Strava, the website and mobile app which tracks athletic activity, in particular cycling and running, has prepared a report which highlights just how important cycling is to Majorca and how popular it is. The app has registered 9.2 million cycling activities in 2016, and Majorca occupies the top five places in Spain.
The Council of Majorca, aware of the popularity of cycling, is to invest 16 million euros in a series of infrastructure improvements to enhance safety and to - as is always noted with such announcements - tackle tourism seasonality.
Mercedes Garrido, the councillor for land and infrastructure, says that cycling on the island benefits from the climate, the good standards and maintenance of main roads, and the landscapes. She notes that routes that take in the mountains and small ports can be of some 100 kilometre length.
The situation differs by area. The Council's emphasis in the Tramuntana will be on tarmacking. In other parts it will be on widening cycle lanes to 1.8 metres. This is the case, for instance, with the old road to Sineu. This is one of the most popular roads for cyclists but it also has a poor accident record.
There are also projects to link urban areas by means of a bike lane, e.g. the road between Ses Salines and Colonia Sant Jordi, for which 2.2 million euros are earmarked. Further ones are for the sharing of lanes by cyclists and pedestrians, as in Algaida.
The Strava report identified Puerto Pollensa as the single most popular area for cycling. There were over 130,000 activities recorded there.