Much Mallorcan up & down ⛰️
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Much Mallorcan up & down
️Out this morning ahead of the high temperatures, to Selva & other local towns. 43km ride with 831 metres of elevation gain.
One climb to the Santa Llúcia monastery above Mancor de la Vall, & then half way up to the Coll de la Batalla above Caimari – the latter is beautiful, endless switchbacks through a pine forest.
Needed the e-motor to convert “probably not possible for me” inclines to “just exhausting” 🥵
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Much Mallorcan up & down
️Out this morning ahead of the high temperatures, to Selva & other local towns. 43km ride with 831 metres of elevation gain.
One climb to the Santa Llúcia monastery above Mancor de la Vall, & then half way up to the Coll de la Batalla above Caimari – the latter is beautiful, endless switchbacks through a pine forest.
Needed the e-motor to convert “probably not possible for me” inclines to “just exhausting” 🥵
FWIW, am struggling a bit with the ethics of using an e-road bike on these steep Mallorcan hills, not least because so many others are climbing them unaided – impressive.
OK, most of them are decades younger than me, much lighter, & likely far fitter, although the occasional wizened whippet adds to my shame.
Truth is though, I probably wouldn’t be able to ride these routes at all at my current weight/fitness, & the bike is relatively low-power & torque, so I still need to work pretty hard.
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FWIW, am struggling a bit with the ethics of using an e-road bike on these steep Mallorcan hills, not least because so many others are climbing them unaided – impressive.
OK, most of them are decades younger than me, much lighter, & likely far fitter, although the occasional wizened whippet adds to my shame.
Truth is though, I probably wouldn’t be able to ride these routes at all at my current weight/fitness, & the bike is relatively low-power & torque, so I still need to work pretty hard.
@markmccaughrean not being able to do the route (currently) without an ebike totally proves their worth. You're out riding (not driving) that's always a plus
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FWIW, am struggling a bit with the ethics of using an e-road bike on these steep Mallorcan hills, not least because so many others are climbing them unaided – impressive.
OK, most of them are decades younger than me, much lighter, & likely far fitter, although the occasional wizened whippet adds to my shame.
Truth is though, I probably wouldn’t be able to ride these routes at all at my current weight/fitness, & the bike is relatively low-power & torque, so I still need to work pretty hard.
@markmccaughrean we took our bikes to Alsace 8 or 9 years ago; I still remember being overtaken as we toiled up a short but sharp incline out of a village by a silver-haired couple on e-bikes.
I still get simultaneous thoughts of "how wonderful!" and "that's cheating!" even now I have my own e-bike. -
FWIW, am struggling a bit with the ethics of using an e-road bike on these steep Mallorcan hills, not least because so many others are climbing them unaided – impressive.
OK, most of them are decades younger than me, much lighter, & likely far fitter, although the occasional wizened whippet adds to my shame.
Truth is though, I probably wouldn’t be able to ride these routes at all at my current weight/fitness, & the bike is relatively low-power & torque, so I still need to work pretty hard.
@markmccaughrean if you’re enjoying the ride, that’s all that matters!
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FWIW, am struggling a bit with the ethics of using an e-road bike on these steep Mallorcan hills, not least because so many others are climbing them unaided – impressive.
OK, most of them are decades younger than me, much lighter, & likely far fitter, although the occasional wizened whippet adds to my shame.
Truth is though, I probably wouldn’t be able to ride these routes at all at my current weight/fitness, & the bike is relatively low-power & torque, so I still need to work pretty hard.
You have my blessing!
Kid 2 has competed in a hillclimb and there was a guy ~20% slower than him who was 73. He was faster than anyone in the 60+ and 50+ category, and faster than many 40+ people (and younger). Upshot: there are some people that will beat you and me uphill all the way to their final day, and that is absolutely ok.
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FWIW, am struggling a bit with the ethics of using an e-road bike on these steep Mallorcan hills, not least because so many others are climbing them unaided – impressive.
OK, most of them are decades younger than me, much lighter, & likely far fitter, although the occasional wizened whippet adds to my shame.
Truth is though, I probably wouldn’t be able to ride these routes at all at my current weight/fitness, & the bike is relatively low-power & torque, so I still need to work pretty hard.
@markmccaughrean
That you see an ethical problem using an E-Bike is a very weird concept to me. I'm also not struggling with the ethics of using glasses to read a book these days. And to me these things are quite comparable. -
J jwcph@helvede.net shared this topic
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