Cala San Vicente
Photo Credit:
Ulf Haase
A WEEK OF SKATING IN MALLORCA, SPAIN (Day 2)
by
Daniel Edman of Stockholm, Sweden
I am awakened early in the morning by sunbeams which manage to sneak
in behind the bedroom curtains. I realize I have forgotten
what it is like to feel the sharpness of the summer sun
in the mornings, but that is a pleasant reminder.
I decide that yesterday's cold is gone, put on a T-shirt
and shorts and head for the hotel breakfast room, which is
already full of enthusiastic skaters. After a good breakfast
the skating gear goes on and my feet are wrapped in plenty
of protective tape due to my fear of what 7 days of intense
skating might do to my poor little feet. I also add an
extra bottle of water in the waist bag, and I realize
it is almost 10 o'clock and time for take-off.
At 10:00 sharp a bunch of skaters leave the Laguna Hotel
at Dollar Street in Port d�Alcudia. We head for Alcudia,
some 3 km north, and manage to loose 3 people already at
the first intersection. But thanks to the "queue man"
the group is complete again before we leave Alcudia.
(A "queue man" is the last man of a group, responsible
for making sure no one is lost. I do not know if that
expression is international?)
Alcudia and Port d�Alcudia; these similar city names
might need some explanation. On the transfer bus the day
before we were informed that long ago, when pirates
were a reality, the cities were often located some
distance from the shore and only a small port was
built right on the water. This made it harder for
the pirates to reach the cities, and these ports were
given the same name as the real city but with a "Port d'"
or "Puerto de" as prefix. Now most of the Ports have grown to
the size of a real city but the names are the same as before.
Photo Credit:
Ulf Haase
We leave Alcudia in a northerly direction with the sea on our
right side and the beautiful mountains in the background
straight ahead. A warm breeze blows in from the sea,
blue and green waves roll in on the shore, the sky is
blue and life is wonderful.
We are skating slowly but a bicyclist that suddenly
overtakes the queue gets a speed skater right up on his
rear wheel, but the biker proves faster and the skater
has to give up the attempt. A police car honks since
the group of skaters on the shoulder of the road is a
little bit too wide, and it has forced some bicyclists out into
the road.
We wave our most friendly "hey-we-are-on-a-vacation-skate-waving"
back to the police and that is it.
North of Alcudia is Puerto de Pollenca, but halfway there
we turn left toward Pollenca.
Johan announces that speed is now free up to Pollenca and
due to some volunteers up front the speed increases. When
Ulf finally makes it to the front and adds some additional
speed I find myself forced to drop the front-runners.
This embarrassing blunder I totally blame upon the cold,
which all of a sudden has come back in full strength.
With the group reunited at the Pollenca City Dump I cough
as loud as I possibly can, making sure everyone understands
it was exclusively due to this very temporary lack of
physical health I had to drop the front-runners.
Kathie rests in a worn out armchair and seconds later she
finds herself hoisted by four Swedish gentlemen and Ulf's
camera captures the moment. If you do not get high from
skating, this is another option!
Kathie lets us understand she can stand the idea of not
being put down again, but the four gentlemen seem to be
of another opinion. As soon as the photo is taken they
let her down! Maybe in more than one way?
Why Kathie Loves Swedish Skaters
Photo Credit:
Ulf Haase
The united group goes westward toward Puerto de Pollenca
on a wide and nice road shoulder, and halfway we turn
left toward a small village called Cala San Vicente.
The road to C S Vicente provides good excellent
skating conditions and the steep final part seems
to end right in the sea. But luckily it does not,
and once on the waterfront with reduced speed we
find a bar where we stop for lunch.
I try some almost forgotten Spanish phrases like
"Hola señor, somos Swecos" and "una Cola, por favor".
The bar owner smiles with his entire body and answers in English!
After having a tasty lasagna we carefully skate down a
narrow and winding road to what might be C S Vicente
down town. The view is gorgeous with huge waves rolling
in between the sharp rocks and the warming sun is back
again after quite a chilly lunch.
Then we fight ourselves through a steep uphill before
we are back on the road that we came an hour earlier.
Back down to the main road and left to Puerto de Pollenca,
where we head for the harbor pier to check out the water
temperature.
Pollenca Bay
Photo Credit:
Ulf Haase
After some photos on the very tip of the pier we
head back south toward Alcudia, and back where Johan
proclaimed free speed earlier the group is stopped
and divided into two. Those with sour feet skate
directly back home, while the others who do have sour
feet but do not admit it, head back up to the Pollenca
City Dump again. This latter group is now fairly small
In a small uphill along this stage I gain 10-20 meters
on the rest and while going hard I wait and listen for
the typical sound of tiny wheels at high revs in my
left ear. Actually I have to wait longer than expected,
but once I do hear the wheels coming, they are coming
very fast, and there is absolutely nothing I can do about
it.
Marten and
Sven rockets by (doing a good 39 km/h)
and with all my strength I can just keep the gap constant,
no chance whatsoever of catching them. But at least they
do have the courtesy to show they are really tired once
we stop at the main road from Inca.
With the group of 10-12 people together again we follow
the main road to Alcudia, and once back at the Hotel
Johan decides there will be an evening tour at 5pm. He
also serves the lie of the day by saying: "I think we
will go slow tonight".
The participant on this first day bonus trip proves to be
solely
Johan, Marten and Ulf. They go south to Can Picafort
and back again. Later they report good surface conditions
and wide shoulders but also the danger of asphalt
mounted plastic reflectors every 30 feet, right on the white
line separating the shoulder from the road itself. It can
become very dangerous if you hit one of the one-inch high
plastic fellows at full speed, which could occur if you
are drafting close behind each other and do not have clear
visibility ahead. Hitting one of these obstacles could
easily cause a severe accident.
<--
Part 2
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Part 4 of this Article
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Related Links
Daniel's Wild Week in Mallorca - Part 1
Daniel Edman - Main Menu
Skating in Spain
Skating in Sweden
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