Leaving Canada on Thursday evening you can connect via London, Frankfurt, Madrid and catch a mid-morning direct flight to Mallorca, arriving in Palma in the early afternoon. You will be met at the airport by a representative of International Cycling Adventures. As you pass through the security and are walking into the arrivals area, look for signs for the MEETING POINT. This is well marked and just inside the terminal close to the main exit to the parking. Wait at the MEETING POINT and we will be there to meet you.

It's a 45-minute scenic drive to our hotel in the coastal resort of Cala d'Or.

We will guide you to the hotel lobby where you will officially check in. You will be asked for your passport and it may be held by the hotel for 24 hours. You'll be directed to your rooms and help unpack your bike or arrange for the your rental bike.

We should have enough time to do the quick bike fittings and then head out for a short ride to shake off the trip and get right onto Mallorca time (a 6+hour time change). Upon our return we will shower up and gather for a welcoming dinner.

The daily routine begins today. Breakfast is at 08h00 and the group ride leaves at 10h00. You may choose to join some of the group for a early morning yoga class on the beach with Lori. Those interested will meet on the hotel's private beach at 07h30. This being our first full day, it is important that we relax and ease our way into the trip. We will divide into groups and head out in search of our first café con leche. Our objective today is to make our way, at a leisurely pace, to the town of Porreres, a typical Mallorcan town for coffee. The pace is relaxed and we let the group meet and sort itself out in terms of the groups. The first rolling hills sorts a group out pretty quickly.  Keep in mind this is not a training camp but a cycling holiday and nobody is under any pressure to compete.

Trip distance: 50 km to 70 km.

The group heads en masse and ride the 19 km to the base of the switchback climb up to the monastery of San Salvador. Here, we provide instruction on climbing and descending effectively and confidently. At the summit, we have a rest while taking in the beautiful view. Then we regroup for the descent and 10-km ride to the fishing town of Porto Colom for lunch. Today's 5-km ascent is our first sampling of a switchback climbs.

Trip distance: 50 km to 80 km.

Today's ride is an earlier departure. We will take our private coach at 09h00 for the remote start from the port of Andraitx, on the southwestern tip of the island. Prepare to feast your eyes on some of the island's most spectacular scenery on this ride that takes us along the coastal mountain ridge.

This coastal road through Valldemossa and Deia can hold it own as one of the most spectacular roads you will ever get to ride.

Rest day.

There are no scheduled or organized activities today. You may want to rent a car and go explore the island, lay low and finish that wonderful trashy novel you bought at the airport bookstore, or head out on a solo epic 200-km slugfest. It's your day.

Perhaps you would like to take in a local market.
Mondays: Manacor,
Tuesday: Lluchmayor, Porreras,
Wednesday:Sineu, Vilafranca, Santanyi
Thursday: Sant Llorenç, Ses Salines,
Friday: Lluchmayor
Saturday: Santanyi
Sunday: Felanitx, Valldemosa

Back on the bike! Today we'll will ease back into it with gentle cruise to visit a local potter. Experience local culture in the warmth of an artist's home/studio. Enjoy our countryside workshop tour and visit their gallery. You can the decide if you would like to enjoy coffee in the town square and make your way home at a leisurely pace along the shore or head off on a longer route home taking in the quiet back roads.

Trip distance: 60 km to 120 km.

Today is another early departure. At 09h00 we will, once again, travel by private coach to a remote start, this time to the interior of the island, at the town of Santa Maria del Camí. We will work our way over rolling hills along the base of the mountain ridge to the picturesque village of Orient. After lunch there, we will descend through the groves of almond and olive trees to Selva, the leather capital of Mallorca. Our coach will be waiting to take us home from Selva.

Back to the flats — roads, that is, not tires. Today is an easy day of gentle roads that take us to Manacor, Mallorca's second-largest city (after Palma). Manacor is also home of the world famous Majorica pearl factory ( we'll have time for a tour), as well as hand-painted ceramics shops (bring your backpacks), bike shops, and cafés.

The tennis world's young superstar Raphael Nadal is from Manacor. You'll find one of our favorite bike shops here too.

Our challenge today are the triple peaks of the southern part of the island. Without heading to the coastal mountains we will have to summit 3 shorter climbs: San Salvador, Randa and Porerres, 2 with cafés at the top, all with great views.

Departure Day

If you have spotted a few places you wanted to check out in more detail, today is the day. Rent a car, go back to that beach, sleep in, lay out, take your pick and enjoy packing in a day to yourself.

Homeward bound. ¡Adios, amigos