When we arrived in Puerto Pollensa at the beginning of March it was very quiet , almost everything touristic was closed. The tourist season has become much shorter, hardly what was needed. Now we have been in full cycling mode for a couple of weeks. Apparently the Hotels are fully booked here for April.
1/ Gordon with clubmate Laurie Rissbrook. 2/ A very young Gordon with Father & a family friend 3/ A local race with Eric Grocock on the right.4/ At Parc D'Prince Paris. 5/ Bill Cheadle & first wife Janet.6/ Book launch 6/Mexborough R.C, at Edwinstowe 7/ Mexborough R.C club run 8/ Gordon with the ladies from Swinton's Manvers club
. TheCycling in the early days first 32 years of my life I spent in Swinton, except for 3 years racing in France, earning enough to pay my way without any financial backing in the years 1960/61/62/. My first club was the Mexborough Road Club in the adjacent town of that name. My father became secretary when almost all the male members went off to war. They never came back, so he continued as secretary until the club becoming defunct. This was a club that solely raced on the track. so it is no surprise I mostly did this up to the age 18. My year of birth was 1938 and most clubs were principally social clubs, as a bike was the best way to travel around. Cars were only for the very rich .My parents rode tandem together and after their marriage my mother never rode again. In Mexborough there was another club the Mexborough Wheelers , who rode the track and time trials having among there membership Tony Siveter and Bill Cheadle. I started road racing at the age of 18, eventually joining the Dearne Wheelers to ride with a stronger road racing team
https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2025/02/22/exclusive-british-cycling-expert-issues-warning-to-pedalers-in-mallorca-after-horror-collision/
We arrived at Puerto Pollensa on Wednesday on the second leg of our triangular journey. Whilst here I will arrange further book signings. Hopeful with all the Americans falling in love with Mallorca and travelling here, some will have seen the encouraging USA reviews , which are well represented in the press at the moment with Midwest Book Reviews, Donovans Literary Services, BookLife reviews, BlueInk reviews and IndieReader reviews
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On this leg we drove from Tavira Portugal, staying overnight at Valdepenas, This is an excellent place to visit with its charming local flavour. Not too big so you can easily find your way around, large enough to be very interesting. We arrived just as the carnival was finishing
Travelling on from there we caught the car ferry from Valencia. In making the booking the night before at our hotel , the online booking agencies did not have any overnight cabin availability. This was surprising as the route is not very busy in early march. For us cabins are a necessity, On looking at the Ferry Operator's own booking site we easily obtained this overnight sleeping accommodation.. Toby our cat was delighted we had done this, as you can see in the photo of her looking out of the porthole..
One other problem is that as our vehicle was 4 years old on the 31st December 2024 we needed a roadworthy test certificate before this date. As we left France in October we could not undertake one. . Consequently we had the test in Portugal, to be informed that this was only valid in Portugal, therefore we had another test in Spain. We will have to do another test when we return to France. So much for European Unity.
There are 3 things to watch out for when you are driving in these 3 countries. In Spain they pass you on the inside lane even on the dual carriageways. As for Portugal they think it is normal to take to the middle of the roundabout and then make a right turn no matter that someone is in the inside lane. Both the French and the Portuguese use their indicators very sparingly. The worst and most stupid thing of all is that PRIORITY A DROITE (priority on the right) is becoming more prevalent in some rural areas of France.
When it stops raining I will take my bike out on the quieter roads, All the cycling routes seem to be quiet at the moment the high season for cyclists seems late in arriving this year.
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When we arrived in Puerto Pollensa at the beginning of March it was very quiet , almost everything touristic was closed. The tourist season has become much shorter, hardly what was needed. Now we have been in full cycling mode for a couple of weeks. Apparently the Hotels are fully booked here for April.
. TheCycling in the early days first 32 years of my life I spent in Swinton, except for 3 years racing in France, earning enough to pay my way without any financial backing in the years 1960/61/62/. My first club was the Mexborough Road Club in the adjacent town of that name. My father became secretary when almost all the male members went off to war. They never came back, so he continued as secretary until the club becoming defunct. This was a club that solely raced on the track. so it is no surprise I mostly did this up to the age 18. My year of birth was 1938 and most clubs were principally social clubs, as a bike was the best way to travel around. Cars were only for the very rich .My parents rode tandem together and after their marriage my mother never rode again. In Mexborough there was another club the Mexborough Wheelers , who rode the track and time trials having among there membership Tony Siveter and Bill Cheadle. I started road racing at the age of 18, eventually joining the Dearne Wheelers to ride with a stronger road racing team
https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2025/02/22/exclusive-british-cycling-expert-issues-warning-to-pedalers-in-mallorca-after-horror-collision/
This article is prompted by a book review I had from IndieReader a very influential book site in the USA. I have no complaint about their review of which some details are posted on my website, except they have commented ; "The very final words of the text are an opinion on Brexit, nothing to do with cycling at all". Yes this is true for Americans, why would they be interested? However it is an important event for cyclists, travelers and tourists in Europe. Consequently when I wrote the book I had included a few snippets in my European travels of what transpired before we joined the EU.
It is apparent that the Mallorcan Authorities are keen to promote cycling. having made substantial improvements in many directions , for example, tarmacking many of the caminoes (tracks). It took a long time for the caves road to be tarmacked. This is the very busy road from near Pollensa to Campanet considering it has been one of the busiest routes on the Island for a long time. With the plethora of potholes it was a long wait. We must not forget that the authorities had the foresight in building the Palma Area Velodrome which is now a hive of activity, plus many other improvements such as making drainage grates biker friendly
This blog is a consequence of journalist Tom Ewart Smith from the Olive Press, doing what good journalists should do, asking questions, after a report of 6 . German cyclists being in collision with a car resulting in serious injuries. This provoked a Trump like anti-press response by a surprising number, This is a question that needs to be discussed.
This article is prompted by a book review I had from IndieReader a very influential book site in the USA. I have no complaint about their review of which some details are posted on my website, except they have commented ; "The very final words of the text are an opinion on Brexit, nothing to do with cycling at all". Yes this is true for Americans, why would they be interested? However it is an important event for cyclists, travelers and tourists in Europe. Consequently when I wrote the book I had included a few snippets in my European travels of what transpired before we joined the EU.
This blog is a consequence of journalist Tom Ewart Smith from the Olive Press, doing what good journalists should do, asking questions, after a report of 6 . German cyclists being in collision with a car resulting in serious injuries. This provoked a Trump like anti-press response by a surprising number, This is a question that needs to be discussed.
It is apparent that the Mallorcan Authorities are keen to promote cycling. having made substantial improvements in many directions , for example, tarmacking many of the caminoes (tracks). It took a long time for the caves road to be tarmacked. This is the very busy road from near Pollensa to Campanet considering it has been one of the busiest routes on the Island for a long time. With the plethora of potholes it was a long wait. We must not forget that the authorities had the foresight in building the Palma Area Velodrome which is now a hive of activity, plus many other improvements such as making drainage grates biker friendly