Soldato
Not quite that many miles, more like 360. Day 4 has a shorter 60 mile option depending on how I feel.
Cycling Holidays
- Thread starter Kimi
- Start date
Well my first proper cycling holiday is booked. Six of us going for 4-5 days in Portugal at the end of March. Some mates went in October and said it was great - good surfaces, varied terrain, no cars and cheap to eat etc. Got a villa with a pool and some local knowledge in the form of a guy who does guided cycling tours.
This is the sort of riding we can expect
https://www.strava.com/activities/745686861
Can't wait and some incentive to get on the trainer over the next two months
This is the sort of riding we can expect
https://www.strava.com/activities/745686861
Can't wait and some incentive to get on the trainer over the next two months
Soldato
Looks ace. Thinking of Mallorca and France again next year but will be looking for new destinations after that.
Soldato
So I'm back from Gran Canaria after 6 days of tough riding. 587km ridden with 13km of climbing.
The wind seems to be a common theme in the Canary Islands! I thought Lanzarote was windy as **** but it seems GC is too. Every day there was a relentless easterly with gusts of 25+mph. It's not quite as exposed as Lanzarote but the cliffs and valleys seemed to have an unpredictable effect on the wind, funnelling it and swirling it. Sometimes I'd be riding west with a headwind!
The character of the riding is quite different however. Lanzarote was relatively undulating with a handful of categorised climbs. GC is genuinely mountainous with no real way of doing a flat ride besides doing laps of the resort (I stayed in Maspolomas) or possibly an undulating TT along the coastal road. There are many long HC/Cat1 climbs including a 45km climb to the highest point on the island (1949m) which took me over 3 hours!
Most of the climb gradients are fairly steady except for the odd steep ramp here and there. The infamous "Valley of the Tears" climb featured the steepest sections of my trip, supposedly averaging 10% for 12km with several 25% sections. I was grinding away even with a 34-28! I think a large part of the difficulty of this climb is the poor road surface. On smooth tarmac it'd be a lot easier. That isn't to take anything away from what is a genuinely one of the hardest climbs I've done.
The roads themselves were pretty variable, ranging from nice tarmac to sun-cracked, potholed pieces of ****.
Besides the wind, the weather was pretty inconsistent and not quite as nice as last year - on the first day it was raining! It tended to get more overcast as you climbed higher and on the day I went to the highest point I nearly froze to death descending it was so cold. The view was also just a wall of cloud. Slightly disappointing after climbing up there for over 3 hours!
I used hydro discs for the first time in a genuinely useful application for them - descending mountains. Although they took some getting used to, I appreciated the extra power and not needing to worry about my carbon clinchers exploding due to heat build-up! I did feel they were a bit weighty though. I would definitely consider buying a bike with them next time.
Lastly, a note on the driving. Traffic wasn't particularly heavy (probably due to the time of year) and drivers were generally courteous, but one thing that really annoyed me was their habit of cutting corners as I was descending the switchbacks! One BMW was trying to Tokyo Drift his way up the mountain and I genuinely thought I was going to die as he was in my lane as I was cornering. ****!
Some pics:
Full album: http://imgur.com/a/tQu3n
The wind seems to be a common theme in the Canary Islands! I thought Lanzarote was windy as **** but it seems GC is too. Every day there was a relentless easterly with gusts of 25+mph. It's not quite as exposed as Lanzarote but the cliffs and valleys seemed to have an unpredictable effect on the wind, funnelling it and swirling it. Sometimes I'd be riding west with a headwind!
The character of the riding is quite different however. Lanzarote was relatively undulating with a handful of categorised climbs. GC is genuinely mountainous with no real way of doing a flat ride besides doing laps of the resort (I stayed in Maspolomas) or possibly an undulating TT along the coastal road. There are many long HC/Cat1 climbs including a 45km climb to the highest point on the island (1949m) which took me over 3 hours!
Most of the climb gradients are fairly steady except for the odd steep ramp here and there. The infamous "Valley of the Tears" climb featured the steepest sections of my trip, supposedly averaging 10% for 12km with several 25% sections. I was grinding away even with a 34-28! I think a large part of the difficulty of this climb is the poor road surface. On smooth tarmac it'd be a lot easier. That isn't to take anything away from what is a genuinely one of the hardest climbs I've done.
The roads themselves were pretty variable, ranging from nice tarmac to sun-cracked, potholed pieces of ****.
Besides the wind, the weather was pretty inconsistent and not quite as nice as last year - on the first day it was raining! It tended to get more overcast as you climbed higher and on the day I went to the highest point I nearly froze to death descending it was so cold. The view was also just a wall of cloud. Slightly disappointing after climbing up there for over 3 hours!
I used hydro discs for the first time in a genuinely useful application for them - descending mountains. Although they took some getting used to, I appreciated the extra power and not needing to worry about my carbon clinchers exploding due to heat build-up! I did feel they were a bit weighty though. I would definitely consider buying a bike with them next time.
Lastly, a note on the driving. Traffic wasn't particularly heavy (probably due to the time of year) and drivers were generally courteous, but one thing that really annoyed me was their habit of cutting corners as I was descending the switchbacks! One BMW was trying to Tokyo Drift his way up the mountain and I genuinely thought I was going to die as he was in my lane as I was cornering. ****!
Some pics:
Full album: http://imgur.com/a/tQu3n
Top of the `Serenity` route? Such a nice ride once you get to the wriggly bit.
Soldato
Mike Cotty of Col Collective has made a video of the 45km climb in GC!
Soldato
Anyone got any recommendations for Mallorca? Thinking of heading over for the last week of March as I have some holiday to use up. Looks like i'll be on my own and was thinking of staying around Puerto de Pollenca
Shamrock, Valley Of The Tears sounds absolutely gross! Big kudos. Shame about the lack of view at the top!
Oli_Collett, I was there, staying in PdP, in October or my own at the end of last year. What sort of riding are you looking to do? It's a good base and I'd recommend getting the Cycle Shuttle to Andratx to ride the north coast back to Pollenca, heading to Soller and including Puig Major.
You can ride to Sa Calobra pretty easily though the approach from the south, Selva I think it is has a fantastic climb, very manageable and great scenery. Whichever way you approach from it's a 1.5-2hr slog there.
Formentor lighthouse ride is close by and fantastic as you'd expect.
Riding 4-5hrs and on long climbs solo can be tough/boring but there was so many other cyclists around I had company/distractions for short sections.
https://www.strava.com/activities/747570579
https://www.strava.com/activities/749615323
https://www.strava.com/activities/751395540
Oli_Collett, I was there, staying in PdP, in October or my own at the end of last year. What sort of riding are you looking to do? It's a good base and I'd recommend getting the Cycle Shuttle to Andratx to ride the north coast back to Pollenca, heading to Soller and including Puig Major.
You can ride to Sa Calobra pretty easily though the approach from the south, Selva I think it is has a fantastic climb, very manageable and great scenery. Whichever way you approach from it's a 1.5-2hr slog there.
Formentor lighthouse ride is close by and fantastic as you'd expect.
Riding 4-5hrs and on long climbs solo can be tough/boring but there was so many other cyclists around I had company/distractions for short sections.
https://www.strava.com/activities/747570579
https://www.strava.com/activities/749615323
https://www.strava.com/activities/751395540
Soldato
Those first two rides look ideal for the kinda thing I'm after! Didn't realise there was a cycle shuttle too!
Would highly recommend the Cycle Shuttle, friendly bunch and it's a good way to find company for at least part of your ride, if you want it. Course you can ride to & from but wanted to save my miles for other climbs 
https://www.mallorcacycleshuttle.com/en/
Lots of good routes etc on their site and they do also offer breakdown/recovery if you don't have essential skills or want peace of mind.
I went all inclusive, flights, transfers etc (worked out cheaper than flights and a touring pack with local company) and stayed at the Fergus Style Pollensa Park, which is literally opposite pro cycle hire. Be warned though take your own electrolyte tabs with as they are not cheap out there 15-18EUR a tube
I left it to chance thinking there would be an abundance of them, local chemist sorted me out in the end but was still lolwutnotcheap.
Food in the hotel was fine, I've an extensive set of photos (guilty foodie) but got boring by the end of the week, poolside food was poor with odd timings and the same dining room was a bit monotonous. On the whole though it was good but if I went back I'd rent an apartment and eat out as it'd give flexibility and not dictate ride times so much nor leave you at the mercy of the weather. Loads of cafe's and restaurants down by the beach front and also in Pollenca old town too.
https://www.mallorcacycleshuttle.com/en/
Lots of good routes etc on their site and they do also offer breakdown/recovery if you don't have essential skills or want peace of mind.
I went all inclusive, flights, transfers etc (worked out cheaper than flights and a touring pack with local company) and stayed at the Fergus Style Pollensa Park, which is literally opposite pro cycle hire. Be warned though take your own electrolyte tabs with as they are not cheap out there 15-18EUR a tube
I left it to chance thinking there would be an abundance of them, local chemist sorted me out in the end but was still lolwutnotcheap.Food in the hotel was fine, I've an extensive set of photos (guilty foodie) but got boring by the end of the week, poolside food was poor with odd timings and the same dining room was a bit monotonous. On the whole though it was good but if I went back I'd rent an apartment and eat out as it'd give flexibility and not dictate ride times so much nor leave you at the mercy of the weather. Loads of cafe's and restaurants down by the beach front and also in Pollenca old town too.
Soldato
Would highly recommend the Cycle Shuttle, friendly bunch and it's a good way to find company for at least part of your ride, if you want it. Course you can ride to & from but wanted to save my miles for other climbs
https://www.mallorcacycleshuttle.com/en/
Lots of good routes etc on their site and they do also offer breakdown/recovery if you don't have essential skills or want peace of mind.
I went all inclusive, flights, transfers etc (worked out cheaper than flights and a touring pack with local company) and stayed at the Fergus Style Pollensa Park, which is literally opposite pro cycle hire. Be warned though take your own electrolyte tabs with as they are not cheap out there 15-18EUR a tube
Food in the hotel was fine, I've an extensive set of photos (guilty foodie) but got boring by the end of the week, poolside food was poor with odd timings and the same dining room was a bit monotonous. On the whole though it was good but if I went back I'd rent an apartment and eat out as it'd give flexibility and not dictate ride times so much nor leave you at the mercy of the weather. Loads of cafe's and restaurants down by the beach front and also in Pollenca old town too.
Thanks for the advice! Yeah I think I'll stick to self catering as I'll definitely be eating out a lot!
Kimi can probably recommend where's best. He rated Tolo's highly, it's on the beach front and does some impressive pizza apparently.
And FYI there's a BP petrol station not far from Valdemossa on the way to Soller and also a cool like roadside hut right by Sa Calobra that you can get food/water from without extortionate prices. Some of the ports are eye-wateringly expensive so I'm told.
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=29982803
Soller is definitely worth a stop for lunch on a nice day on the seafront. Lluc monastery for a coffee too.
Soller is definitely worth a stop for lunch on a nice day on the seafront. Lluc monastery for a coffee too.
Soldato
Off to Mallorca on 11th March again. Flights booked and hiring a bike this time as CBA with packing and unpacking hassle. For not much more than box hire and airline fees I'm hiring an Emonda with Di2 and going to sneakily swap the cranks out for my P2M when I get there. I'll take my own saddle too. Looking forward to it!
Soldato
Lol good luck with that, may as well save yourself the hassle and take your own bike!
I'm off to Calpe on Sunday, third year in a row. Can't wait.
I'm off to Calpe on Sunday, third year in a row. Can't wait.
Sounds awful! enjoy.
First year since I got my road bike I've not had a winter week away. Glad that racing has been keeping me busy otherwise I'd have probably rode off a cliff by now.
*Explores segments on Strava*. You have my attention
Where about do you stay? I'm on the fence about a Sept/Oct getaway again this year after Majorca in 2016. Judging by how I feel right now I will probably be needing it
Soldato
Swapping a crank is no more difficult than swapping pedals? Literally a five minute job!
Soldato
I tried to slam the stem of my hire bike and ended up screwing it up because I'd not encountered the style of headset Cannondale uses. It ended up having a lot of play which damaged the paintwork.
Lesson learnt, I wouldn't tamper with a hire bike again! You probably aren't as ham-fisted as me though.
Lesson learnt, I wouldn't tamper with a hire bike again! You probably aren't as ham-fisted as me though.