few sharp sections on the climbs, but otherwise a light ride.

Figure 2.4: View overlooking Alucdia Bay from near the millitary base east of Alcudia

Day #3: Andratx to Port de Pollenca

140.12km, 3029m Elevation Gain

The flagship ride was a one-way trip across the northern mountaineous part of the island. It started at 5:30am where we took a bike shuttle from Port de Pollenca to Andratx. From there, riding across the coast and stopping at several ports added significant elevation and difficulty. Some interesting spots included Soler and visiting the historic town of Valldemossa.

There were several notable climbs/mountains to conquer:

  • Puig Major (720m Elevation Gain, 6.0%, Category 1)
  • Port des Canonge + Col de Claret (477m Elevation Gain, 5.4%, Category 2)
  • Port de Valdemosa (366m Elevation Gain, 7.5%, Category 2)
  • Col de sa Gramola (268m Elevation Gain, 5.0%, Category 3)
  • Col de sa Bastida (168m Elevation Gain, 6.2%, Category 4)

I almost skipped the ride because I couldn’t sleep the night before and felt sicker since I started to cough consistently. At that point, I wasn’t sure if I caught COVID-19 or some other virus. Nonetheless, I continued and tried to keep my pace within Zone-2 the entire ride.

Figure 2.6: Elevation chart for the ride. There were many moderate climbs, but apart from Puig Major nothing was similar to the climbs you would find the Alps

Figure 2.7: Sunrise at Port de Pollenca while waiting for the bike shuttle

Figure 2.8: Viewpoint from Puig Major, the highest elevation mountain pass in Mallorca

Overall I would consider this ride a succeess, especially considering I was sick while doing it. Surprisingly, I wasn’t tired at the end like in my previous 3000m+ elevation gain ride in the Stelvio Pass from the year prior.

Day #4: Local Villages

58.26km, 298m Elevation Gain

A relaxed recovery ride included a local route through several villages (Santa Margalida, Muro, Sa Pobla).

There wasn’t anything super notable, I found the ride quality slightly mixed with quite a bit of traffic on some roads. Generally, I would much prefer the mountaneous route from earlier routes but nontheless is was a good recovery effort.

Figure 2.9: Typical street connecting villages, in this case Muro and Sa Pobla

Day #5: Rest Day, Sicker

This day I took a rest day and went on a boat tour with both my parents. Unfortunately, I got sicker and started having a fever, and my cough got a lot worse …

Day #6: Skipped Final Ride

For my last day, I had to unfortunately skip doing the Sa Colobra climb because of fever and excessive coughing. I tested negative for COVID, and three days later after arriving in New York I learned I had developed pneumonia and had to take antibiotics. My dad still completed the ride though, which had a lot of overlap with the Day 3 ride except for the Sa Colobra climb itself.

Retrospective

The trip started on a rough footing after catching a cold, but overall still completed most climbs until having to skip my last ride due to illness. It was a relaxing trip, and the overall community and vibe on the island was very friendly towards cyclists.

What went well

  • Completed most intended rides, including my hardest flagship ride covering the Serra de Tramuntana
  • Food was excellent, weather was perfect, rental road bike was pretty good
  • Great variety of activities to do in Mallorca, including visiting the beach and other areas on the island
  • Enjoyed time with my parents

What could have gone better

  • Getting really sick affected the quality of my rides and overall satisfaction of the trip; the flight back was brutal with excessive coughing
  • There weren’t any challenging climbs such as the Stelvio Pass, which made the vistas not as impressive in comparison
  • Descents did not appear as impressive on my GoPro because of the aforementioned point

Overall, I am glad I went, though I wouldn’t go again because there are other more challenging climbs to do elsewhere in Europe. The only event I would potentially consider going back for is if I am already in Europe and wanted to complete the Mallorca 312.

YouTube Descents

Feel free to watch some descents on my YouTube channel! Apologies for the coughing in some of the clips.