Portugal (all)

Marco Duiker and I embark on a small bike trip through the rustic heartland of Portugal. Rural Portugal has always been the place for the saudade, the ultimate sense of melancholy and loss, but now the youth has almost entirely left the countryside of Portugal, it is probably stronger than ever before. Marco and I will take the small backroads to see and to feel the saudade of nowadays Portugal.

This is a page about the solo trip began april 22th,2005 from Spain to Japan crossing Russia. Life is an experience that everyone filled with a content , " rempli d'un contenu " says in France. It was hard and authentic.The two words summarizing the trip. Feel free to ask any questions.Thanks Jesus. @jsanag

Ecopista do Dão - Cycling in central Portugal along an abandoned railway line, 49 km.

The first part of this path runs along the banks of the river Dão. Every bend in the river is followed by a bend in the Ecopista, with stannic views.

Later on, the Ecopista leaves the river, but the landscape remains very beautiful, with views of mountains and valleys covered with oaks, cork oaks and chestnut trees, but also some vineyards, cultivated land and small villages.

I achieved this journey in August 2013, by myself, with the aim of living new thrilling experiences. It also allowed me to train at cycling in order to prepare future long distance triathlons (IronMan, Embrunman, ...).

A wise man told me one day "You can't see all the wonderful things that exists on this vast planet in one lifetime but you can decide anytime to rest for a few moments and appreciate the present moment." I am listening at his advice, I am not trying to cycle the faster I can (whenever I am travelling); what purpose, I would be the only witness. I take my time, I stop whenever I see something that intrigates me. In the end, we've all always been explorers, aren't we? About my route, I had the choice of either starting with the North and finish at the South, or the opposite. After having compared the flight prices and established my approximate itinerary, I decided to start with Porto (North) and to finish at Faro (South). Halfway, I've let my bike at Lisbon and I went to relax for 2 days at Madeira, island of Portugal.

I´m biking all the Mediterranean countries over a period of nine months. I spend about one month in each country. I have used the train or bus to help move the show down the road. I´m currently in Albania. I´m mostly camping, though hostels and hotels are always great too.

This is a tour from Morocco to Turkey via Europe stopping through Morocco, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece and Turkey. As of now we are in Croatia heading South. Enjoy and feel free to contact us or comment.

Da lì a là is an Italian expression meaning roughly hither and thither, and this summarize my will, my restless temper of changing place every so often. I'm biking around Europe stopping from time to time when my attention is captured by an outstanding recipe a traditional food or a weird one. Pedalling alone is just fine, but together with other cyclists, especially from the country I'll be riding at the moment is just fantastic: less fatigue, more fun. You can get a look at the Euro-Tour map to get a gist of what'll be the route I'll follow in this year. If you're biking in the some zone, or nearby or you're going to start something similar and you'll like to have a ride together, let me know. Get in touch! Sys

Twenty years ago we cycled half way round the world, so we thought we'd better have another go before we get too old to do ANYTHING, let alone cycle!

So after 4 months in Europe (the training ground) we hit South India, then a quick hop over the ocean to South East Asia. When we were Asia'd out we decided to go to South America, via the UK (planning is NOT our forte). From Venezuela we headed south to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia from which we headed back up to Central America (remember what I said about planning?) to meet up with friends and family. This took approx 2 wonderful years. I wonder where we'll go next time?

Trip made in 2007 from Oporto to Lagos: 663 kms cycling and discovering the Portuguese coast.

We have a fantastic climate, beautiful landscapes, tasty meals... If the Portuguese coast was provided with a bike path in its totality, it could become one of the best cycle-tourist itineraries of summer.

Anyway, I promise you: if you try it, you‚ll want to repeat it!

We cycled from Lisboa to Porto! Great weather, nice beaches and intresting citys!

We are two guys from Germany, who travelled across West Europe for two months.

With our Performer High Racers, we came through nine European countries (Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherland) and crossed both the Pyrenees and the Alps two times each. After 9000 km we finished our tour in August and now we have completed our web page with detailed information for each stage and thousands of photos.

The page is in German but offers a integrated translation service.

J'ai fait le tour de l'Europe à vélo en solo durant l'été 2009. J'ai parcouru 12 000km à travers 11 pays. J'ai vécu une expérience magnifique! Venez lire mon blog!

We don't just have our house on our bikes, we also have our two dogs, Jack and Paco, along for the ride. That's 60kg of furry luggage and another 50-60kg of non-furry luggage between the two of us! Needless to say we don't go fast but we do go everywhere, refusing to let our extra load stop us from tackling hills with grades of up to 18%. We have been on the road with our two dogs since July 2008. So far we have covered 17,000 kms and 18 countries in continental Europe.

Travel By Bike is a website about a group of enthusiastic bikers with more than 10 years of travel experience. From Belgium through The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom. Do not forget look at to the page 'pregnant on bike', reading our travel stories and watching the beautiful pictures!

World Biking: The web's most comprehensive Africa Cycling Expedition. Eric and Amaya pedalled 55,000 kilometers and traversed 55 countries (37 in Africa) when they cycled from France to Cape Town via West Africa and then back to France via East Africa and the Middle East between 2006 and 2009. The next stage of their expedition beginning in June 2009 will take them across the USA and then through South America all the way to its southernmost tip, Ushuaia. Lots of photos, tales of their adventure plus touring tips, practical information and gear reviews.

A lonely Hungarian cyclist who has the Summers free and likes to make new advantures on his bike.

Started with his short Croatian tours, but made it always longer, and in 2005 didn't stop before the 2700th kilometer in Greece. In the following year he decided to start the real adventure, to cycle out of Europe.

2007 was the year of cycling across Canada, the headwindy way - of course :) After this 9000km trip now he is in the planning stage of the South-American tour for 2009.

Die zweite Tour 2008 führte mich von Lissabon, entlang der Steilküste im Westen bis in die Sierra de Monchique. Hier regnete es sehr stark, deswegen fuhr ich wieder zum Meer um schließlich den südwestlichsten Punkt von Europa zu besichtigen. Ein Felgenschaden musste am vorletzten Tag in Lagos repariert werden. Die Algarve im nördlich umfahrend erreichte ich nach 680 Kilomtern mein Ziel in Faro. Auf diesem Kurztrip wurde ich mehrmals zum Essen eingeladen und lernte den ursprünglichen Teil Portugal fernab der Touristenströme kennen.

I'm at one of those grave intellectual impasses that have been known to bring even greater minds than my own to a standstill. I have an orphan sock. Trivia, you say. Ha! I think not.

The cause of this problem is surely the work of that Slovakian KGB Agent, foolishly disguised as a laundress in Svolen. She stole it, I'm sure. Probably for a DNA sample to impress her superiors in Bratislava. They've been following my every move since the kustoms agent in Warsaw asked me the purpose of my visit to Poland. When I answered ``vacation'' the disbelief on his face gave him away. What, doesn't anyone go to Poland on vacation?

But back to the real problem, the orphan sock. The purists among cycle tourists would say, ``Throw it away, it's excess baggage. And while you're at it, cut three inches off that over-long toothbrush handle.'' But the Calvinist in me says, ``Save it. It's a good sock, nearly new.'' I've already reduced the weight of my baggage by losing its mate. Maybe I'll lose another and be back to even and lighter still.

The website includes maps and data on the route followed and photos of some of the people we met and the food we enjoyed, including Porto's famous speciality the Francesinha. This is the ideal food for cycle tourers.

Read about my adventures by bicycle around the world,taking in Europe, the Near East, India, South East Asia, Australasia, and the USA on Route 66.

For something a little less ambitious, I have prepared details of a three-week tour of the beautiful landscapes of central Portugal.

Or if you prefer a central base and some day rides, read about my routes on the Spanish island of Mallorca - a cyclist's paradise, with warm weather, flat hinterland, stunning mountain climbs, and huge ice-creams!

Starting in the south-east UK we took the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao, travelling south west across Spain towards Portugal. We wanted to find out whether we wanted to live in Portugal - after staying there for a month, the answer turned out to be no, but we had a great trip all the same, encountering beautiful mountain scenery in northern Spain and challenging hills (and drivers!) in the Portuguese Douro region.

The page contains travelogues and pictures from a number of bike trips across Europe, Ontario (Canada) as well as Kansai and Kanto regions of Japan. The trip across European continent has entries written from the road and together with photos it provides the description of the trip day by day. The trips across Japan give a lot of information about local areas (places to camp, onsens, roads, what to see, etc.) as well as many photos. There is also some general information on cycling, wild camping and hiking in Japan. Hope it will help.

Solo biking trip still in progress from a 31 year old woman ex-software engineer. Started April 8th, 2006 in Lisbon, headed East towards Istanbul. Currently in Dresden, Germany, over 5000 kms pedalled so far, across most of continental Europe.

A 30,000 kilometer cycling adventure through Africa traversing 30 countries. Tales from the saddle, photos of the people we encounter and places we pass plus detailed information on our bikes and gear.

I am hanging around the Cathedral for two hours, just to see the people passing by. Half of the passengers are locals, the others are pilgrims for Santiago. The pilgrims are full of stories about physical endurance, injuries, loneliness, spirituality, will power, faith, love and hope. A young girl thinks of giving up. An old man tells that he has slept on a churchyard because there were no normal facilities anymore. A special experience is meeting an old man who has a tremendous charisma; the man is constantly radiating from a seemingly enormous reservoir of stimulating energy. If it is actually possible to reach enlightenment in the way that Buddhists describe, then this man must have reached that stage.

Account of an eight week cycle journey through east, west, north, central & south Spain.

We have cycled many kilometres trough Europe. On our first trip we cycled from Holland to Sweden. After Sweden we cycled trouhg Great Britain. And we cycled further trough Holland, Belgium, France, Spain and ended our tour 6000 km later in Faro (Portugal).

On our next trip we are going to cycle from Heraklion, Crete to Holland. This trip starts 14 April 2006. More info on our site. In the future we will expend our tours outside Europe.

The Route:

Americas: Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina
Atlantic Traverse: Azores Islands [Portugal]
Europe: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey
The Middle East: Iran
Central Asia: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, India
South East Asia: Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
Australasia: Australia

Welcome to the Brink Expedition!

Imagine attempting a global traverse that would take you 50,000 kilometres through some of the most difficult terrain and extreme weather on the planet, all the time attempting to use only human power and the natural elements.

Starting deep in the heart of Amazonian South America the Brink Expedition will encounter unforgiving Patagonian winds, snowed over Himalayan Mountain passes, monsoons on the sub-continent and the oppressive heat of Australia's Red Centre.

So while the clock ticks, the seasons will turn, making this a full-throttled Race Against the Elements!

This tour includes scenic detours around Greek islands, the Peloponnese, and proceeds through Italy, Austria, and Germany. This site also has tours in the USA: Colorado, Wyoming, Montana; and in Portugal and Spain.

Lisbon's trams are something special - You meet the nicest people in the pouring rain - A ride to the Foia Summit - Islam plays a big historical role here - From the Rainy Coast to the Algarve Coast - Cabo de Sao Vicente - the High Algarve versus the Low Algarve- Was that a mountain lake or a large puddle ? - the Moorish castle next to the Catholic Church.

This webpage is intended to provide information for cycle tourists who may be considering tours in the countries I've visited. For more information, journals and pictures leave a message in my guestbook or send me an email.

`` Yes, it's hot. But we've seen worse haven't we my friend. There was that day east of Warnambol when the chip seal melted and the chips stuck to the tires. A few revolutions later we had flats front and rear. So we pushed for a mile seeking shade to repair the punctures. And the flies Ah! And there was that time in Zamorah. Ah! But not now.''

Pictorial personal diary, equipment list, and route guide for a 4.5 month cycle trip, Boston, England to Gibraltar.

We are 2 18 year old students. We made a tour across Europe from Holland to Sweden and Great Britain. After this we took the boat to Holland and set off to the south of Portugal.

In the spring (2006) we are going to make a trip from Anataly Turkey to Holland.

It's 2004, and my dream came true: to go on an extended cycling trip of Europe, taking in Portugal, Spain, France and the UK. I left Brisbane on January 22 for a Tasmanian ``warm-up'' trip before my BIG trip, which started on 27 February. Here are my favourite photos and some thoughts I had along the way. I hope you enjoy them...

My name is Louis Tousignant, a Canadian in his mid-fifties, living in Nova Scotia, on the Atlantic shore. I am always on the look out for riding partners, as I plan one major trip every year, up till now in Europe, but New Zealand and South East Asia are in the wings. All my recent trips have included the following parameters: 100 km/day (give or take 20%) on average; hotels, B&B's or pensions, no camping; most meals in restaurants; start in one country, exit in another, to maximize coverage; 5 to 6 week duration (participation in one leg of the trip is of course possible for those who can't spare the time). [...]

This was a solo trip, from September 4 to October 7 2001, with 23 days cycling and the remainder traveling and visiting cities along the way. I covered 1742km, for an average of 75.5 km/ cycling day.

[Titus is the bike] - 12195 km in 8 months through France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Italy and Greece - includes travelogue and many fine pictures

I've travelled quite a bit through the years, hiking on foot, by car, bus, plane... But cycling is just the right speed. Fast enough to actually get someplace, yet slow enough to smell the flowers as you go... Plus, it's the only mode of transportation where the engine actually improves with usage... Anyways, a friend lent me this book about a couple who spent a couple of years cycling around the world and I thought to myself that I wanted to do that ! So, off I went ! Well, I didn't quite make it... After 8 months on the road, I came back... Mostly due to homesickness, but I should have expected that, particularly on a solo trip...

Mid-morning after leaving Santillana [in Northern Spain], I take a break after a long cycle uphill and watch the progress of this little fellow... That's exactly how I felt... slow... but steady!

Our last day of riding, from Alcobaca to Obidos, was a dream come true for touring. We rode to the Atlantic coast, where cliffs drop hundreds of feet to a rocky shore. Old windmills line the cliffs. Intense colors, wind whistling through the windmills, spectacular views, and a small winding road made for a memorable day.

Middle of June 1998, we [...] started the trip we had dreamed of for a long time: by bicycle from top to bottom through Europe. A view on the map shows that this journey covers 36 degrees of latitude and in total has a length of 7200 km. The trip started in Norway and from there led us through Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and finally to Gibraltar. Not the shortest route, but also an exploration of the better parts of Europe. This on-line trip-report was built up while cycling.

The idea of cycling in Europe had hit me in England in June: I was cycling from my home in Oxford up to Yorkshire and persistently got lashed by wind and near freezing rain, a thought quickly formed in my mind: time to head south and do a proper cycle trip - to the sun.

From Santiago I headed west to Cabo Finisterre, and Galician equivalent of Englands Lands End, jutting out into the Atlantic, pointing to the American continent. One local I asked directions from said to me; 'Finisterre really is the end of the civilized world', and looked out west towards America. It was a longish days cycling, 140km, and into a head wind, but nice and warm, about 27 degrees.

A brief description of a bike tour which we undertook in Portugal in September '94. We started from Faro at the Algarve coast, proceeded via Sagres to Lisbon and terminated our journey in Coimbra in middle Portugal. [...] The overall distance was about 800 km. We took (including rests) three and a half week with 16 days of cycling. As a whole, the trip was one of the most magnificent and wonderful holidays we ever had ! If you plan to do something similar, do it as soon as you can!