If you’ve ever been riding in Mallorca you’ve probably ticked off all the main climbs: Cap de Formentor, Sa Calobra and the biggest of them all, Puig Major. It’s the only HC climb on the island, and once you’ve made your way up its 14km ascent from Sóller and posed for the obligatory pictures by the tunnel entrance, you’ve made it to the very highest point accessible by road on Mallorca. Or have you?
Look up and you will see a golden dome sitting atop the true summit of the mountain – a Bond villain-esque radar station that is visible from a long way off, and which has a narrow road leading up to it. The problem is that the road in question is hidden behind locked gates inside a military base and so isn’t accessible to cyclists. Or at least it isn’t most of the time.
That’s why I’m sipping coffee at Puig Major.
