Thursday, October 21, 2021

3 miles east of Lluc: Son Alzines es Montagudell Agroturisme (Airbnb)

Bike Route: Soller to Son Alzines es Montagudel, Escorca, 24 miles, 4200 feet of climb

Our hosts at Casa Bougainvillea served a homemade feast of a breakfast on the terrace. Afterward, we just sat in our room and let it digest for half an hour before tackling our last big climb of the trip.

Our route for the day took us straight up into the Serra de Tramuntana for 10 miles, through a tunnel, down the other side for about 5 miles, through another tunnel, down and across 6 miles to Lluc (where we were last Sunday), and then up another 3 miles to an apartment on an olive farm. The roads were just buzzing with cyclists. We chatted with quite a few at various scenic overlooks, cafes, and intersections. All kinds of riders, all ages, mostly from Germany and the UK. There are two good reasons for the popularity of this area: great climbs that are challenging but mostly ridable, and spectacular scenery. Oh, and that third thing we never forget: great restaurants and snack bars.

Son Alzines is a perfect place to stay. If we were to do the island again, we would get an apartment here for a week, and cycle in all directions. When planning our time on Mallorca, we initially allowed only one day of cycling in the Serra de Tramuntana because we kept hearing that the climbs are extremely challenging. But when we were in Caimari last week, we spent our "rest" day biking up to Lluc, and found it was really not that bad. So we adjusted our itinerary to include another day in the mountains, and we are really glad we did.

The Airbnb listing for Son Alzines cautioned that the farm is in a rural area with no restaurants or grocery stores nearby, so we stopped for a delicious and filling lunch/dinner at Can Gallet restaurant outside Lluc on the way to the farm. When we arrived, the manager told us the farm serves dinner for an additional cost. We will check that out next time; for this time, we were happy to just relax in our apartment after hot showers, and eat the snacks we brought along from Soller.

There are tunnels in those mountains.

A roman aqueduct between Lluc and Son Alzines.