Solo epic 131kms (2.7km vertical kilometres)

Up early to get the bikes from Joanna - O and I both on Cervelo S3s.

A large dose of coffee before meeting Mo and then straight out of Palma heading north west.

A fantastic day in the saddle with O and Mo joining for the first 20ks stopping in a lovely cafe in Capdella (after Calvia). The boys then headed east to Gallilea with me continuing north east towards the coast on the Ma-10 direction Andratz and then north. The road undulated from bay to bay amongst the pleasant wine and orange plantations.

Stopping for lunch at the Es Grau just before Estellencs was a welcome restbite which had a terrace with panoramic views of the rugged coastline with the sun popping out every so often. Estellencs and Banyalbufar were both picturesque beach towns on cliff outcrops with all the buildings in the same coloured sandstone.

Next up was Valldemossa and the notorious hairpins down to the port. I took it easy down but halfway my stomach started churning as was beginning to wonder how the hell I was going to get back out. At the bottom there were locals enjoying a Friday afternoon glass of wine an most of looking at me with a sly grin on their faces knowing that there is only one way out.

The bike today though was a dream. I am incredibly fussy about the set up of my bike and it was humming from the off which gave me the confidence to attack the 400m climb back to the cliff top. 25 minutes it took me with cars beeping to provide moral support as they came by.  minutes  later I reached the summit and then continued east along the northern coast road but this time turning north towards Deia and then again towards Soller. Whilst talking with Joanna at the bike shop she had given various versions of difficulty and so I thought it rude had I not opted for the toughest.
She had also warned that you could not take the tunnel which takes you through the mountain but instead would need to over the Col. After 100k+ of riding at that stage and more than 2k of vertical metered I was on no mood but set a steady pace and experience got me over the pass more than anything else.

Relieved to get to the top and with another 400m climb under my belt I belted down the other side taking the crazy number of switch backs and the ride back into Palma averaging greater than 40kmh. I was elated to be back and was a solo ride to remember.

Met Stevie, O and Mo for dinner at the Tapas joint called quina crue and ate like a king. Highly recommend. Then drinks and into bed at 3am. Massive but epic.

The route:

https://www.strava.com/activities/751574985

"8.