Ridding in Portugal last week

[R3awak3n]

Just got back from a couple of weeks in my country of birth, Portugal. I am the only one in the US and go back every year to see the fam. This year I decided to take my bike with me. My wife had to work the first week we were there so I had some time to ride.

1st ride I did was all in Lisbon and man oh man, what a nightmare. Maybe there are better places in Lisbon to ride but the 35 miler I did was probably one of the worst ride I have ever done. Traffic was insane, cars give you no space, its madness. The infrastructure is just not there. Its funny how there are bike lanes but they are there for literally 1-5 minutes and then go away not to be found for many more miles. It makes NYC feel like a haven for bikes lol.

I had another ride planned though. I found out there is a walk that Pilgrims do to Fatima (very famous religious ground). These paths called Caminho de Fatima are like the famous Camino de Santiago which I believe have existed for a 1000 years. The Fatima one is newer but a lot of people do it. I saw some pictures are looked amazing. GRAVEL GRAVEL GRAVEL. The ride was 86 miles and a bout 5k climbing... However 4k of that was all in the last 36 miles :help:

As per my post carry thread, I love this bag. Its a breeze to pack my Cielo etap. Everything arrived perfect, no fees on united ($200 each way). Built the bike up and was ready to go.

https://i.imgur.com/8gBBZ0H.jpg?2


Got up early, wanted to leave at 6am but sun was not out until 6:30 so that is when I left.

https://i.imgur.com/HDLvEZb.jpg?1

I love this bike. It is becoming my favorite of all time and its the only bike I have been ridding straight pretty much for the last 1000 miles.

This is how the ride started :eek:

https://i.imgur.com/fKQncGO.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/ymr6ybE.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/B7V6GrP.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/rjywMM5.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/urkKRIA.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/Y6DT1IT.jpg?1

[R3awak3n]

https://i.imgur.com/A29ggMj.jpg?1

Thats right, we have our own Strada Bianca. A lot of it.

https://i.imgur.com/up7y8Mg.jpg?1

And a ton of Quintas (farms). Passed by tomato, corn, grape farms

https://i.imgur.com/gTMTQrB.jpg?1

My first stop at 50 miles was in Santarem. Ate a pastel de nata (best pastrie in the world, hands down). They did not have Portuguese beer which was weird so had to get the inferior Spanish kind ;)

The flat was over and now was climb climb climb.

https://i.imgur.com/1vnHDyt.jpg?1

Not all of it was gravel. Some beautiful roads with not a lot of cars. At the begining there was a few bad roads but you are never there for more than half a mile and after 10-15 miles they are gone and its pretty much very little traffic.

https://i.imgur.com/PC28N6c.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/p5A1SCT.jpg?1

The gravel changed.

https://i.imgur.com/D5I3fi7.jpg?1



At this point, it was 96 degrees and I was feeling it. I just suck in hot weather. There were also no trees, every road was exposed sun and I had very little in the tank.

Then at about 75 miles I get a surprise

https://i.imgur.com/7NU857J.jpg?1

There is about a mile of rocks (this picture makes it look rideable... it was not. I talked to some MTBikers I passed on the way and they said its about 1 mile, more than half going up and that its not really rideable. Def not on my 32s). I tried to hike a bike but that was dumb. The path got worst. Pretty much rock after rock going up and I decided to not go further. So I took the side road, around the mountain. Added about 3 or 4 miles and at this point I just did not have it in me. Descended the mountain and stoped at the next town.

https://i.imgur.com/OTdmvFo.jpg?1


There was 6 more miles with a 1k ft climb but I just did not have it in me. I will have to do it again next year. not going to use my energy on that hike a bike and hopefully won't be 96 degrees out.

Got to a cafe, had a coke, another pastry and called my dad to come pick me up (he was in Fatima to pick me up so he got there in 15 minutes). We drove to Fatima and after back to Lisbon.


Ride was a blast and was nice to know that Portugal has some killer ridding. I will be back next year and will definitely bring the bike again. My family is from up North and there is even better ridding up there.

[colker]

Wow. Lots of my friends go to Portugal and some have moved there. We are an ex portuguese colony (Brasil) and i believe there is no need for a passport. Maybe it has changed recently. We are supposed to have the same language but i find very hard to get portuguese from Portugal. Anyways about the bike; is it a breakaway of some sort or does the bag allow you to carry a full frame?

[R3awak3n]

Wow. Lots of my friends go to Portugal and some have moved there. We are an ex portuguese colony (Brasil) and i believe there is no need for a passport. Maybe it has changed recently. We are supposed to have the same language but i find very hard to get portuguese from Portugal. Anyways about the bike; is it a breakaway of some sort or does the bag allow you to carry a full frame?

The bag carries a full frame, you just have to take the fork out.

A lot of Brazilians in Portugal now a days. Some for work but I heard from a family member that a lot of rich Brazilians are moving there, you can buy a house (over 500k euro) and they give you residency so you can stay and eventually get Euro citizenship. You definitely need a passport to enter but no visa.

Portuguese people don't have trouble understand Brazilian Portuguese because we watch all the Brazilian novelas and movies, as well as music.

[Hellgate]

Wow, sounds awesome. Portugal is on my bucket list.

One of my coworkers' wife is Portuguese. He always has wonderful stories about his visits.

Someday.

[R3awak3n]

Portugal has been the hottest country to visit as of late. I can't believe how many tourists were in Lisbon and Porto. Beautiful country. Amazing food. Great people :hello:

[Tickdoc]

What a great trip and write up. Great pictures too!

Thanks for sharing too.

[colker]

The bag carries a full frame, you just have to take the fork out.

A lot of Brazilians in Portugal now a days. Some for work but I heard from a family member that a lot of rich Brazilians are moving there, you can buy a house (over 500k euro) and they give you residency so you can stay and eventually get Euro citizenship. You definitely need a passport to enter but no visa.

Portuguese people don't have trouble understand Brazilian Portuguese because we watch all the Brazilian novelas and movies, as well as music.

I hear Lisbon is beautifull. Definitely need to go there.

[R3awak3n]

What a great trip and write up. Great pictures too!

Thanks for sharing too.

thank you!

I hear Lisbon is beautifull. Definitely need to go there.

It really is. Porto is too. I had not gone to Porto in years and forgot how beatifull and wonderful that town is.

[zambenini]

We had the best vacation ever in Portugal a few years ago. I wasn't wild about Lisbon, but we loved Porto, the coast, and everything else. Very jealous - would love to take a bike to Portugal. Have heard of some families doing little self-sufficient bike tours among small towns. I would like to do that.

A great ride. Chappeau.

[colker]

thank you!



It really is. Porto is too. I had not gone to Porto in years and forgot how beatifull and wonderful that town is.

I have a friend who is deep into Portugal´s tradition and has been feeding me w/ her enthusiasm. Unlike Spain which has a lot of painting, Portugal is mostly about words, literature, poetry. We talk about the portuguese character and influence on Brasil: the melancholy and kindness. Can´t wait to visit.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Whoa! Awesome looking ride!

That's a bold claim regarding the pastry. Bold, sir. ;)

[R3awak3n]

I have a friend who is deep into Portugal´s tradition and has been feeding me w/ her enthusiasm. Unlike Spain which has a lot of painting, Portugal is mostly about words, literature, poetry. We talk about the portuguese character and influence on Brasil: the melancholy and kindness. Can´t wait to visit.

please do and report back

Whoa! Awesome looking ride!

That's a bold claim regarding the pastry. Bold, sir. ;)

trust me on that ahha. but you have to have a good one and you will be convinced :banana:

[AngryScientist]

ahh, missed this, very cool!

i think lots of places have very good cycling if you know where to look. i wonder for an "old world" country like portugal, i bet that the vast majority of euro cyclists are roadies only and, especially the older generation have not been turned on to the opportunities of the gravel/dirt road scene, which opens up a lot more possibilities, would you agree Paulo?

did you get to see any bike shops and other cyclists and chat about this stuff?

[R3awak3n]

ahh, missed this, very cool!

i think lots of places have very good cycling if you know where to look. i wonder for an "old world" country like portugal, i bet that the vast majority of euro cyclists are roadies only and, especially the older generation have not been turned on to the opportunities of the gravel/dirt road scene, which opens up a lot more possibilities, would you agree Paulo?

did you get to see any bike shops and other cyclists and chat about this stuff?

There are indeed a lot of roadies but I think there are more MTBikers. The thing is, they ride in the city which is kind of weird to me. I saw a few on this route on the gravel which a MTB is way overkill for it.

I actually met 2 guys and rode with them for a while. They were on MTB and were very curious about my Cielo. They were admiring the gravel bike because they don't see a lot, also had never seen etap.

I did not make it to any bike shop unfortunetely. I had little time by myself because after the wife finished work we just did tourist stuff.

I think Portugal is behind on a lot of stuff and gravel is still kinda new so it will be a few years before it hits there but there is so MUCH gravel to be ridden over there, as we are driving all over the place I could see tons of gravel side roads.

[jemoryl]

Thanks for the report about one of my favorite countries. I've been to Portugal a few times, but after my first trip, with an initial week in Lisbon, I decided not to try cycling - the drivers were insane (and this was from behind the wheel of a car). Subsequently, spending time in the north, I would reconsider - saw numerous riders working the hills in the Minho, Beiras, etc. Mountain biking also seemed popular as well.

While Lisbon is a lovely city, the airport is a mess, way over subscribed given its popularity as a tourist destination. My tip is to try flying into Porto - nice modern airport, linked to the city center by the metro. Of course Porto is a great place to visit as well.

[EricChanning]

and not once did I lament not having my bike! It did not seem at all manageable by bike.

I loved the cultural scene there and never managed to take a drive to Porto. I'm sure I would have missed my bike had I left Lisbon proper. A good friend is from Lisbon and has plans to buy a home there so I anticipate additional trips in the future.

Now I know I should probably bring my gravel bike.

Thanks for the pics! Is there a max frame size for that travel case?

[R3awak3n]

Thanks for the report about one of my favorite countries. I've been to Portugal a few times, but after my first trip, with an initial week in Lisbon, I decided not to try cycling - the drivers were insane (and this was from behind the wheel of a car). Subsequently, spending time in the north, I would reconsider - saw numerous riders working the hills in the Minho, Beiras, etc. Mountain biking also seemed popular as well.

While Lisbon is a lovely city, the airport is a mess, way over subscribed given its popularity as a tourist destination. My tip is to try flying into Porto - nice modern airport, linked to the city center by the metro. Of course Porto is a great place to visit as well.

Dunno when last time you went but the airport is MUCH better now. They have fixed and expanded it. Still too small but I get in and out of that airport way faster than Newark or JFK. It is also very close to my parents house so its convinient.

They are talking about building another airport for low cost flights, that would reduce traffic there a lot which would be good. They were going to move the airport to a different location about 10 or so years ago, then the economy tanked and they had to drop the idea. That is why the airport is still there, right smack in the middle of the city.

and not once did I lament not having my bike! It did not seem at all manageable by bike.

I loved the cultural scene there and never managed to take a drive to Porto. I'm sure I would have missed my bike had I left Lisbon proper. A good friend is from Lisbon and has plans to buy a home there so I anticipate additional trips in the future.

Now I know I should probably bring my gravel bike.

Thanks for the pics! Is there a max frame size for that travel case?

thank you. No max frame size. They have 2 size bags. One till 56cm frame and one till 61cm I believe (so I guess max is 61 or 63)