Cycling for ALS

A PROFESSIONAL musician from Porreres will perform a spectacular cycling challenge in June to raise funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or ELA in Spanish).

Bernat Xamena, a trumpet player with the Porreres philharmonic orchestra and also a triathlete, will attempt to climb the equivalent of two Everest mountains in one go at the Monti­Sion sanctuary on June 24.

The feat, which entails covering nearly 17,700 metres of positive altitude difference, is effectively double the distance of what has become known as the Everesting Challenge, ie cycling the equivalent of climbing the Everest.

To achieve this, Xamena will try to cycle up to MontiSion and down again 170 consecutive times over 35 hours.

He is currently looking for sponsors for the event and will donate all the funds raised to the ELA

Balears association.

“We hope the challenge will help all those who suffer from one of the cruellest diseases there is and also their families,” the athlete told a local news source.

Donations for the campaign entitled ‘Un Kilian per ELA Balears’ can be made through bank account number CC ES57 2100 8634 2902 0002 1004 or Bizum number 02186.

A series of stickers will be handed out at beaches, tourist information points, council buildings, ports, yacht clubs, diving centres and tourist establishments.

The stickers include a QR code that leads to a video in several languages providing information on how to act in case of finding a sea turtle laying eggs, a nest, a trail or newborn turtles on the sand or arriving at the sea.

During the first edition of the campaign last year the video racked up more than 10,000 views.

The campaign began this week and will continue until October 15.

SOLLER celebrated its traditional Es Firo celebrations on Monday May 15 recreating the arrival of Turkish and Algerian corsairs at the port on May 11, 1561.

The festival commemorates the victory of Capità Angelats and the villagers over the invaders, with several ‘battles’ taking place at several key points of the town throughout the afternoon.

More than 800 corsairs burst onto the sand on Can Generos beach at 5pm, where a spectacular battle ensued in which all the historical characters wanted to fight against their leader, Ulutx Alí.

The skirmishes continued throughout the afternoon, and at around 7pm they reached the Camp de Sa Creu for a new confrontation on the Pont d’en Barona.

But the final outcome of the day came at around 8.30pm when some of the invading troops burst into the square to engage in looting and pillaging, with blows from scimitars and cutlasses in a spectacular display that ended around 9.30pm.

Shortly before then, after a first win by the invaders, the regrouped troops of Angelats stormed into the square for the final battle that ended in victory for the local troops.