Mallorca Bike Tour Overview

A week in the cycling mecca of Mallorca. We search out the road less travelled on this beautiful and diverse island. By using two hotels, we get to explore the range of the island and, with our usual focus on cultural and gastronomic immersion, offer a variation on the standard one-dimensional training format.

On the cycling front, the island’s varied terrain makes it a perfect destination. Rolling low hills, a pan-flat plain, and a mountain range of perfect proportions (high enough to excite the adventurous, not so high as to be closed to snow) mix beautifully to provide great ride variety. The 300 days of sunshine per year helps too.

In terms of the tour structure, we were keen to avoid the cookie-cutter approach, though and have stuck with many of the elements that feature on our regular tours – Garmin navigation technology to enable you to ride at your own pace, optional extra loops, a gastronomic focus and an embracing of the local history and culture.

At the same time, we have also included some of the camp elements that work so well, such as on-tour massages and the joy of staying in only two places across the tour.



Team Members on this Tour

Alessandro Allegro
Sebastien Morice
Guido Gazzaniga



Mallorca Bike Tour Highlights

> Ride at your own pace and choose your level of difficulty through the regular and extra loops planned for each day.
> Indulge in the culinary highlights of the island
> Take on the mythical Sa Calobra twice. You will not be able to suppress a child-like grin when descending and climbing.
> Van support on the rides to provide sag wagon, mechanical and nutritional support.
> Cycling clinics to improve your cycling and general bike knowledge.
> Sample the native Callet grape that is giving the Island justified claim to being a quality wine producer.

Previous:
Overview
Next:
Dates

Mallorca Bike Tour Dates 2024

Stage Start Date End Date Days Cost (Euros)
Mallorca Training Week 27th March 2nd April 7 (6 nights) €3,550

All tours and individual stages are available as a custom tour for your group – contact us for details.

What’s Included?

  • Accommodation in our carefully selected hotels
  • Meals – hotel breakfasts, snacks en route and pre/post-ride nutrition, lunches including the famed Ride and Seek picnics, multi-course group dinners with a focus on local cuisine.
  • Ride and Seek jersey.
  • Garmin 1030 use with all routes preloaded
  • Ride and Seek water bottles
  • Passionate, experienced, and knowledgeable guides are always on hand to help.

Not Included

  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Bike hire
  • Pre & post tour accommodation

Supplements

  • Single supplement – Our prices are based on twin/double occupancy. If you wish to have your own room then a supplement is applicable.

Deposit

  • To reserve a place on this tour we ask for a deposit of €500 (or your local currency equivalent). We also accept payment in GB£ and AU$. The final invoice will include any applicable single supplements and bike hire costs.
Previous:
Highlights
Next:
Food

Mallorca Bike Tour Food & Wine

With over 2400 eateries Mallorca is a wonderful culinary destination. As part of the Balearic Islands it has its own traditional Spanish style, but this is married to a more exotic twist that reflects its varied history. Both Roman and African influences pervade in the island’s cuisine giving it a diverse and colourful identity.

Synonymous and emblematic of the Mallorca diet are the olives and almonds that we’ll see being cultivated across the island. Traditional dishes that we recommend sampling during the week include arròs brut (saffron rice with pork, chicken and vegetables), sobrassada (minced pork mixed with paprika) and the camallot and botifarron sausages. The ensaïmada pastry is a great dessert, and the local herbal liqueur brings any meal to a fine end. The cafes are also known for their great coffee and their own local pastries and cakes.

Sobrassadas de Mallorca

The island’s culinary diversity is also reflected in the contrast between the land and sea. The hearty dishes that can be found inland, such as perfectly roasted suckling pig, are contrasted with the wonderful fresh seafood dishes that are prevalent in the coastal restaurants. We look to embrace these contrasts on our tour.

On the wine front, it is worth noting that Pliny, in his Natural History book, once compared the wines of Mallorca favourably with those of Italy! This was back in the 1st century, though and the island’s wine industry has had its challenges since. In recent years it has definitely got back on track with a focus on quality over quantity and an embracing of indigenous grape varieties.

In our opinion, the Callet grape gives Mallorca claim to produce one of Spain’s finest wines. Other grape varieties such as Manto Negro, Fogoneu, Prensal Blanc and Girò Blanc are being creatively blended to create some great local wines. These wines are being produced in the DO areas of Binissalem and Pal I Levant, the former in the centre of the island and the latter on the eastern side. Given the value of land on Mallorca production isn’t high, but what is produced is often noteworthy for its quality.

Vineyards in the DO Binissalem region

Previous:
Dates
Next:
History

Beloved Majorcans (Guy de Forestier) – This book tries to explain the character of the Mallorcan people. The pseudonym Guy de Forestier is derived from the Mallorcan term “guia de forasters” meaning guide for the outsider. It’s an interesting read.

Mallorca – The Magnificent (Nina Larrey Duryea) – A romanticised view of the history of Mallorca and its palaces and country houses. It is however fun to read as a time capsule from the beginning of the last century.

Majorca Observed (Robert Graves) – The author Robert Graves spent a large part of his life in Majorca. He gives his reasons for living in Majorca as well as expressing concerns about the extent of modern development in the island. Prescient given how it is today!

Previous:
History

Mallorca Bike Tour History

The central location of Mallorca in the Mediterranean has made it a significant trading route since ancient times. Owing to this the island has experienced its fair share of historical upheaval over the centuries. We’ll try and provide you with a brief chronological overview below.

Its first settlers can be dated back 3000 years ago to the Phoenicians who set up trading posts there, alongside the Greeks. This then became part of the Carthaginian trading empire that stretched out from North Africa. At this stage though the island had not been settled in great numbers.

This was to change in 123BC with the Roman conquest of the island – the Romans set up two significant centres in Palma and Pollentia (now Alcudia). For 600 years the way of life and prosperity of Mallorca was inextricably linked to Rome.

This would only change in the 5th century AD when the Vandals took over the Balearic Islands including Mallorca. Much of the Roman infrastructure was destroyed in this period. In 534AD the island would become part of the Byzantine Empire.

 

With the spread of Islam in the 7th century the Moors then came to leave their mark. It was an indelible mark that lasted some 400 years and whose influence is still found in the local culture and traditions today.

Perhaps the period of greatest prosperity for Mallorca though came during the period in which it was part of the Kingdom of Aragon. The ousting of the Moors by King Jaume led to a period in which many of the island’s most significant building were built, such as Belver castle and the Almudaina Palace.

In more recent history Mallorca was attacked by the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War for being a Nationalist stronghold. The Battle of Mallorca in 1936 resulted in the nationalists defending the island and played a significant role in their overall victory.

Since the 1950’s the history of the island has been most notably linked to the advent of mass tourism and then a shift towards a more sophisticated tourist market over time. In theory, the hordes of cyclists that head there today are part of the latter phase!

Previous:
Food
Next:
Reading

I had a really great time. The accommodation and food was just right. The scenery in Mallorca was stunning. I think it’s visually hard to beat riding on an island, when the sea is visible (riding counterclockwise made for easy photo stops). The riding amount was just right, especially with the options of extra distance if you were really energetic. The Lynskey titanium bikes rode so well, I’m glad I didn’t bother to bring my own. I have nothing but praise for all the guides and the tour overall which I will be recommending to my riding friends.

Previous:
Reading

The Trip

Join us for a week on the magical island of Mallorca. Spectacular scenery, varied terrain and fine gastronomy make this a great addition to the tour roster.

Email me the Tour Overview Book Now Schedule a Call

Tour at a Glance

    Mallorca Escape

    Dates: 27th March – 2nd April 2024
    Countries: Spain
    Number of days: 7 days
    Price:  €3,550
    Grading:

The Trip

Join us for a week on the magical island of Mallorca. Spectacular scenery, varied terrain and fine gastronomy make this a great addition to the tour roster.

Email me the Tour Overview
Book Now Schedule a Call

Tour at a Glance

    Mallorca Escape

    Dates: 27th March – 2nd April 2024
    Countries: Spain
    Number of days: 7 days
    Price:  €3,550
    Grading:

options: Array ( [1] => overview [2] => highlights [3] => dates [4] => food [5] => history [6] => reading [7] => testimonials )

.



Email me the Tour Overview Book Now Schedule a Call