{"id":4297,"date":"2025-11-17T16:19:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T15:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/?p=4297"},"modified":"2025-11-24T17:34:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T16:34:20","slug":"mallorca-si-por-favor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/adventure\/mallorca-si-por-favor\/","title":{"rendered":"Mallorca \u2013 \u00a1S\u00ed, por favor!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mid-October finally arrived: my first time in Mallorca. Sun, sea, golf course (yes, really!) and of course, road biking. Technically, I was on my gravel bike, equipped with 34-mm tires for the road, and for me it was the perfect choice! No matter how rough the roads got or when I veered onto a gravel path - my bike handled it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As tradition demands, I rode the Sa Calobra.<\/strong> You simply have to do it, otherwise, apparently, you\u2019re not allowed to fly home. Then there was Cap Formentor<\/strong>, which is almost car-free until the end of October. Sounds peaceful, except for the fact that half of Europe seemed to be on bikes too. Gran Fondo vibes included. But wow - it is absolutely stunning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mallorca has so much more to offer. I discovered Orient<\/strong>, Randa<\/strong>, the breathtaking coastal road between Valldemossa and Andratx<\/strong>, and Sant Salvador<\/strong>. And by then it was clear: I had fallen in love - with these tiny roads and climbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spontaneous \u2013 yes, that\u2019s me!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Back in Switzerland, a week of routine \u2013 and bam: flight booked, Mallorca Round 2. This time: no golf, no sightseeing, just biking.
Orient and Randa back on the list, because true love deserves care. Plus a coffee in Petra<\/strong>, discovering the Coll de S\u00f3ller<\/strong> (absolutely beautiful!) and many other small climbs and roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came that moment when your brain throws a crazy idea and your legs hear it too late: why not ride all the way around Mallorca?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Big Day<\/strong> \u2013 all around<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The days before I had already racked up some kilometers, so hardly optimal preparation. But I got up early, no alarm needed. 4:00 a.m. - oatmeal with fruit. 5:30 a.m. - wheels rolling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arenal at dawn:<\/strong> While some were just finishing their party night, my adventure began. The first 115 kilometers were flat and quiet in the darkness. Meanwhile, my body kept chiming in: too tired for this distance, exhausted from the many kilometers, and probably still a little traumatized from the sleepless night after a minor emotional drama (yes, even I have had heartache). In Arta<\/strong> I stopped for the first time: coffee and Ensaimada<\/strong>, the traditional sweet pastry \u2013 exactly what I needed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then I continued through Alcudia<\/strong> and Pollenca<\/strong>, popping up bottles and grabbing a small snack after 160 kilometers.<\/strong> Up to that point, the ride had been fast and almost too easy: 1,000 meters of climbing in 5 hours 40 minutes<\/strong>. And that\u2019s exactly when I realised the pace might have been a little too optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Never-Ending Uphill Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Coll de Femenia?<\/strong> 7.6 km | 420 m ascent<\/strong> - done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puig Major?<\/strong> 8.2 km | 340 m ascent<\/strong> - yep, even that. Surprisingly well, actually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coll d\u2019en Vela?<\/strong> 4.0 km | 201 m ascent<\/strong> - short but tough, check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came the coastal road. Beautiful, but endless. With climbs like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coll de Sa Pedrissa?<\/strong> 6.7 km | 292 m ascent<\/strong> - long and tough in my state, but amazing views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coll de Sa Gramola?<\/strong> 3.5 km | 167 m ascent<\/strong> - another one. Sure. Why not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then roughly twenty more mini climbs. On the map they looked like little waves. In reality, they felt like the Himalayas. Somehow I managed to get over them all. Along the way, I even ran into a familiar face. I looked like a sun-soaked salt rock, but hey - a quick \u201cHola!\u201d and a selfie were still possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After 270 kilometers<\/strong> , I stopped again just after Andratx<\/strong> for a Coke and an attempt at some food. Nothing went down, so I just kept riding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last 30 kilometers flew by surprisingly fast \u2013 and then it was done:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

299 km | 3,800 m ascent | 11 h 24 min
<\/a><\/strong>And yes, in reality, it was over 300 kilometers \u2013 I tend to start a bit late and hit stop a bit early ;) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would I do it again?<\/strong> Absolutely.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m already thinking about what\u2019s next. Islands? Continents?\nYou never know. But my gravel bike knows: there\u2019s more to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a few more magical days mit sunsets and ice cream, it was back to Switzerland \u2013 where winter is already knocking. Time for warm gloves, dreaming of Ensaimadas, and planning the next adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mallorca, see you again. Absolutely!<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mid-October finally arrived: my first time in Mallorca. Sun, sea, golf course (yes, really!) and of course \u2013 road biking. Technically, I was on my gravel bike, equipped with 34-mm tires for...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/342C7C6D-84E6-4957-8874-CC8FAA5B2BFB-1-scaled-e1763999185327.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4297"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4324,"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4297\/revisions\/4324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/highoncranks.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}