Majorcan Training Camps March April 2012 Introduction Thanks for enquiring about Mamil Cycling s warm weather training camps to be held in Majorca in 2012. We aren t pretending training in Majorca or mainland Spain in the spring is a revolutionary concept, cyclists have been doing it for a few years now. Often, knowing you are off to somewhere hopefully warm and dry to ride your bike is one of the few things that keeps us going through the dark days of a British winter. However, we offer something of an upgrade from going on unplanned camps and just getting the miles in. Cafe stop at Portocristo. Rough eh?! Who do we cater for? If you re an Elite category racer and want to squeeze every ounce of day-light out of every day of your trip abroad by riding eleventeen thousand kilometres every day, we may not be for you. Yes,
we ll be doing some long days and some of the splendid mountain climbs NW Majorca offers but not every day. We ll be mixing our days up with some tactical and technique based coaching, shorter harder rides and some active recovery. We ll be tailoring the week to what you need to do to make you a better rider and get closer to achieving your targets for the forthcoming season. As a basis, you ll need to be happy and able to ride in a group with a number of other riders. If you re group skills are a little shaky we can teach you the basics in a traffic free environment (tennis courts are good) but let us know before you come via the rider profile. Otherwise we don t discriminate we want to be at the forefront of making cycling increasingly inclusive. So, whatever you do, fun and fitness, sportives, time trials, road racing, anything, we aim to cater for you. When are the camps being held? Week 1 3/4 March 10/11 March Week 2 10/11 March 17/18 March Week 3 17/18 March 24/25 March Week 4 24/25 March 31/1 April Week 5 31/1 April 7/8 April (Easter Sunday ) Week 6 7/8 April 14/15 April Weeks 5 and 6 incorporate the school Easter holidays and it would be great to get some families out. The prices quoted are on the basis of seven night accommodation you can arrive on a Saturday or a Sunday as you choose. Depending on arrival time you may get a ride out, you may not, after allowing for transfer, check in and putting your bike back together. We can advise you on the best course of action when we know your flight time. Extra nights are no problem, just let us know. A coach led approach Mamil s Rich Smith will be overseeing the camps, will be leading many of the rides and will be analysing the rider profile information to ensure you are using your time in Majorca to maximum effect. Rich is a Level 2 British Cycling qualified coach, currently finalising his L3 qualification (the highest B.C offer). He is also the captain and coach of the world beating Great Britain Transplant Cycling team and a multiple British, European and World Champion in that discipline. He also races locally in time trials and road races and suffers with the rest of us so he s seen both sides of the cycling story. Before you go on the camp we ll ask you to fill in a rider profile document (a copy is enclosed with this pack). This will allow us to get some information on you as a rider and what your goals are (we ll help put some structure around goal setting too if you like!)
The Mamil Cycling approach Many training camps are a little unstructured. Ever been on a skiing holiday? You know how you are put into groups dependant on your ability at the beginning of the week and assigned an appropriate instructor? Well, that s the approach we intend to adopt. Rather than doing the equivalent of taking you to the top of a mountain, pushing you down a black run and picking up the bits at the bottom we ll have a look at what your ability is and prescribe rides accordingly. We may set off together in a bunch and then split off to do appropriate terrain or distances or we may suggest you do an unaccompanied ride with a smaller group. Horses for courses. Either way we will adopt a club ethos where we do our best to look after and support each other if somebody needs to stop, we all stop. Like the Marines we don t leave anybody behind! Equipment Road bike Yep, you ll need one of these. The climbs in Majorca tend to be gentler than the UK in terms of gradient but a lot longer. Most adult male riders use a standard 53/39 with a 25 on the back without any problems. Please make sure your bike is safe and serviceable and the tyres are in decent condition. Clothing - You get cool days sometimes. Arms warmers and gilet type weather at home although it tends to warm up during the day so come well equipped. A lightweight jacket can be handy for stops. Standard jerseys and plenty of shorts are a good idea. Spares as normal, make sure you take a couple of spare tubes, mini pump, multi-tool etc with you when you ride so please bring those. Helmet It s the law in Spain: you ve got to wear a lid. When the law was introduced 10 years ago it was rarely enforced but the local police tend to take more of an interest now so please bring your lid and wear it. Bike shops There are a number of bike shops in easy walking/riding distance of the hotel. Generally they are friendly and well stocked so you can pick up the normal bits and pieces and/or hire a bike if you want to. They have workshops and, in the past, have been pretty good at sorting out new spokes, headsets and the like but this is dependent on the availability of the mechanic/parts etc. They can be pretty expensive. Accommodation Our camps are based at the Pollença Park Hotel in the town of Puerto Pollenca. It s a hotel well known to cyclists visiting from the UK and has always catered well for our needs. We will be staying on a half board basis and breakfast and evening meals are served on a buffet basis perfect for hungry cyclists. There is a good selection of food, so much so that second and third helpings have been known after particularly long days in the saddle.
Pollenca Park Hotel The camps are based on an en-suite twin room with two sharing. If you re not bringing a mate, we ll find one for you or you can upgrade to a single room if you wish. The hotel has lockable bike storage rooms on the ground floor and individual locks are also provided. Some people choose to take their bike up to the rooms and this has never proved to be a problem in the past. The area immediately around the hotel has some friendly little supermarkets and bars and there are larger restaurants, cafes and bars in easy walking distance (really, you can walk there). Most (in fact probably all) of the staff in the local bars and shops speak English sometimes because they are English. Tolo s is the famous place for cyclists to meet with the pro teams often dropping in to say hello. Transfers Transfers from Palma airport to the hotel and back are included in the price. Before you leave we ll send you a voucher for the transfer - go to the appropriate office in the airport concourse and they will direct you to the coach park (and give you a coach number so you know which bus to get on!). It s a very short walk. The coach will take you (and your bike) to the hotel the trip is usually direct although it may stop at a couple of other hotels close by first. It shouldn t really take much longer than an hour. Routes There are a massive range of routes, just to give you a flavour of where we go and the distances involved:- Very short. Short Cala St Vincent (15 mile flat round trip) Cap de Formentor (26 miles hilly) or Muro (30 miles flat)
Middle distance Day ride Long ride Lluc/Sella/Campanet (55 miles mixed) Bunyola/Orient (72 miles hilly) Soller via Puig Major (86 miles mountainous!) Cala Sant Vincent. Lovely Price The cost of a week is 425 per person for two people sharing a twin room. This is based on 7 nights half board accommodation at the Pollenca Park Hotel and includes a return transfer from Palma airport for you and your bike. Please bear in mind when budgeting for your trip, the cost of a flight is NOT included. Most regional airports fly to Palma and most airlines will take a bike subject to a weight limit. Make sure you tell the airline you are taking a bike when you book your flight. Single rooms are available for a supplement of 50 for 7 nights. The price includes rider profiling before the camp, coaching direction during the week and an outline plan to get you towards your goals to take away with you. Please refer to the terms and conditions for full details. Payment 100 deposit upon booking. Outstanding balance payable 6 weeks before departure. Full payment required if booked within 6 weeks of departure. Cheques made payable to Mamil Cycling Ltd.
Credit/debit card payment can be made via the website www. mamilcycing.co.uk. We ll send you a final invoice after confirming your booking with balance you need to pay. Geography The North West of Majorca is ideal for cycling. It s why so many of us have been going there for years. There are flat rides both along the coast and through the bike friendly lanes but there are some wonderful mountains and climbs to do Puig Major and Sa Colabra are two splendid examples. There s more space than at home so the climbs are never as steep, many of them characterised by switch back Alpine style hairpins. The North West of the island is also really pretty. It tends to be green rather than brown and the sea has that gorgeous azure hue to it. We get misty eyed just thinking about it. Broadly speaking, our led rides will be confined to the area North West of a line from Soller to Manacor. Felanitx is nice too but we can t pronounce it. We avoid Palma completely although, of course, you are free to go wherever you wish. In case you were wondering, a lap of the island has been done in a day but not by us. Climate In March and April, it s generally warm with low rainfall and the average high temperature climbs to 16 C in March and 18 C in April. Day time highs of around 20 C are quite common, though it can be a little unpredictable. Sunshine levels get up to nine hours per day in April. Rainfall is moderate, decreasing to an almost negligible amount by May.
As much as we d like to guarantee the weather, and we ve tried pretty much everything, there can be wet days to contend with. It s an island climate so it can change fairly quickly it might rain in the morning and be bone dry by the afternoon. We have not lost a full days riding in the last three years. In truth, mainland Spain is a little dryer at this time of year but the riding is a bit industrial. The Canaries are equally uninspiring (in our view) and are as windy as hell. North West Majorca is a good compromise. If it rains (and this is true of mainland Spain) it can be dangerous to ride some of the local roads. The main ones are usually fine but some minor roads don t have the same cambers as the UK. Rubber and diesel can pool making it pretty slippy. Sit down, have a coffee and wait for the sun. Health care, hospitals and Emergencies Make sure you bring your EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) with you and advise us of any preexisting medical conditions. State health care is good and there is no shortage of hospitals on the island. Heaven forbid we should ever need one. The emergency number is 112 for all the usual emergency services. Insurance Please make sure you have adequate insurance cover for your trip. It s really important this covers repatriation in the event of an illness or accident. Rules of the road Sounds obvious we know but the Spanish drive on the right! It s easy to forget if you are on your own or getting back on to your bike after a café stop! Traffic on the island is pretty light and, in general, drivers tend to be courteous and patient. The busier roads usually have either cycle lanes or a broad hard shoulder to ride on to stay away from the cars usually wide enough to comfortably ride two abreast Normally, we will ride in pairs taking a turn at the front (it s all part of the training ) singling out when necessary. Common sense for the road conditions really. The ride leaders are there to provide direction and it s really important you take good care of yourself whilst you re out on the road. Your safety is very much in your hands. Sharing If you want to come on your own and share a room we ll allocate you a partner for the week. When on tour sharing can be a good idea it s easy to find your way around and you can remind each other about stuff, dinner (like you d forget..), ride times, equipment, the fact the sunglasses your room mate are looking for are on top of his head etc. The Pro s do it for the same reasons. Equally, we tend to gather for dinner and breakfast anyway. Your choice.
If you want to let us allocate you a roomie we can t give out details before hand data protection and that. None riding partners are very welcome but it can get a bit dull for them. The weather is usually great for riding but only sporadically hot enough for sun bathing all day. If they are into walking, hiking etc. then it s great for that. Otherwise, bring a book. A big one. Ride leaders Most of the longer rides will be led. You ll always have the option of turning back or taking a short cut if you ve had enough just make sure you let us know. If you are doing a shorter ride or some active recovery we may make some route suggestions for you and you can choose the time you do it. A bit of me time can be a good thing! Sometimes we may suggest you go out with another group of riders from the hotel if you are looking for a different ride or something specific to suit your training programme. It s usually a friendly bunch with familiar faces. Events We ll keep you up to date with cycling related events on the island during your stay including any time trials and tours or other races. The Tour of Majorca is a week-long stage race usually held during March or early April and is worth a watch. Admin Euro is the currency and you will, of course, need your passport. There is a cash machine in the hotel and a few others in the surrounding area. The local cafes, shops and bars prefer smaller notes and change where possible. Finally, please have a good look through the terms and conditions and make sure you are happy with them.