One Pedal at a Time

Biking Day 6
53km, 800m+, 10% off road
Daily Drena: Awe-inspiring
 
We know this is the longest and has most climbing of all the days, so we painfully roll out of bed early. We are used to our quads being sore to the touch and stairs are looked upon forlornly.
My mantra is ‘one pedal at a time’ today, as there are a lot of hills the entire way. It is mostly road today, so that makes the pedaling somewhat easier, however when we are off road it is usually so beautiful that I forget about the pain. I can’t decide which I’d rather have. Probably off road. This day the views are “just ok” until the very end where we ride along the cliffs near Lagos. Wow. Why are there not more people on these trails? They are missing out. We’ve entertained ourselves with selfie photos the entire way, but here we up the challenge and get a shot with both of us riding on the bikes. Shortly thereafter, Drew does an endo coming down the hill. It is one of the few times I’m actually ahead of him so I only see the pieces on the ground. With this, he surpasses my bruise tally in one fell swoop. We end with 15 bruises/scrapes for Drew, 12 for Lorena.

We end our biking journey in Lagos, which is a “big city” compared to where we’ve been.
The 4-star hotel loses its stars throughout our stay, as they charge 5 euros for wifi (shouldn’t wifi be free everywhere in this 21st century anyway?), the hot tub closes at 8, then it is not hot the next day, they give us a room in the “slums” with a broken tv (it’s quickly obvious that young(ish), dirty bikers are not their prime audience), the orange juice is not freshly squeezed and the chocolate croissants are only so-so. Oh, we’ve been so spoiled. We are sad our Honeymoon is ending, and it’s back to real life. We dine on chicken piri piri again, and Drew discovers that Piri Piri actually means a hot sauce. For two people that hate spicy food, we sure have been living on the edge! Luckily they’ve put it on the side each time. We also find some amazing homemade ice cream after dinner, which we just happen to find again after we checked out of the hotel before the bus ride. 🙂

Our Final Stats:
6 Days with 37 hours riding
194 miles / 310km
14,142 ft / 4285m climbing
146 barking dogs
39 kitties
27 bruises
4 pieces of homemade chocolate cake
2 bike crashes (both by Drew)
0 flat tires
Never ending beautiful scenery and beaches

Viento …

Biking Day 5
40km, 400m+, 70% off road
Daily Drena: Intense Wind
 
Today is our “easy” day, and I am renewed and relieved enough to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, the wind is extra strong today and at times we almost get blown off the trail. We ride by wind turbines, which makes sense, but don’t know if it is always this windy, or today is extra windy. Drew does a slow-mo tip over before a big puddle and hits his helmut and bends his handlebars. They luckily bend back and his brain seems to still function fine, and I am temporarily entertained. For a few KM when the wind is actually at our backs, we learn the art of “bike sailing”. What fun! Bike sailing forces our spirits high and we can’t help but smile the rest of the way. The farther south we go, the more we see the land go from very rural to much more touristy. We hit the southwestern-most point at Cape Vincente and end in Sagres.
Tonight we stay in a 4-star hotel with “design surprises” but we miss our grandma’s and the charm of the smaller places. We got upgraded to the ocean view – nice! And because why not, we book exclusive time in the pool with a waterfall and therapeutic water spout (weird) and try out the Turkish spa. Later, we find a little local restaurant with a local dish of yummy coconut mango chicken for me and fajitas for Drew.
Today’s ride is dedicated to my grandmother, Mim, who passed away in her sleep this morning,  at the wonderful age of 101. She was an amazing lady and will be missed greatly.

Another Day, Another Gorgeous Beach to Ourselves

Biking Day 4
44km, 700m+, 65% off road
Daily Drena: Tiny Villages
 
We see so few people on this entire trip. We only see three other bikers the entire trip too, two touring bikers and one road biker. But the cows are out and having a party as usual with their ringing cowbells. Today they are headed somewhere, so we stop to let them pass. Interesting that the cows are having a mixer with the sheep and goats in this particular party. They all get along so well, regardless of race, religion, age, and color of skin.
We upgrade our lunch yet again, and have leftover chicken along with all the breakfast goodies. The entire way we are so glad we decided to bike vs. another mode of transportation as it allows us to breathe the smells, hear the sounds, and still see scenery at a faster pace than walking. We are also glad we did the tour through Portugal Nature Trails, as Antonio knows all the little paths that we would never find if we were discovering our own way. The GPS is a lifesaver, for without it we would still be lost in Day 1’s path. It became our most prized possession early in the journey.
We end in Pedralva tonight, a town of 2 families plus the hotel, which are actually old homes. It is very basic. No hairdryer, so I pull out my little one and it blows up in 20 seconds. Dinner is at the hotel too, with cool homemade tables made out of wine boxes. Again we start eating with the place to ourselves by the fireplace, but a couple crashes our party later. How dare they! 🙂 The chicken piri piri is excellent, and we get bonus leftovers again. I sleep poorly though, because a portuguese couple is next door up chatting alllll night long. What do they have to chat about from 2-6 in the morning? They must be newly dating.