Mallorca 312....

fat bloke

magicbastarder wrote: »

mallorca is being absolutely hammered by rain at the moment - 5 dead.

Cripes, i only came back from there Monday night. Was pretty torrential around Pollenthat afternoon for a time but we still managed cap Formentor in the morning and the taxi ride across the island that evening was bone dry and sunny.

Andy Magic

Anyone know how much it costs to do the 312 ?

magicbastarder

fat bloke wrote: »

Cripes, i only came back from there Monday night. Was pretty torrential around Pollenthat afternoon for a time but we still managed cap Formentor in the morning and the taxi ride across the island that evening was bone dry and sunny.

only recently back from the south of spain; malaga airport is flooded, marbella got something like five inches of rain

we were staying 15km inland from torre del mar - torre del mar was biblical, but where we were staying didn't get rain, weirdly.

Andy Magic

Andy Magic wrote: »

Anyone know how much it costs to do the 312 ?

70, 80 or 90 euro depending on when you register.

then there's flights, hotels, bike hire.......

It isn't cheap, but a fantastic experience.

AxleAddict

Yeah - I think the price of the sportive itself has crept up a tiny bit from last time from what I remember - by maybe 5 or 10 euro - but you do get a great jersey and 75-85 euro for a 312km closed road event in Mallorca is a bargain, albeit you've got the additional costs of travel and accommodation, but most people I know tend to go there for a few extra days cycling beforehand to acclimatise as well as maybe some additional relaxation afterwards. Accommodation and transfer costs can obviously be offset by travelling as a group (if possible)

Personally, given the amount of climbing and potential distances involved I preferred to bring my own bike with me (which my body recognises) rather than risk hiring what may be a great quality but unfamiliar bike which may feel fine over short to medium distances, but what starts out as a little niggle early on could turn out to be a disaster later in the day (I appreciate that adds additional costs of either buying or hiring a bike box as well as additional flight and transportation costs)

Curious how many others have done the full 312 route on a hire bike (as opposed to taking your own)?

WMP

Firstly thats terrible about the people dead from the storms over there. Jesus climate change is wreaking havoc but that's another story.

I did the 312km last year on a hire bike. I would have much preferred to have my own bike but I'm too worried about it getting damaged during travel. That will probably pass as it gets older. I have traveled with other bikes and haven't had a problem.

The standard of hire bikes from Max Hurzeler in Mallorca is excellent. I had an Alu Centurion with Ultegra. I think it cost 105 euro for a week and the same for the 5 days I had it. It was maybe 30 or 40 euro more for a carbon frame but to be honest I think there is no difference between a decent ALU bike and an entry level carbon frame. Difference is weight peanuts also. Bikes are in top condition, spotless clean and in perfect running order. For 105 euro that's about the cost of transporting a bike and zero hassle. So well worth in my mind.

The event itself was great but tough. I under estimated it and mentally wasn't properly prepared for it. Its started great but I struggled from about 100km to 160km. Took a break and had a few ham sandwiches and a couple of cans of coke. Felt better then and the second half went ok. Finished with a 27kmh average which I was happy with.

Would definitely go back and do it again. Picking up the starter pack on that sunny day and chatting to all the lads from Ireland, the UK and everywhere else with the sea and beach close by was a great buzz!

cats pyjamas

I have been to Mallorca a good few times and hired from different places. They are usually great quality. Max Huerzeler, Sports Bequi and Bike Experience are all excellent. The only time I had trouble was when I hadn't booked a bike in advance and had to take what they had left (not one of the companies above). They book out very quickly.

I have done the sportive twice (and hired bikes both times. Not going next year but if I ever go back for the sportive then I would like to bring my own bike

One of our lads used www.shipmytribike.ie to bring his bike over this year.

You might want to check their travel dates though - I think there was a fairly quick turnaround after the 312. That might be an issue if you are out early or staying longer afterwards.

fat bloke

Having been to Mallorca (Majorca?) a couple of times now and done all day spins over the various mountains, odometer readings of 160km + are hard earned. It's hard to get your head around the 312 number. But then I know a bunch of lads that managed to do it, some of whom are only recent, occasional, leisure cyclists.

But I'd have no interest in the event myself. You'd have much more enjoyment out of clocking up 400km over the course of a 3-4 day stay, in my opinion. Every day on the bike is an occasion on the island with the sheer volume of cyclists around. You'd come back lovin' the bike and in fine fettle. The danger of the big event is coming back in absolute flitters and not wanting to go near a bike again for weeks.

fat bloke

fat bloke wrote: »

Having been to Mallorca (Majorca?) a couple of times now and done all day spins over the various mountains, odometer readings of 160km + are hard earned. It's hard to get your head around the 312 number. But then I know a bunch of lads that managed to do it, some of whom are only recent, occasional, leisure cyclists.

But I'd have no interest in the event myself. You'd have much more enjoyment out of clocking up 400km over the course of a 3-4 day stay, in my opinion. Every day on the bike is an occasion on the island with the sheer volume of cyclists around. You'd come back lovin' the bike and in fine fettle. The danger of the big event is coming back in absolute flitters and not wanting to go near a bike again for weeks.

the difference between the 225 and the 312 is 87km of flat (and apparently boring) cycling. The difference between the 167 and the 225 is two tough climbs, Galilea and es Grau.

Initially i wanted to do the 225, but when it came to the point where you divert on to the 225 course, I knew it would end up being a chore and not pleasure and decided to take the easy option. I have no regrets either.

For me though, it only enhanced my love of cycling. When we left Esporles we joined a large peloton zipping along at around 40k and shot around a few roundabouts in near perfect formation. I really wished someone had filmed that for me because to an onlooker, it probably looked like i knew what I was doing!

I have cycled in Majorca on several occasions prior to this, but that great atmosphere the place has is intensified a thousand fold during the 312 weekend.

This year I had two objectives, 1) don't die 2) finish. next year it will be 1)don't die, 2)finish 3)do the 225.

AxleAddict

I had aimed to do the 312 earlier this year, but when it came to the 225/312 split in the end I opted for the 225 route - I definitely had more than 225 in the legs - but with all the earlier climinb I was unsure if I would have managed the 312 (with another 4,000ft of elevation) - from the photos I've seen, the atmosphere in the town of Arta (which is in the north-east of the island, and is the home of the cycling club involved in organising the event) looks amazing - but I decided that by the time I'd reached the cut-off point, it would be better to arrive back in Alcudia in daylight hours when there would still be plenty of people around and soak up the atmosphere that way - in that respect I don't regret switching to the 225 - it was a great day out, but will hopefully be better prepared for the 312 next year.

AxleAddict

fat bloke wrote: »

Having been to Mallorca (Majorca?) a couple of times now and done all day spins over the various mountains, odometer readings of 160km + are hard earned. It's hard to get your head around the 312 number. But then I know a bunch of lads that managed to do it, some of whom are only recent, occasional, leisure cyclists.

But I'd have no interest in the event myself. You'd have much more enjoyment out of clocking up 400km over the course of a 3-4 day stay, in my opinion. Every day on the bike is an occasion on the island with the sheer volume of cyclists around. You'd come back lovin' the bike and in fine fettle. The danger of the big event is coming back in absolute flitters and not wanting to go near a bike again for weeks.

I hear what you're saying - myself and a few clubmates went on several casual leisure/acclimitisation spins in the days leading up to the Mallorca 312 this year - and very enjoyable they were too. I can only speak for myself, that as time has progressed and my cycling ability/endurance has improved I need to find events which are a challenge - not to the point of total and utter exhaustion where I never want to ride a bike again mind you, but enough to feel that I've achieved something - if it were 'easy' then I probably wouldn't bother (I suspect that applies to plenty of others). You do wonder why you're putting yourself through it at the time for sure, but the feeling at the end is great. I certainly wouldn't recommend the event to occasional cyclists (even the 167km route would be a significant undertaking, never mind the 312) but I think for cyclists of average fitness and above its a great challenge.

Boscoirl

Flights booked
Accomm booked
Bike rental sorted

The Noble Nudge

Was I on the wrong site recently said it was sold out with a waiting list and haven't heard a thing since.....??

The other more expensive option is to do it with a tour company....

benneca1

Sold out within a few days.

AxleAddict

Just under a week to go now. Weather conditions looking promising....

Boscoirl

Going to attempt the 167 with absolutely no training done( have had 2 spins upto last week, and few here this week) what could go wrong? Have the wife warned she may need to collect me somewhere!

07Lapierre

I see Alberto Contador will be there. Should be a good event! Enjoy!

I am very very jealous.

I had planned to take part but had to pull out this week.

Enjoy.

Boscoirl

The lads just went down the reg and had their pictures with Contador

Boscoirl

Wow that was amazing and excruciating!

Cycling in Majorca is amazing. Only did the 167km and it took all day. We plodder around. Stopped for a nice lunch and plenty of pics. 9its the most Metres I have done on a single ride.

Some of the other lads the 312 &225

Not sure I’d do it again though. There was a few organizational things they were were poor. We managed to sneak into a spot just after the pros and vips. So we’re on the road 6min after the start. Heard of others that took over 40min to get going. It would have been very hard to make cut offs starting that far back. The first food stop was completely gone and taken down when we passed. ( we had stopped for lunch and that was mainly cow we knew the food stop would have been closed by the time we got there) They could have been many more water stops. We ran out of water and and even had other people asking when passing did we have any to spare. The second food stop only had Nutella sandwiches when we got there.


At the last junction where the 225/167 and the 312 split. The signs were taken down and there were no Marshall’s. Only for a lady living in the house at the corner told us the way we were stumped. But a few people had gone straight on in the wrong direction.

The finish was all over the place I ended up coming at it from the wrong side, I probably missed a turn. I had to cycle up past it climb over a high curb and cycle back down. Kinda ruined the finish for me. Those pot noodle things at the end were disgusting.

Other than that I really enjoyed it.

The general consensus between our club members is that if we come back to go on our own spins and forget about the 312.

Fair play to anyone that completed the 312. Met one guy from Ireland who was devasted. He missed the cut for the 312 by a few min.