Back to Palma

October 23, 2023

Farewell Mallorca, for now

We have a bright shiny morning for our last ride in Mallorca. The only real work is in the first four miles, retracing our path east up the switchbacks to Coll d' Claret. Terraced hillsides and flower-bedecked fences entertain us on the way. The ride up goes by quickly, then we turn south, downhill towards Palma.

We flew by this scene on the way down to Banyalbufar yesterday. Glad to have a nice long look at 4 mph going the other way.

Another touring cyclist! We've seen very few on the roads here. She and her companion are heading the other way towards Andratx, at the south end of the coastal road. I'm tempted to turn around and do the same.

Just past Esporles most of the traffic turns off to the left and the road is peaceful.

No pretty green shutters here. We must be back in the 'burbs.

We're on the edge of Palma just after noon with plenty of time open for some shopping. Souvenir jerseys are on the list along with tubes and maybe a saddle. After the last few beautiful days on the coast it’s a bit of shock to be back in city traffic, negotiating double traffic circles with cars coming and going from the highway.

At the Trek store I find a saddle with more padding and springs. It’s quite a bit heavier than my old saddle. The prospect of continuing to squirm around finding a comfortable position trumps my weight concerns so I go for it.

We both find nice padded gloves on sale. Barry takes to a colorful long-sleeve jersey for the cooler days coming up. It’s a double extra large - Italian sizing for an American large.

The mechanic at the Jo Bikes Specialized store nearby lends Barry a wrench to tighten up his headset. They have one 20 inch tube to beef up our supply. Hopefully we won’t need any of them now that we’re stocked up.

Really nice guys at the Specialized shop

By 2:00 most of the bike shops have closed for the afternoon. Based on what I'm seeing in the shops, I think it’s too late in the season to find the souvenir short sleeve jersey I’ve been imagining so I let it go. We have lunch near the transit station and roll on via the waterfront bike trail to our hotel.

The Cristal sandwich here is really good, kind of a souped up American club.

This is the elevator we took down to the bus dock last week. It's almost big enough for both of us with the bikes. Way better than the escalator.

The winds are much calmer today than when we arrived last week.

We’re back at Eurostars Marivent tonight where we stashed some of our gear last week. It’s a notch or two above our usual level for lodging, and for unknown reasons the clerk has upgraded us to a suite on the top floor. I could get used to this.

There's plenty of room in the suite for Barry to finish the saddle upgrade. We’ll see how it works in Valencia.

My old saddle is the same model that I use on two other bikes. For some reason it just doesn't work for me on the Bike Friday.

Magnum cheek pads, big springs. That oughta get the job done.

She's ready for the 2k trip down to the ferry tomorrow morning.

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Today: 22 miles, 1,386 feet of ascent

For the tour: 562 miles, 36,631 feet of ascent

Today's ride: 22 miles (35 km)
Total: 563 miles (906 km)

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