Anyone ride in the Azores?

[MattTuck]

Randomly started looking at the islands on Google maps, some interesting and scenic roads, and apparently it is an up and coming mountain bike destination.

Curious if anyone has explored any of the islands.

[ntb1001]

I was there recently...in February.
I didn’t ride, but it looks nice as a cycling destination.


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[Louis]

I was there recently...in February.
I didn’t ride, but it looks nice as a cycling destination.

Road, MTB, or both?

[Louis]

Randomly started looking at the islands on Google maps

If you don't want much (any) traffic, and don't mind a little wind, then I suggest Kerguelen.

https://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Images/Places/Kerguelen/elephant_seal_road_kerguelen-lg.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Panneau_routier_anoncant_la_pr%C3%A9sence_d%27%C3% A9l%C3%A9phant_de_mer_sur_la_base_de_port_aux_Fran %C3%A7ais_aux_Kerguelen.jpg/1024px-Panneau_routier_anoncant_la_pr%C3%A9sence_d%27%C3% A9l%C3%A9phant_de_mer_sur_la_base_de_port_aux_Fran %C3%A7ais_aux_Kerguelen.jpg

[MattTuck]

If you don't want much (any) traffic, and don't mind a little wind, then I suggest Kerguelen.



I was planning to pick one of these up, so Kerguelen looks like the perfect maiden voyage. :banana:

https://sysyachtsales.com/yacht-search/2018/bering-115-115-bering/6685898

[Louis]

I was planning to pick one of these up, so Kerguelen looks like the perfect maiden voyage. :banana:

https://sysyachtsales.com/yacht-search/2018/bering-115-115-bering/6685898

Very cool.

At least 6 "guest staterooms" so it looks like you'll have plenty of room for some of your forum buddies.

I'll meet you in Portsmouth - just say when.

(I assume there will be room for at least two bikes per guest (road and MTB) but if it's three let me know, I'll bring along a gravel bike too.)

[MattTuck]

Very cool.

At least 6 "guest staterooms" so it looks like you'll have plenty of room for some of your forum buddies.

I'll meet you in Portsmouth - just say when.

(I assume there will be room for at least two bikes per guest (road and MTB) but if it's three let me know, I'll bring along a gravel bike too.)

I suppose I can free up a stateroom by putting the massage therapist and chef in a single cabin.

3 bikes is fine, or 2 bikes + a Wahoo kickr. Your call.


:help:
Thanks, I needed a good laugh.

[R3awak3n]

I have never been to Açores but I have been wanting to. It used to be that you had to go to mainland Portugal first but I think they now have direct flights so when things get back to "normal" I might have to make a stop on my way to Portugal. The islands look beautiful and I am sure they are, my friend just went there and the pictures and videos he took look amazing. I think I saw a video not too long ago about Mountainbiking there and looked breathtaking.

[ntb1001]

Road, MTB, or both?


I was in Sao Miguel island as well as mainland Portugal in Lisbon.
The island looks nice for road cycling, and I’m sure mtb as well. Roads look nice, and so much country side, there has to be mtb trails.


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[unterhausen]

We transited through the Azores after Desert Storm. Looked beautiful, but then again we had been in Qatar.

[Fiery]

I spent a couple of weeks on the Azores in 2015, split between Sao Miguel, Pico an Faial. I did not ride, but we explored the back roads of all three islands by car. There are a lot of paved roads throughout the interior of the islands, lots of climbing and amazing views. The pavement is not the smoothest on smaller roads but it is serviceable, especially with modern wide tyres. There was some sort of an organised road bike ride around Pico while I was there, but I never found out any details about it. Keep in mind that the weather was is mild but quite wet for most of the year; it is best to go there in the summer if cycling is the goal.

[zap]

Seal Hop.

If you don't want much (any) traffic, and don't mind a little wind, then I suggest Kerguelen.

https://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Images/Places/Kerguelen/elephant_seal_road_kerguelen-lg.jpg

[KJMUNC]

If you don't want much (any) traffic, and don't mind a little wind, then I suggest Kerguelen.

So no one is going to ask Louis how or why he was in Kerguelen? I'm curious....assuming on a trip to the Antarctic?

[Louis]

So no one is going to ask Louis how or why he was in Kerguelen? I'm curious....assuming on a trip to the Antarctic?

Ha!

I just posted that as a joke. Matt mentioned that he'd been "randomly looking at islands" and I knew that the Kerguelen Islands are just about as remote as it gets, and difficult to get to, so I threw that out there as silly suggestion. Never been there myself, so I just got the images of the web.

The other unlikely place I recommend when this sort of question comes up is another island, Haiti. In this case, I am familiar with it, since I was born there and grew up in Port-au-Prince. Of course, for a variety of reasons it's currently a bit of a mess, and tourism is way, way, way down compared to what it was like in it's heyday, when it was a popular "exotic" destination.

But as you see in the images below, the MTB riding can be spectacular. (I've never ridden in these mountains, mostly did dirt roads when I was a kid.)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/0n2uVefJeyCqqZPDSSXbjqM0CcpWgS86SiTQPdYwbA0QSUJ3nF 2SfL2qTR0_PkEnTN-tH7LeW4x2JiTKiPj0XoOxNj54S8OqO13iUinn5W2XACN6odsNw yDDbWdufGqmaDRy5MA2owfRbWrFgX01t9S-iB4VxP2rnMw