Guides

• Mallorca cycling nutrition: how much to eat, where to buy it

  All eight of Mallorca's signed cycling routes need more food than a jersey holds, so plan where you restock. How much to carry and where to buy it.

• Cycling accident in Mallorca: 112, hospitals and insurance

  Call 112: it connects even when your phone shows no network. The four hospitals, how far each is from the climbs, and what your health card does not cover.

• Road safety for cyclists in Mallorca: crash rates by road

  The Ma-10 through the Tramuntana has the lowest crash rate per km of Mallorca's ranked roads; the flat Pollença–sa Pobla link has the highest.

• Cycling Mallorca without a car: trains, buses and your bike

  Mallorca's trains carry bikes free, four per train, all year; whether a bus takes yours depends on the vehicle. Which of 32 bases work without a hire car.

• What a cycling week in Mallorca costs, tourist tax included

  A Mallorca cycling week comes down to bed, bike, flight and tourist tax. The tax is paid per person per night at the hotel, and it quadruples on 1 May.

• What to pack for cycling in Mallorca: when you need a jacket

  At midday the mountains are 5.1–7.2 °C colder than the coast, against 1.2–3.4 °C at 8 am, so pack the jacket for midday. What to wear by month and height.

• Mallorca cycling week itinerary: six days from one town

  All eight published Mallorca cycling weeks include Sa Calobra and Formentor; one base town reaches both by bike in a day. The six days: 501 km and 3,852 m.

• Mallorca cycling wind: the best time of day to ride

  Mallorca's sea breeze arrives between 11:00 and 13:00 in every month, and July afternoons are 4.4 m/s windier than mornings. When to ride, all year.

• Mallorca cycling regions: where to ride loops or mountains

  21.2% of the Serra de Tramuntana's rideable road has no way round, against 14.9% in the Pla. Which region to ride for mountains, loops and empty roads.

• Mallorca's hardest descents, ranked against the climbs

  How hard a Mallorca road is to climb says little about the way down: Sa Calobra has one tight corner in twenty-eight. The thirteen main descents, ranked.

• Triathlon training in Mallorca: the best base towns

  The best Mallorca base for the bike says almost nothing about the swim. The towns that rank well for pool, open water and riding are all in the south-west.

• Easy flat cycling in Mallorca: car-free paths near Alcúdia

  Mallorca's flattest car-free ride is 12.6 km from Pollença to Alcúdia, with three metres of climbing. Of 244 km of car-free path, one piece is over 16 km.

• Gravel cycling in Mallorca: where to ride, what is allowed

  Mallorca has 6,849 km of unpaved track, but the longest unbroken stretch is 19.1 km and most tracks don't say if you may ride them. Head for the interior.

• Cycling cafés in Mallorca: the stops riders agree on

  Thirteen café guides name 37 stops in Mallorca, but on seven of the thirteen biggest climbs, Sa Calobra included, none names one. Where riders agree.

• Water stops for cycling in Mallorca: where to refill

  On Mallorca's eight official cycling routes, the longest run without a public tap is km 35.9 to 81.8. Count bars and shops and the worst gap is 21.5 km.

• Cycling hotels in Mallorca: compare the bike room first

  86.5% of Mallorca's mapped beds are over ten kilometres by road from a major climb. Which cycling hotel suits which trip, and how big its bike room is.

• Bike hire in Mallorca: check the gearing before you book

  Most Mallorca hire shops will bring the bike to your hotel, so the address barely matters. The cassette is what decides whether you ride Sa Calobra or walk it.

• Hardest cycling climbs in Mallorca: all 75 ranked

  Sa Calobra is the hardest climb in Mallorca and tops this ranking of 75. Which climb to ride on which day, and where the island's steepest kilometre is.

• Training for the Mallorca 312 — the hardest kilometre is at km 259.6, and it is not in the mountains

  Every 312 training plan prescribes climbing. The organiser's own GPX says the course's worst kilometre sits in the flat interior, 107 km after the last summit, and that 51.4% of the race comes after the mountains end. What to actually train, which island rides rehearse each half, and why choosing the 226 skips no climb at all.

• Mallorca cycling training camps: 21 camps compared

  Nine of 21 Mallorca cycling camps have no climb within ten kilometres of the hotel. Which camp suits which week, and how far each is from the first climb.

• One morning of cycling in Mallorca: which climb to ride

  Three hours from Sóller buys Puig Major, the highest road on the island. The best climb for a morning ride from each of Mallorca's base towns.

• Palma airport bike transfer: getting to your hotel

  Book a transfer and mention the bike boxes: a bus driver may refuse a boxed bike. Distances from Palma airport to eighteen base towns, 8.7 to 77.1 km.

• Where to stay in Mallorca for cycling: 18 towns compared

  Stay in Sóller for a first week, or Palma for plenty of climbs and the shortest airport transfer. How far eighteen base towns are from the island's climbs.