Tuffs Tour del Majorca 2024

Tuffs Tour del Majorca 2024

Now in its third year and growing in numbers, the Tuff Tour did not fail to disappoint. This year we had 6 new faces and a handful of previous attendees some who missed a year, and some who came to all three.  We had an amazing 20 Tuffs on Tour 2024.

The villa was amazing with a central bar as the hub and a keg or two available on tap, the barman, aka Mark Sole was in his element. Albeit he had to learn how to pour a pint from Vanessa.  Our group of 20 was amazing, with everyone getting on and helping out with any issues.  A group of like-minded individuals.

With various jobs distributed amongst the group everything came together like a well-oiled machine, T-shirts designed by Dom Amey, the pre-Majorca dinner at Jenny and Adrian’s house are all part of the process.

Our flight out was delayed, and at 9am it was good to see the triathlon training camp enjoying fruit and teas, and coff.. Cough cough cough, beer, prosecco, wine and G&T.  Once out there, cars were collected and we headed to the amazing villa where our host met us for a tour… Bedrooms were allocated, and due to the later arrival, there was no time for a quick run.  Instead, a small crew went to the shop and dinner was suddenly produced.

Whilst some say the last night is party night, which it was, I’ve always had a bit of a mantra that the first night is the best night and boy did we arrive with a bang and in full party mode. It was Vicki’s birthday weekend after all. The bar had full blown speakers which allowed us to bang out tune after tune which everyone sang to or danced to. Boom, that was some night…. It probably goes down in Tuff history.

Thursday was our traditional run to the beach for Paella and a beer.  There is always a nod to Jon Babbage for starting this one… the restaurant was about 12k away, making it a little tougher than previous years.  There were options to drive, do one leg or both legs, while a small break-away crew went for the ride to the beach option… but thinking maybe regretted this when they hit puncture thorn ally.  The restaurant was on the beach, which was lush with blues and waves… Paella was enjoyed, as was the beer.  Glen is a bad influence – it’s a fact!  However, Iris and Dominque also led each other on with a merry glass of wine or two (or three).

The afternoon was bike fixing, bike getting ready or just chilling by the pool. Every time we saw Les he was pumping a tyre, and every time you saw Tom, he was removing a tyre. With bike routes sorted by our barman and Captain, there were choices to suit everyone… I will point out that I was in charge of the route for my little crew Iris and Glen, in doing so and coordinating with Mark, I used Google Maps cycle mode, which meant when I left the villa in the morning in the car with Glen in tow, we happened to be going in a rather direct and bumpy direction to the meeting point. Duly noted that they both turned on me when it came to the balls up of the day!

Big ride day did not disappoint, and most of the punctures were now in the past… I’ll leave the details to those who went on the rides to their race reports. Back at the villa and in the pool, while we waited for the long group to come home…

Saturday was a drive to the turquoise bay we went to last year, a short 5k run around the harbour for those who wanted it or sunbeds and sea swims, and lunch in the open top restaurant with amazing views and great company. The organic restaurant was booked for Monday.  Everyone enjoyed an amazing BBQ by Nessa in the evening.

Sunday was and is all about the group ride, I was so so pleased to see us all head out together and it’s great to see the more experienced riders just taking time out with the lesser experienced riders, to capture videos, give words of encouragement and support and help build their confidence.  For me, I hope that they take away more from the experience and build on it, cycling in the UK is tough and very unlike the smooth roads and courteous drivers of Majorca.

The afternoon was the infamous volley ball game, which is illuded to in the race reports… poor Claire didn’t really know what hit her or what banter was fake or real… it was all fake. However the double bounce rule didn’t come into effect, and Iris’ serve definitely went under the net.  My team won, and at no point was we losing, that’s actually fact.

It was Vicki’s birthday and she was given a true party, definitely one to remember… some of the guys dressed up, some wore fancy dress and one guy actually wore a dress. Noone actually knows why!

Monday was home time and back to the beach for another run, Adrian and Liane pushed the pace out to a 10k, while a few turned at the halfway point, then it was sea swim time, followed by the amazing food from the organic restaurant. Back to the airport and back home again.

As always there is a small team hard at work in the background, special thanks to Jen and Adrian, love you guys and to Iris (love you too) … you know it’d never be the same without you so you’re all Tuff Tour lifers.

Below is a YouTube video playlist that attempts to capture the Tuffs on Tour.

Glen

Great cycling, running and swimming days that catered for all abilities and where the stronger ‘athletes’ supported the less confident in a non-competitive environment.

In fact the only competitive couple of hours was on the villa’s volleyball court where things got a bit edgy…. My team was robbed as the ref joined the opposition team (I’m sure that’s not allowed!) and changed the rules as we went along!!

Great accommodation. Great food (and drink!).

But above all, great company and banter!

A perfect mix of training, relaxing, socialising and laughing where you could do as much, or as little, as you wanted without being judged or pressured.

Big shout out to Mike and Iris who organised everything perfectly and made it all work so well.

I’m already looking forward to the 2025 version.

Dominque

A wonderful group holiday, expertly organised. Great to see how everyone helped and encouraged each other. Discovered that cycling is well suited to me which I had not realised before. Cycling up the 3.5 mile switch back to Randa monastery and down again was a highlight. Might invest in some actual cycling shoes! Will definitely return for more adventures to this beautiful place. Can we  stay longer next time please.

Tom

Another fantastic Tuff training camp to Mallorca.  Thanks so much for all the hard work in planning, coordinating  and delivering the many details necessary for a great week in the sun with such an amazing group of people. I hope to see you all next year.

Vanessa

This year was my first tuff mallorca trip and it didn’t disappoint.

The villa was lovely a little far out but a beautiful place to stay surrounded by very picturesque countryside and a very noisy Cockerell!

The activities that were planned were great, on Thursday just under half of us set off to run to 7.5miles to the nearest town for lunch, the run was interesting with a farmer chuckling at us all being too scared to touch the electric fence which turned out to be an orange piece of string … the paella mid-way was very nice.. and the run home wasn’t too bad even full of good food and in some cases beer!

Friday was the long ride day.. a group of 6 of us set out to do 88miles.. this ended up being 50 due to technical issues with routes and punctures but again worth it as we saw fields of poppies and pigs.. donkeys horses and a beautiful bay..the closed roads did not deter us! We even met Harold the handsome hero who saved the day with his co2 cannister…

Saturday was a pretty chilled day where we either headed off to the pool or to the beach and a run, the lack of hand eye co-ordination in the beach volleyball explains why we are all triathletes…

Sunday brought on the big ride to the top of puig de randa … the climb was worth the views felt like we could see the whole island from the top, the ride down was sketchy with lots of gravelly patches but everyone made it down in one piece before heading back for a relaxed afternoon by the pool.

If you haven’t been already I would definitely recommend it, 5star rating from me!

Vicki

Having heard all the stories from last years trip I was determined not to miss out this year! All I can say was that it was the best fun I’ve had in years. Mike, Iris, Jenny, Adrian, Mark and the drivers (to name a few) made the trip so enjoyable and stress free.

I love a bit of structure to my day so the organised events like the run on Thurs, swim on Sat and epic mountain ride on Sun made sure I got my training fix. The downtime was fun too with lots of laughs around the dinner table, bar and pool!

I’ve got so many amazing memories and formed deeper friendships because of this trip. The absolute highlight was reaching the top of Puig de Randa and the whole restaurant singing happy birthday to me – it doesn’t get much better than that!  Vicki x

Sheila

After such an epic adventure last year I just had to come back and do it all again. I am pleased to say it did not disappoint. Massive thank you to all those who spend their own time organising everything before hand and those that run around whilst we are there.  The ride routes were great and we got to cycle up an epic mountain, visit the most amazing beach, eat great food, laugh until our sides hurt and all with the most fantastic group of people. If you are sat on the fence about next year I would say you have to do it.

Claire

What an awesome time in Mallorca, beautiful villa great friends lovely views nice beaches good food. My highlights were

Watching everyone bond

The cycling up the mountain

The sea swimming in the lovely bay

The volleyball match which was so competitive and watching the boys deal with their emotions when they weren’t winning

Sophie

This was my first ‘Tuffs on tour’ and proper holiday with friends. My main reason for going was the cycling. Other friends have ridden the mountains and been on training camps. There were lots of ideas for rides and I felt challenged but looked after too. The roads and countryside are excellent for cycling. I can now tick that off my bucket list.

I was impressed with how well everything had been organised and the generosity of those that had a part in it.

Over the 6 days I did a half marathon run…split into 2 by lunch, a 5k run, a few sea swims, yoga and 2 rides. That felt plenty and allowed relaxation time. I don’t and didn’t sleep well, and I found that the training was a manageable amount. The villa was like a huge holiday camp with a pool, bar and gardens. Something to cherish forever.

Susan

My second time on this “training camp” and I looked forward to swimming in the turquoise sea but forgot that some running might be involved and worse still cycling! I hadn’t actually ridden a bike since Majorca 2 years ago, but I was sure I would be okay with short rides to the beach or pool, little did I know that I would voluntarily join the ride up to the top of Puig de Randa, around 500m elevation. The ride to the base wasn’t too bad and after a brief regroup, we set off, no gear messing about, lowest engaged, up the zigzagging road to the top. I think around 4.5km it was a slow old process for me, but helped by words on encouragement from Mike, then Barry, “just follow my wheel” and finally Gommy giving me a helpful push up the final steep bit. Arrived at the top to a great Tuff welcome. After a break at the café, it was time to start the decent. This was the scariest bit, with super confident riders zooming past as I slowly pootled down with brakes on. Once again, I had a caring escort, Adrian, Barry & Mark ensuring I got back safely and putting up with me having to stop quite a lot with a sore back, leg and thumbs! Amazingly I didn’t feel too bad after, so perhaps my bike riding days aren’t totally over.

Elaine

Majorca 2024 – was great to be back in the sun and the sea.

After the flight delay going out it was great to get to the villa and a chance to unwind ready for the days to come. 

Full on as 2023 but I wanted to focus more on the cycling.  The long ride didn’t quite go according to plan due to a puncture or two but really grateful for Les who changed the first with ease and then Herold helped with the second when he was flagged down.

Sheila’s yoga helped to loosen tight muscles

A small group headed to the 50m pool and then to the beach – I regret not going for a sea swim that day

The hill climb challenge – this was steeper at the bottom than last year so still couldn’t quite make it up in one go but no tears this year.  Then came the speedy decent – I really have less fear than I should have.

Last day and we headed to the beach before flying home.  Water was lovely and I practiced sighting which appears to have improved.

Villa was spacious and food was always filling.  Another great year.

Back next year anyone?