Spain explicitly allows cyclists to ride two abreast (en columna de a dos) on the hard shoulder. Three or more abreast is not allowed: the Ley de Tráfico classes riding abreast where it is prohibited as a grave infraction (art. 76.z), which carries €200 (art. 80.1). Form a single file on stretches without visibility — a blind corner, a crest — and whenever you would hold up the traffic behind you.
Since 1 October 2026, article 36.2 as rewritten by Real Decreto 518/2026 covers the case Mallorca throws at you constantly. Where there is no hard shoulder, or it is not usable and sufficient, cyclists may ride two abreast on the carriageway: «podrán circular en columna de a dos por la parte imprescindible de la calzada, si bien deberán colocarse en hilera en los tramos sin visibilidad, cuando afecten a la fluidez de la circulación, o cuando circulen entre el ocaso y la salida del sol o en condiciones meteorológicas o ambientales que disminuyan sensiblemente la visibilidad». Between sunset and sunrise, and in rain or fog, single file is therefore the rule.
The descent rule is not new: article 36.1 has let cyclists leave the hard shoulder on prolonged descents with curves, where safety permits, since the original 2003 text. The reform keeps it and writes the exception for autovías into the same sentence — there cyclists always stay on the hard shoulder. On Sa Calobra and the Coll dels Reis it is what lets you hold a clean line instead of a gravel-strewn shoulder.