Hotel
At the beginning of May I went on a mountain biking trip to Ibiza. We were a party of eight including two from York Alpine Club.
The trip started well when the author narrowly missed having coffee poured over him twice but did not miss out, along with the other 100+ passengers, when when one of our party managed to delay our departure from Leeds Bradford Airport by three quarters of an hour
We flew out to Ibiza on a Jet 2 package holiday staying in a modest hotel in Santa Eularia on the south coast of the island.
On arrival we picked up our hire bikes, Orbea hardtail 29ers, new for the season and good value at 12 Euros a day.
Santa Eularia is packed with restaurants, evening meal on the first night was seafood paella 7/10.
Riding day one – We had with us a guidebook that purported to describe the best eight of the twenty or so signposted trails on the island. Route 20 was supposed to start from Santa Eularia but there were no signs anywhere. There was a route 5 which seemed to go our way so we followed it. The first part of the route followed the coast, sometimes new housing developments blocked our route, sometimes we lowered bikes down grade 2 scrambles. Cafe stop number one Cala de Boix, tuna salad 7/10. On the island there are a number of stone built watch towers and we took a detour to visit one at Valls. Crash number one, the author going rather quickly round a bend lost control and skidded on gravel, may have confused the brakes, which are the opposite way round in continental Europe. Fantastic gravel rash and later colourful bruises. After to the coast paths we followed quiet lanes back to Santa Eularia. On return we stopped at a bar on the main tree lined avenue in the centre of the town run by a Norwegian/Guatemalan couple – this bar became the obligatory post ride stop. Evening meal after much deliberation at a Michelin starred place costing twice as much as the previous night, but not twice as good.
Riding day two – Route 21 from our book, still no signs but similar to a Route 2. A very hot day particularly as we pushed our bikes up a steep dry river bed and past the second highest hill on Ibiza. If it had been the highest we would have made a detour to climb it. On the way down crash number two, the other YAC member this time – lots of noise, over the handlebars, bruises to body parts and a distant spec in a video. Cafe stop number one, St Joan 9/10, service included antiseptic and ice packs for our injured. After the cafe stop headed north to a a point from where we could see a lighthouse on the northernmost tip of the island. Thereafter superb single track to St Vincent and cafe stop number two, surf cafe, just drinks, no score. Back to our bar, then evening meal, pizza 8/10, ice cream cafe 8/10, Abba tribute band 1/10.
Riding day three – Followed a route 6 with a big climb/coastal scramble variation taking us anticlockwise from St Eularia to Cala Llonga – stone sculptures of a turtle and a salamanda on route in Cala Blanca. Terrain as hard as the first day. Great views out to sea (Not just of the naked sunbather in what they though would be a quiet secluded place, only to be disturbed by five mountain bikers). Cafe stop number one, beach, Cala Llonga, sardines, chips & salad 9/10. Tracks and cycle paths took us to cafe number two at St Gertrud(is)e, cakes 10/10. Tracks & quiet roads back to St E and our bar. Evening meal in “trendy” “organic” restaurant, food 9/10, island craft beer 10/10.
Day four – early start meant a quick dash to the hotel restaurant for breakfast things, flew home, no aircraft incidents. Make sure when travelling with a certain member of YAC they keep hold of their passport otherwise you might end up crawling on your belly down an aeroplane gangway looking for it.
It turned out to be a good idea to take the holiday as a package, flights, airport transfers, bed and as much as you can eat breakfast, no need for a hire car, good bikes, we flew out on a Monday and back on the following Friday.
GPX files of our routes are available, contact Peter Evans.
Maps are not as good as Ordnance Survey, we had to check our position with GPS several times.
There is a 200km mountain bike tour of the island for a next time. We will be going somewhere sometime for dry conditions in hot weather, after an inevitable wet and muddy British winter.