Motor Bikin'

"At the speed of lightning". Thus sang Chris Spedding. He sped.

In Mallorca, not really the speed of lightning, well not at all. The speed of speed limits, just about. At the speed of sound? No, wrong again. The sound of sedate speed. Loud nevertheless. Over and over. Again and again they come. More and ever more pass. Rumble, rev and growl.

This was Sunday. Not the ghostly Mile but the main road through Alcúdia and Playa de Muro. Each year, the motor biking "volta", a tour of Mallorca, a round trip of some 300 kilometres. Didn't think you could go that far in Mallorca? You can, and on a motor bike is probably the best way. From Palma by the big El Corte Inglés department store, to Andratx, into the mountains, across the top of the island, down to Llucmajor and back again. Hundreds of them.

The volta has been taking place since the mid-1970s. Sunday's was the 34th. It has become an international event, bikers from here, there and wherever roaring along the roads of the island. It is a spectacle. It is also very loud. So much for noise abatement or pollution. But it doesn't matter. The sight of Harleys, Yamahas, Suzukis is remarkable, and so is the sound. Doing Mallorca on a motor bike cannot be beaten. The mountain roads, for example, are much easier on two, motored wheels than four. It is easier, even as the easy rider, to take in the views than as a car driver. And though noisy, the sheer volume is reassuring. It is the sound of something happening, of something moving.

It is a fine event.


The volcano - more fallout
Along the Mile yesterday, there was more sign of life, but much of this life is of those who have been forced into spending what they can to stay in accommodation. The package holiday-ists have less of a problem. The booking-direct-ists have a big one. They have to keep on paying for somewhere to stay, such as Bellevue. There may be people, but they have barely anything left over once the apartment has been paid for. It's a lousy situation.

Businesses are jittery. You can understand why. One owner along the Mile - and I won't identify him - was saying he was keen to press ahead with publicising a restaurant in the interior, but he can't get his head around what is happening at the moment. You can understand it. The uncertainty is certain.

Meanwhile though, thanks to Steve at Little Britain for this observation from the Glasgow Herald re the volcano, the name of which is of course unpronounceable:

"Eyjafjallajökull? The last time I saw that typed was when I came back to the office drunk and fell asleep on the keyboard."


QUIZ -
Yesterday: REM, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eyFiClAzq8.

Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.