Mallorca 2002 Inline skating

Inline skating on Mallorca. (by Peter Nikkel) (see also mountain tour on skates)

Instead of snowboarding in the cold Alps, I decided to join the Frankfurt Tuesday Night Skaters (Germany) on their trip to Mallorca (Spain) (www.tnsgoes.de). They have been there before and have explored the island and discoverd beautiful routes to skate.

Swimming pool at the hotel

Once there you might think its rather a part of Germany instead of Spain. The locals are so acustomed to Germans that they will speak German in shops etc. I haven't met any other Dutch persons. It's a paradise for cyclists and you will see a lot of semi professional teams working out for the new season. With trainers, maintenance cars, etc. This turned the hotel in a training camp. In March the temperature is just fine for working out. In our week it was 20 to 25 degrees Celcius.

Full report: (click on thumbnail images for enlargements)

Ca'n Picafort

Kickoff by Dirk May

TNS shirt

Gaby und Saki

Sunday after my arrival from Amsterdam the others were already on a small skating trip. I decided to explore the roads around the village of Ca'n Picafort where we resided (13 km). I soon found out that my 84A wheels were to hard. Not all roads are smooth and 80A is a better choice.

TNS-goes had arranged for a bus so we could start somewhere else on the island, or we could start skating at the hotel and travel back by the chartered bus to Ca’n Picafort.

The organization was exellent. Breakfast and Dinner included, so no need to look for a restaurant. The hotel had a pool but the water was still to cold. In the evening there is not much you can do apart from going to a bar, shoot some pool or play video arcade games “Metal Slug” or car races :-).

Bus transportation to and from skate trips (and airport) had been arranged for. During the skate trips a car was following the skaters with water supplies and fresh fruit. In case one was tired you could take place in the car. We skate in three groups with the faster skaters in the first one. Also this allowed the cars to pass more easily. Many thanks to the guides Saki, Dirk and Frank.for organizing.

Monday (55km)

The bus took us to S'Horta in the south east from where we skated to a light light house at Cap de ses Salines A very pleasant trip. Half way we stopped at a nice bay “Cala Mondrago” were we rested on the beach and enjoyed strawberries and bananas. A small walk along the bay led to another road from which we continued on skates. The last 10km was at full speed to the sea (Cabo Salinas). Hardly any cars. The road was ours :-)

On the move

Smooth asphalt

Sharp turns in the downhill.

Picknick

Relaxing on the beach

A short walk to the other end of the bay.

Tuesday (72km)

Water supply car always present.

Speeding through the countryside

Very steep hill in the center of Sineu

Race against donkey cart

Reaching the sea at the south-side

Cala Pi tower

We started right in front of the hotel and crossed the island from north to south. The trip included a somewhat bigger hill Puig de Randa, high enough to let us sweat. Down hill we competed with some cyclists reaching speeds well above 60km/h. Sometimes we formed a small “train” (Zuuuugleeee !) holding each other and drafting. This way only the first skater breaks the wind while the full weight of the others generates speed. Great fun! This time we finished at a very nice bay of Cala Pi

Wednesday (60km)

This time a short tour around Sineu and Petra. At Sineu “our” market square was occupied by stands with loads of fresh fruit from the local market.

Dirk leading the pack

Beautifull entré

Nice route

Maintenance time

Thursday (a hilly 55km)

Steep hill in the heath of the sun.

Comfortable ride back home.

Alternativ program: small group of skaters with bus to Porto Cristo. This is east of Manacor, one of the bigger cities on Mallorca. The tour ended on the beach with volleyball match across a "virtual" net :-). This is how a tour should end: fresh fruit, yoghurt, sitting in the sun enjoying the view of the blue see. And some of us the cold water :-). The "not skaters" decided to do something on their own, rent a car, read a book, or took a walk on the beach..


East coast	A dive in the cold sea.	Ruth

Friday: “Holland-tour”. (120km, 2000m altimeters)

At about 800m above sea level.

As you probably know: Holland is a flat country with water, dikes and a lot of wind. Only at a two hours drive from Amsterdam to the South (Maastricht) you will find some hills. On Mallorca the country-side, we skated, is very nice, with hills and slopes with elevations up to 100m. But I couldn’t resist the real mountains on the west coast. That’s why I decided to do a tour on my own. It was a super tour: very nice scenery, long uphill skating, hairpins and downhills up to 14km long :-)

More pictures: full report on this mountain tour.

Saturday (80km)