From 1921 to 1977 a train ran from Manacor to Artà. Then came the car, the line was closed, and for forty years grass grew between the sleepers. A few years ago it became the Via Verde: 28 kilometres of cycle path on the old track bed, without cars, without any gradient worth mentioning, and with a few tunnels that are pleasantly cool in summer.
We ride it twice on the Sternfahrt Levante, once as an opener and once as our most demanding stage as far as Manacor, and anyone starting in Artà on Levante Premium has it practically on the doorstep. But it is worth riding without our cycling week too, so here is what matters.
Where it starts and ends
In Manacor the route begins at the old station, which is a station again today, because the train from Palma comes this far. So if you are coming from Palma, get on the train with your bike, off again in Manacor, and away you go. In Artà the line ends at the edge of town, a few hundred metres below the fortified church.
The stations are the trick
Between Manacor and Artà lie the old stations of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, Son Carrió and Son Servera. At each one the detour into the village is worth it: in Sant Llorenç there is a cortado and a piece of ensaimada on the square, in Son Servera a Friday market and a few benches in the shade. Ride the line straight through and you have 28 kilometres in an hour and a half and have seen nothing. Turn off at the stations and you need half a day and come home with three villages in your bags.
What to bring
Water, because there is no bar on the line itself. A light or your phone for the tunnels, which are short but dark. And time for the picnic spots that stand every few kilometres in the shade of old carob trees.
The way back? Either the same line in reverse, or the train from Manacor, or you call us. Ride well, your Radundfinca team
