Oh well... and so it was over a year since we last wrote on our blog...
No excuses, but on our defend it's been a busy 2016, and that's very happy days for Mills and Honey Cycling Mallorca.
It's a grey gloomy day of December, enough riding has been done in the last few weeks with this incredible weather in Mallorca, and so time to update a little about our past few months...
One of the best stories this Spring was the Easy Jet Magazine article we were featured in July... We got this message from Brad from Asociacion Ondine, thanks Brad!!! putting us in touch with Simon, editor of the EasyJet Magazine... Simon obviously wanted us to take him and some of his crew on cycling little adventure from Palma to Port de Soller right in Mid May (Our busiest time of the year). But we thought it would be a bit of fun, soarrangements were made without really expecting much from the whole thing and just wanting to tell Simon and Co. a little about what we do and why we love this island so much... A few Km later, we stopped in Deia for a caña and some lunch, a few questions were asked and answered and Simon did the rest. Such a good job he did, that we thought to share it with you all once more and thanks Simon and the Crew one more time... THANKS SIMON AND CREW!!!!
"It’s now going to get tough,” says Alfonso as we pull up outside the pretty town of Esporles. We’re 30km into our ride from Palma, Majorca’s capital, and while the beautiful countryside has been plain sailing so far, the only way to Deià, on the north-west coast, is through the Tramuntana mountains. “ the next 3km are going to be really steep,” he continues, gesturing at the hairpin ascent unwinding in front. “ then a bit less steep for six, but it’s worth it for the ride down.”
He’s not wrong. Once we’venegotiated the climb – in no small part thanks to the super-lightweight bikeswe’re riding, courtesy of Bikehead (bikehead.cc) – the downhill is exhilarating, whizzing past wild thistles and roadside bougainvillea, ancient olive trees and rolling hills at a rollicking rate.
Of course, Majorca is already well-known as a cycling mecca. With stunning vistas, a decent all- year climate and an impressively well maintained 1,250km road network, more than half of which is made up of backroads and steep ascents, it’s no surprise both pro teams and hardcore amateurs head here in their droves outside the summer months. Last year, some 160,000 came to the island to cycle and there’s a real feelingof camaraderie, riders nodding as they pass you.
But a new type of visitor is also waking up to the island’s two-wheel pleasures. “I’m almost evolving into a travel company,” says Alfonsoof his cycle-touring business, Mills and Honey (millsandhoney.com), one of dozens here. “More people want to come, drink good wine, stay in good hotels and see some scenery as well as cycling, so I arrange a whole trip for them.”
In recent years, Majorca has itself evolved into an outdoor adventure playground, led by the likes of Ondine Escape, which will arrange virtually any activity for you. But the cycling is still the biggest draw, even for those who might feel self-conscious getting Lycra’d up at home. What’s more, you don’t even need Alfonso to be there with you. He says around 80% of his clients go for self-guided trips, where he’ll plot a route on a custom app that can be followed on a smartphone attached to the handlebars. “It means you can still have a nice time as a couple,” he says, “but I’m just a phone call away if you get lost – which happens. It’s a big island, after all”.