| A
week with Majorca'68
"Two of us flew Easyjet from cold and rainy Liverpool to
Palma, early flight on Jan 31st. As we came to the airport exit
we started to worry about phoning the hotel to arrange pick-up;
but Doug was already waiting with a van and two American visitors
who had just flown in from Chicago (zero degrees - fahrenheit!)
via Madrid. The van drove into the hotel basement; our Wilier
bikes were there too, so we dumped our bags and were on the road
by lunchtime, to Cap Blanc and back - 40 kms in the sun. The food
in the hotel is good and you can eat as much as you want. There
were several sets of tables occupied by cyclists, we could have
gone out with riders ranging anywhere from Pro to pensioners.
The atmosphere in the hotel is very relaxed, most of the staff
are family members and many ride bikes. Next stop was the cash
machine just across the street, it works in English luckily, I
used my ordinary Visa debit card - no problem. We visited Ciclos
Quintana in the evening for Spanish cycle clothing!
Next day there was an organised trip by public transport 'bendybus'
to Palma to watch the opening race of the Vuelta on a short circuit
on the seafront, but we decided to go by bike. The 7 kms to Palma
is all possible on cycle tracks. After the race we headed north
west and did a loop over the Coll de Sa Creu, climbing in warm
sun, to Esporles and S' Esgleieta, then back to Palma. On Monday
the general destination was Bunyola to watch the Tour, but in
practice several groups formed and did more or less miles according
to fitness and ambition. The weather was cool the rest of the
week, though to put it into perspective, there was almond blossom
everywhere, oranges and lemons on the trees, and broad beans were
flowering in the fields. In England it rained solid for three
days, we tried not to gloat. The rest of the week followed the
same informal pattern, with many cafe stops and increasing fitness.
We took our bikes back on Friday evening, were taken to the airport
early on Saturday, and (putting watches back one hour) were back
in Liverpool before lunch" |
