Category Archives: Travel

Col de Femenior

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28 ~42+°C, light breeze, strong sun.

Cube Attain Disc

That was a very hard day. I picked a route similar to a previous visit in 2016, up to Lluc about then south to return at low level. The day was hot to begin with and it’s likely that I was not fully hydrated. I really suffered from the 2nd hour onwards. My legs were empty on the climbs and I ran out of water just before the summit. In all, I drank at least 4 litres and was still dehydrated. It seems likely that I was not fully hydrated to start the day and no fully acclimatised either.

Anyway, the bike was a Cube Attain Disc 60 cm. It’s not my favourite on from recent years (the Ridely was though). The reach wasn’t quite right for me and the handling is a bit twitchy on the climbs. The brakes were great thought, especially on those fast descending hairpins going south.

Route overview (anticlockwise)

The day got hotter and hotter; in Caimari,  the pharmacy showed 40°C on their sign. Some of the south facing valleys were definitely hotter than that – perhaps 45°C.

Cross the Chase

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23°C, no wind & dull grey.

Armitage Shanks

Set off on the Kona Jake to the chase via lanes that should have gone to Wandon. But on getting disorientated I popped out near the start. When I lived here, I would never have made that mistake. I would have retained my sense of direction.

Oops

The rest of the route was familiar and I stopped for a coffee in the forest.

A good day out which means I’m ready for the coming holiday.

Col de Soller (clockwise)

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24°C, full sun & light wind.

I chose a route to take the climb to Col de Soller from north towards Palma. There was none of the expected shade climbing this way but it felt better than last year.

I was convinced the frame had a few cracks.  I was wrong about this – the problem was some protective tape in the frame. No doubt the stuff was applied to prevent the frame getting scratched. It was the edges of the tape that felt like cracks in my fingers.

Racelite adjustments

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18°C, light onshore breeze & full sun.

Old workhorse.

Since riding that Ridley the other day, I decided to raise the saddle a fair bit. The position had the saddle high and forward. Perhaps the previous.ruder was a time-trialist. Anyway, getting back on mine made it obvious that my seat was too low.

Easter

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Racelite, 11°C, sunny and dry.

Gutter

My fitness has declined. Although I swam twice a week and ridden at weekends, it’s still low. On the upside, the racelite has a replaced Chorus rear mech and the cables are well lubricated. The gearshift is brilliant now!

Grim winter.

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11°C, light S wind, bright going out but rain to return.

On the return leg.

I haven’t ridden much this week so used a big chunk of daylight. However, the pace felt comfortable (despite some ligament soreness). The best highlight was a 1km canal section. The rain got worse as I arrived home.