getting physical with physics

the roads are so busy on Menorca that we feel compelled to take an alternative route

Bloody hell.  The bike just fell over.  It's really windy up here at the top of the climb on these cliffs looking north. The sea is full of white horses. I'm waiting for Gayle as she pushes her bike up the path.  We've both been pushing on and off for about two hours.  "This isn't a mountain bike trail!" I scream into the wind. "It's a footpath!!!"  And yet the little signposts feature both a walker and a bicycle.  It doesn't help that we are fully laden, having stocked up at Lidl earlier in the day.  Perversely we're rather enjoying it - the views are wonderful and there's worse places to be.

the bikes before mine blew over

I will enjoy myself, I will enjoy myself, I will enjoy.....

We reach a gate and start to look around for a camping spot.  There's still plenty of light and not many obvious places to hide.  Just as we rest here Gayle spots three cyclist racing down the next hill and coming towards us.  We lose sight of them in the brush at the foot of the climb up to us.  It's steep - all the hills are steep on this coastal track.  "I bet they're pushing now" I exclaim.  But they're not.  They are slowly pegging their way up a rocky steep trail towards us.  I politely open the narrow gate and the first mountain biker tries to ride through without putting his feet down.  Show-off.   After they've gone we push down the path and into a couple of abandoned fields to hide the tent behind a bush. 

not a bad spot - but we had a few visitors some of whom came with us the next day

In the morning we'd been having a lovely look around the old town of Mahón, built up above the old port which attracted the British Navy in the early 1700's.  The town is subsequently said to have an 'English feel' to it, although this may only be obvious by the presence of what the locals call "boinders" - large bow windows that adorn the first floors of many of the older houses.  We arrive at seven on a Saturday morning and the centre is peaceful and calm.  As the morning picks up, so does the activity.  There's a tourist market in the main plaza.  We want to stay a night to explore properly but there are no cheap rooms to be had.  So after a leisurely morning pottering here and there we finally head out of town.

Now the Spanish, the Catalans,the French and perhaps some Belgians too, all claim to have introduced mayonnaise to the world, but the truth is that it was the invention of a Briton who lived in Mahón.  Ernest Wright was a helmsman on a Royal Naval cutter based at this Mediterranean port in the early 1800's.  Looking for something to dip his fish and chips into, he discovered the magical blend of egg yolks and olive oil now known and loved the world over.  And thus so it was that Helmsman's Mayonnaise was born.  Sadly, Ernest had no head for business and failed to patent his recipe..........

The trail we've been following is called the Cami des Cavalls - the horse trail.  It circumnavigates the coastline of Menorca and we thought we'd give it a go.  We know that some of the north coast is too difficult but this first stretch has already had both of us pushing the one bike up a hill and then both going back to push the other.  This isn't for us.  So the next day we look for the first opportunity to get back to tarmac.  It comes after another heavy push.  When we reach the top of the push I realise that not unloading the bikes is a false economy.  The two bolts anchoring my rear rack have sheared off in the frame.  Probably one broke when the bike fell over yesterday and then the other broke with carrying the strain. Bugger.  At least I can use the bolts that hold my mudguard as well.  But this begs the question why are the bolts the same.  Two bolts holding a plastic mudguard must have a little less stress than one holding a rear rack that carries up to 25 kg.......