Sandthrax Campground lived up to its name, woke up with a dusting of fine sand covering everything in my tent – I can not live in these conditions. The hike to the Leprechaun Canyons left from the campground, but we missed the trailhead and ended up wandering up and over a few large sandstone domes. The views were extra stunning and I walk much better on a hard surface than sand so that was another win. The ass on my jeans were blow out from the previous day, but that is not my problem, people walking behind can deal with it. Torn up jeans must be a beginner thing, because a young couple, one of which is a Canyoneering Guide blew past us in shorts, down climbing one of the rappels, sons of bitches. It is great seeing folks showing off fitness, it brings back memories.
We drove from the North Wash area to Angle Point at the end of day 1. Angle Point is everything Sandthrax was not. Stunning view, not a single person within 10 miles of us, soft soil with some decent clay content. Plenty of room between sage bushes to set up a tent. Unfortunately, Chris and John had to get back to work so we drove back to Fort Collins, CO.
My Garmin watch told me I slept long and calm, almost 8 hours with only 4 min of awake time. We ended up doing Blarney East Fork (4 stars), Lucky Charms (2 stars), and Conundrum (3 stars) all a short hike or drive from the campsite. Tom’s Canyoneering Guide (link) gives good descriptions, I would only add that the area is known for skinny canyons and Blarney and Luck Charms were dry. Although we had to do some modest rappels, for climbers the rope work and downclimbs were simple.
This was the first climbing type trip since my Parkinson’s Diagnosis so I was a little concerned about all the exposed hiking, but it was not an issue. I did notice my left leg drags around a little more than typical when walking in the sand and I wince when I look at the videos. Oh well it still got the rest of my body where I asked it to go.
Lesson’s learned from day 1, it gets hot in the desert, canyoneering is hard on your clothes, fine sand blows into your tent. I went to bed content knowing I still have a bunch more of these trips in me. I am grateful I have friends still willing to drag me around.
Our first international bike trip! In an attempt to balance cost and departure times we flew Southwest from Denver to Chicago and Scandinavian Airlines from Chicago to Palma, Spain with a layover in Copenhagen, each way. Not sure if it made any difference, it’s still 5,300 miles and many time zones away.
In any case, we stayed at the Club del Sol Resort & Spa just outside Port de Pollenca. It’s a short 10 min bike ride from town, has bike storage, and a bus stop right at the entrance. One bedroom and a small kitchen, after two weeks there I was thinking, “I could live here”.
Day 1, April 19th, 48.18 miles / 1,353 elev. gain
Stretching our legs, after a long day of travel.
Day 2, April 20th, 52.65 / 3,264 elev. gain
3 Hills Loop – Santa Magdalena – Sant Llucia – Sa Batalla. We started by riding through Pollenca and climbed the Col de Femenia, 5.6 miles / 1,500 feet elev. gain / 5% on perfect pavement. The route passed Luuc, past the “Garage” at the top of Sa Calobra, folled by a long descent out of the Serra de Tramuntana range. From there we rode over to the short but steep climb up the Puig de Santa Llucia. From there the route directed us over to Santa Magdalena, the third climb of the day, but we were still a little jet lagged and by passed that.
Day 3, April 21st, 29.47 miles / 2,816 elev. gain
After sleeping in we chose the famous Lighthouse route out to Cape Formentor and back. Some say, “pound for pound”, the best bike ride in the world. I would not argue too much with that. I don’t have the skills to describe it, so I would suggest looking at the many YouTube videos.
Day 4, April 22nd, 75.25 miles / 3,230 elev. gain
We decided to head south that day and rode through many miles of farmland on small roads paved roads between fields, with very little traffic.
Day 5, April 23rd, Rest Day
After a long day of travel and four days of riding, we needed a break. So we took the bus into Pollenca and discovered Agromart. It’s a local farm Co-op with a number of stores spread across the island. I would compare it to the best of what Whole Foods offers in the US, but that would not due it justice.
Realizing we did not have the legs, or desire to do the 100 mile loop to ride some of the famous climbs in the Tramuntana Mountains we hired a taxi to ferry us one way to the town of Bunyola. from there it was a short ride north to the Coll de Soller. A tunnel goes through the mountain, so the climb is mostly absent of cars. At 4.7 miles / 1100 feet and a gentle 4.4% grade it is casual, but stunning. From there we rode some very busy roads through Soller and up Pug de Major. At 8.9 miles and 2700 feet of climbing at a steady 6-7% grade it felt like Colorado, but with more oxygen. It was here where I realized how slow I ride. After a 100 bikes passed me I heard music behind be approaching at decent clip. I thought how rude to be blaring music with the windows down. No, No it was a group of 4 early 20’s riders with a boom-box blaring techno music. The passed me like was cycling backwards and were quickly out of sight and sound. Nearing the top I noticed a rider I was actually gaining on. I applied all the watts I could muster and bridged to him like the fast turtle I am. What I found was a guy in his 60’s – I guess – on what I believe was a 3-speed beach cruiser. He even had flat pedal and sandals. From there we rode the top of the range back to Lluc, down the Col de Femenia and back to the condo. We stopped at Lluc for food and sat beside a historic drinking water trough dating to 1589 is located in the main square. It was originally built for the animals of pilgrims arriving at the monastery on horseback and is still operational.
Day 8, April 26th, 31.04 miles /3,280 elev. gain
With the trip winding down we chose Cape Formentor again as our final ride. It is relatively short and this time we added on a short but steep climb at the end to the Albercutx Watchtower. This time around we paid for some photo’s of us and they are worth every penny.
With a total of 360.3 miles / 20,962 elev. gain in a week of riding this was a stunning success for our first bike trip out of the US. The airfare was reasonable, the lodging was less expensive than the US, we had kitchen and cooked many of our own meals. I could totally see us doing a few of these trips a year. On a personal note, being 4 month post a 2 level ACDF cervical spine surgery, I can report that all my body parts still work, and my neck and shoulders did not hurt much more than the rest of my body. Also, while there is no doubt I have Parkinson’s Disease I flew back realizing my life was not over yet. Now all I have to do convince myself to stop working, so I have more time for bike trips.
