Mallorca Ride 6 - Lighthouse
Today we rode to see the lighthouse on the northeast point of Mallorca. To get there, we started by climbing the Col de sa Batalla. This is the primary climb into the mountains, so today was the 4th time I have climbed it this week. There is a petrol station with snacks which is at the top of the climb just before the turn to Pollenca. This is a usual meeting point since people climb at different paces. Here is John waiting for me.
The descent down into Pollenca is one of the nicest on the island according to our guide Lisa. It has good quality road, a reasonable grade with nothing too steep, and no tight switchbacks. Since this was now my 3rd time descending it, I felt comfortable descending quite fast which I find lots of fun.
After passing through Pollenca, we headed up a good climb towards the lighthouse and the coast. Here was our first view of the water.
Here is a picture of the same small rock island only taken from further down the coast.
There was one tunnel we needed to go through today.
On the opposite side of the tunnel there was a nice bay. The color of the water made me thing of the Caribbean, but the water here at this time of year is not warm.
Finally, we were able to see the lighthouse.
On the way back, we climbed to the top of one of the hills to see this structure. As you can see, people were climbing in to check it out. Check out the little child being helped by her mother. She did not end up climbing all the way up.
Here was the view east from this location. The lighthouse is not visible from here, but on the other side of the visible rocks.
Finally we descended down to the Port of Pollenca and had our lunch on the beach. The wind was blowing in from the water, so it became quite chilly. Many of us retreated to where the van was parked to get out of the wind. We are dressed to be comfortable while cycling, but without generating heat through exercise, it is easy to become cold.
The 15 miles back to the hotel were mostly flat and easy which was good since at this point my legs were quite tired. Checkout from the hotel is at noon tomorrow. There is no group ride, but it is possible (but perhaps not likely) that I might go out for a short ride in the morning which is an option. It will depend both on how exhausted my legs feel and also the weather. There is supposed to be some rain overnight. If it is still raining, or if the roads are still quite wet, I will probably skip biking. I would rather end on today’s lovely ride than get a few extra miles but end in the wet.