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        Majorca 2008      

Report & Pictures from Roy Peters (very good oldroadrunner) Further pictures from Joe Howard

Added comments in blue by blogger.

(My special thanks got to Peter McDermott who had to pull out at the last minute offering poor me this never to be missed, once in a life time opportunity of a free passage to Paradise. I just had to make all the meals, make all the beds & make all the apologies!)

A group of 9 honed-to-perfection athletes were pleased that the pack leader decided that we would benefit from an early start and were all delighted at having to go to bed before the pubs shut so that we could get to the airport in the middle of the night. We needed our passports early in the trip so that we could enter the principality of Riley Green to pick up the 10th man (his worship the mayor aka Blogger Bob) who was going on a cultural twinning trip with a Moroccan butcher (or was it a baker?). Unlike last year, we managed to negotiate the airports without any major security incidents as the pack leader Simmy managed to keep hold of his luggage and oldroadrunner secreted his terrorist toolkit in his suitcase. The first navigational difficulty was encountered by the group led by the newly retired gateau-fancier Bowers who had a bit of difficulty in finding the checkpoint at the car hire depot. Note to the Wayfinder committee-we were never actually lost. It just took us some time to find the place where the ‘full tank of diesel’ scam was carried out. At least the diesel rip-off was partly offset by the price or the red wine (5 Euros for a bucket full). On the subject of red wine, does anyone know how Joe (The Gyroscope) manages to keep his glass upright when he falls asleep?  

We arrived at the Villa after stopping off at the Tony’s World of Leather where one or two of the group bought some of those ‘special’ items that you cant get in Argos. 

Our Villa was an old mine building but other than the miners having to go down the pit via the kitchen it wasn’t much of a problem. The slag heaps provided good opportunities for hill reps.   John Rainford & Mike Simons seen around the pool..

No group of athletes can perform without the correct nutrition and so special mention must go to the team of cooks lead by head chef Bob f*****g (fool of feeling) Shepherd whose cooking was nearly perfect. Maybe just a soupcon more salt was required in the fish dishes and perhaps just a little more couscous was required as an accompaniment. After hours of searching for a special treat, the head chef located a fabulous 5 star local food outlet that specialised in bargain Spanish omelettes at only 300 Euros (with free smoke). The journey back from this bijou establishment was not without incident as oldroadrunner decided that he could still run but came to an abrupt halt after 100m. Moral of the tale-when your over the hill, accept it with good grace.

Most of the group did some cycling most days although the head chef preferred to spend most of the day concentrating on preparing the food for the athletes. His bike hire worked out about 10 Euros per Km but he did manage a trip to Simmy’s bar in Campanet.

This trip to Dave Simpson's favourite cafe in Campanet is remembered best by Blogger for the way John Rainford stayed behind me en route helping me choose from the large selection of gears available on this hired racing bicycle.Thanks John. My own Penny Farthing has none of these fancy options. By coincidence my Penny Farthing cost only that, granted, some time ago.....

What was so special about this establishment that our pack leader went there every day? He claims it was the Spanish omelettes but we suspect other motives.

Another mystery was the reason for the head chef’s frequent trips to the Moroccan shop when everyone else went out cycling.My interests were pure, two lamb's legs being better than one........ Pictured below is George Andrews to whom I am eternally grateful for setting up my hired racing cycle. He sorted out the position of the saddle, the handlebars & adjusted the gears, making the 6 mile epic to Campanet no less than a doddle for me. Thanks George.     

The routefinder-general (Nigel Leather Saddle above) ensured that the cycling was demanding and picked some of his famous routes, the highlight being the nearly flat route out of Soller -about 15k at an average of 6.2% gradient. First to the top was our regular polka-dot jersey man who obviously benefits from living halfway up Longridge fell. This part of the route was not for the sprinters so our own bicycle repairman struggled on the climb. However once we started to descend he was like a man possessed but managed to stay on the road in contrast to his off-road exploits at Ettrick Bridge. Incidentally, bicycle repairman was last seen asleep in Port Soller. Has anyone seen him since? Is he still asleep? George was tired mainly because he had maintained and tweaked my bike to perfection, a demanding task. We all were prepared to leave George in his nodding state, but Mick McLaughin, a true gentleman, warned George of our cruelty.

The entertainments manager (doubling as the oldroadrunner) (a caring and sensitive soul (fool of feeling)) put on an interesting series of evening social events but unfortunately has now had to give up the position due to the intense stresses caused by the constant barracking and criticism arising from having to work with complex Spanish audio-visual equipment. A thick-skinned volunteer is required to take up the post for next year’s trip. The alternative would be one of the pack leader's quizzes every night. Come back Roy all is forgiven.   

Not a lot of running was done but one or two managed a few miles. Speak for yourself! No doubt MicMac will have benefited from the intense training for the forthcoming 3 Peaks.

We arrived back in the UK after the pubs shut but disappointingly our chauffeur (Gordon another true gentleman to whom I am eternally grateful!) forgot to pick up the 10 pints of Copper Dragon for the thirsty cyclists. Maybe this was related to the real ale off-licence going up in flames a few days earlier.

Many thanks to the pack leader for organising the event and our nocturnal chauffer for the airport taxiing.    

Hope everyone is in full training for the June ‘Tour de Lacs’ and the August cycling pub crawl, details of which are still being planned but invitations will be sent out by the pack leader in a month or so.

Regards from OldRoadRunner. 

Majorcan Board Meeting 

From part time gardening to organising our recent international cycling trip to Majorca seems to be a little too stressful for Dave Simpson. Vice Chaiman, John Rainford, just hidden to Simmy's left, looks future favourite to take over this arduous task. Blogger was also compromised for insisting on wearing his bike clips & braces, a blast from the past it seems.

(Picture from Dr Roy Saltpetres)

Another picture from Majorca via the Dr Roy camera.

As Roy says," George is seen lapping the Villa's swimming pool, but shouldn't he be swimming?"

Meanwhile on one of Bloggers short road runs I came across this beautifully restored square in Selva. Cast iron seating and a traditional looking drinking pump.

Thanks to Joe for the pictures.

Lots of fell runners break away from their original running clubs, mainly because they have no interest in track & field, fell running being their main interest. The fell running section of our club decided to have their own website, probably for the same reason. Now a V70, George Arnold is our oldest active fell runner. There are a few more of us close behind! One of our top female road runners, whilst marshalling recently at Chipping Show Fell Race commented on just how friendly fell runners are.