Biker groups and clubs in Mallorca are using social media to alert members to Guardia Civil controls in the Tramuntana Mountains.
A representative of one club has explained that reports of there being a "mole" in the Guardia Civil's Tráfico division are totally untrue. There is no leak of information regarding controls. For months, WhatsApp and Facebook have been used to advise members of speed radars. All the groups are connected with one another in this way. When there is advice, the controls are bypassed. "Is there anything illegal in this?"
This version conflicts with what residents in the Tramuntana claim. Recently, they picked up a WhatsApp message which read: "Advise your colleagues that this weekend the Guardia Civil have gone to the ITV (MOT centre) in order to get a technician for controls in the mountains. Don't be surprised if they make dyno checks. Change of route."
On that particular Sunday morning, a control was arranged that only the Council of Mallorca, the Guardia Civil and the ITV supposedly knew about. Three months before, something similar happened. Residents say that it is known in advance when Guardia officers will arrive; there are phone alerts.
Meanwhile, biker groups point to increasing interest in biking and to a lack of work and ERTE schemes having offered more free time. Residents in the mountains, for their part, continue to condemn the noise and speed, as they have done for years.