Day 4: Formentor Lighthouse & Lluc
Woooweee! A good day of riding is in the books! It was such a neat day, I made a rough video to showcase it in addition to photos; take a look below.
The day started with great weather - around 62 and rising to 72 to close out the day - and clear skies. At breakfast, as I drank my coffee, I exclaimed how good it was. A woman near me said, ‘coffee is like a hug, from the inside’. I thought this was a great description and wanted to share.
“Coffee is like a hug, from the inside.”
Besides my new coffee motto, culturally Mallorca is very much a German tourist destination. One might say, the ‘Florida Keys’ of Deutschland. So, the second most common language, the primary tourist and the common breakfast food, is German. All of that to say, it’s been fun to hear and attempt to ‘fit in’ as a German here. After breakfast, we suited up and headed out at 9 local time.
We did two distinct rides today - #1 Formentor and #2 Lluc. First, a ride out to the Formentor Lighthouse. This ride was north of the resort out to a famous lighthouse on a long peninsula. After a 5 mile warm up, we started the 10 mile trek, which included several climbs between 600-800 feet. We were greeted by great views of the ocean, tunnels, Roman ruins and many goats. The lighthouse itself was a great view and quick break before heading back, doubling the distance and elevation. After the out and back, we covered 25 miles and 2,500 ft of elevation, more elevation than my typical 70 mile rides at home.
Some of the group headed for another 25-30 mile segment to a southern peninsula (de la Victoria), while four of us headed towards Lluc, a larger climb west of our resort. What I didn’t realize at the time, was this climb was 3x what we just did in the morning! The four of us went through a small town at the base of the climb (featured in the video) and then started up the many switchbacks. Overall, the grade of the road was never too steep, so we kept our pedal cadence smooth and consistently moved towards the top. The asphalt was perfectly maintained (as we’ve seen throughout the trip), which my fellow riders fondly call ‘Ass Candy’. The terrain up the climb looked almost like a state park; well-maintained underbrush, really nice large hardwood trees and walking paths throughout. Up on the top was a small eatery to grab baguettes, water and other snacks. Unconventionally, I went with Sour Patch Kids; a very funny impulse purchase for me. Now, the decent; 1,500+ feet of downhill cruising in about 9 minutes (featured in the video starting at minute 3). It was well deserved with many long, straight stretches where we topped 40 mph before bending into a curve.
“Roads so smooth they are Ass Candy.”
In total, we ended the day with 70+ miles and almost 5,500+ ft of climbing (note: I forgot to start my watch so my numbers are a bit off in the photo). For reference, 5,000 ft. of climbing would be like going up the Lapham Peak tower 100+ times. And, I’ve been told the days ahead might be bigger than today! More to come!
