Canadian cyclist Madhuri Pendharkar got in touch with Pedal Portugal earlier this year to pick our brains on a few ideas for a planned cycling trip. Last Sunday, she and partner Rob Lang got home after spending just over a month bikepacking around Portugal, riding from Porto to the Algarve and back again. Madhuri (62)… Continue reading Bikepacking Around Portugal
Planning and leading cycle tours can be great fun. Every time we run a trip, Carolyn and I get to take a bunch of cyclists and show them some of our favourite roads and sights in Portugal. We ride, we admire the scenery, we eat, we drink, we swap stories and sleep. And then we… Continue reading Look Back In Wonder
One of the many things I love about Portugal is its art. And I'm not talking about the kind of things that hang on the walls in galleries and museums but the type of art that's out there on the streets. Portuguese public art can take many forms - some forms to be found in… Continue reading The art of Portugal
We've been back in Portugal for just over a month now, revisiting old haunts as well as exploring some new territory for possible cycling trips in the future. After flying into Faro on 5th September, we spent about 10 days travelling roughly north up the eastern side of the country. Since then, Carolyn and I… Continue reading September in Portugal
Just over 10 years after it was born, the Pedal Portugal website has undergone a major revamp. There's a new look to the site and various sections have been reorganised and shuffled around - mainly to separate all the free resources and information for independent cycle tourists from our guided tours 'business'. Hopefully, the revised… Continue reading Same Same But Different
It was 18 months ago that we were last in Portugal. Since then, we've had to learn to live with this strange new life of lockdowns, masks, vaccines and the dance of social distancing. Which made the idea of getting on a plane to come back to Portugal both liberating and nerve-wracking. But at the… Continue reading Feeling Happier & Safer In Portugal
Cycling has always been in our family. As kids we were dragged out every Sunday for bicycle rides. Family holidays always involved yet more cycling. The bikes would be loaded up and we'd be off for a week or two of camping - and what seemed like cycling every day. Wonderful? Sometimes. The cycling wasn't… Continue reading My Nan Was Tougher Than Me
With the good news that our guided tours are finally back up and running, we're delighted to announce our plans for the next 18 months. Carolyn and I are hoping to run two Pedal Portugal trips in 2020: 18th-29th October – Border Castles – 12 days / €1,420 ***six places left*** 8th-19th November – Algarve… Continue reading Portugal cycle tours 2020 & 2021
Phew! Six months after Pedal Portugal was taken off the road by Covid-19, it looks as if the wheels might soon be turning again for our guided tours. Like so many businesses around the world, our plans have been turned upside down and inside out by the pandemic. This year should have been a bumper… Continue reading Back on tour?
These are a bit later than originally promised (sorry) but here are the answers to my Pedal Portugal Lockdown Quiz. I've posted each question with the relevant picture clue and my answer. As I said in the original post there may be more than one answer possible but these are mine! Thanks to everyone who… Continue reading Portugal Lockdown Quiz – The Answers
Last week's Lockdown Quiz is proving quite tough - we haven't had many answers and the top score so far is 17 out of 21. So, for anyone who is still scratching their heads, here are the questions again along with some picture clues that may help. Like the questions, some of the clues are… Continue reading Picture Clues – Portugal Lockdown Quiz
Sadly, like so many of you, the Pedal Portugal team (me and Carolyn) is stuck at home, hoping to save lives by going nowhere. (Apart from a quick ride on our tandem or a walk to the beach when it's not too busy.) So, if you've had enough of Netflix binges, household chores, rereading the… Continue reading Pedal Portugal’s Lockdown Quiz
It looks like Pedal Portugal is going to be very busy in 2020. We've got six cycle tours happening (our maximum) and they're almost all fully booked. So, I've also worked out our tour schedule for 2021 for anyone wanting to plan that far ahead. Full details are on the relevant pages but here's a… Continue reading Guided Cycle Tours – 2021
So, what - if any - is the age limit for doing a bike tour? And by bike tour, I mean a multi-day trip, riding for 4-6 hours each day, going up hill, down dale etc, etc. The simple answer of course is that there's no actual limit. But most of us would probably expect… Continue reading Hope For Us All
The updated version of my Alentejo Circuit guidebook is now out - in both print and e-book versions. The first edition came out in 2014 and, as mentioned on the blog last month, I had decided it was time for a few revisions. I originally hoped it would be a fairly straightforward job but, of… Continue reading Updated Alentejo Circuit
I've cycled many thousands of kilometres in different countries - mainly in Europe - and I've never (yet) been bitten by a dog. But I know that fear of dog attacks is a major issue for some cycle tourists, including in Portugal. So, how do you deal with dogs and how come I've never (yet) been… Continue reading Dealing With Dogs
My Alentejo Circuit guidebook is currently undergoing a major rewrite - and I'm hoping to have the new, fully-updated edition out in September. Or as soon after as possible. I had been thinking of starting work on a new, more general, guidebook to Portugal this summer but then I realised it was more than five… Continue reading Alentejo Rewrite
Links to a selection of videos and written reports giving some personal perspectives on cycle touring in Portugal.
There are now two choices for anyone interested in Pedal Portugal's route planning service - the original 'maps-plus' option or a simpler (and cheaper) 'maps-only' service. I started my route planning service back in March 2016 and have been helping riders put together self-supported tours across Portugal for the past three years. My first customer… Continue reading Maps Or More?
When your bike trip starts in Portugal's highest city and ends at the seaside, it must be all downhill, right? As I've mentioned before, Portugal may be wonderful but it is definitely not flat. Our latest bike trip across the country – which we finished on Friday - was a research trip for guided tours… Continue reading Downhill Across Portugal?
There are many things I love about Portugal apart from the cycling - the scenery, the history, the wine, the food, the wildflowers and, of course, the people. But I'm also often struck by the art of Portugal. Not the kind of art you see in galleries or museums but its public and street art.… Continue reading The Art Of Portugal
Pedal Portugal is recommended as "excellent" by Lonely Planet
Top 10 tips for cycling in Portugal - terrain, maps, highlights, food, guided bike tours etc
Back in August I wrote a post about the dilemma of what to pack/take on a cycling trip and listed several of the items that make it to my 'must have' list. As promised, this is a continuation of that list with reviews of three more of my personal essentials: 4. MIRRYCLE BIKE MIRROR Bought:… Continue reading Some Of My Favourite Things – Part 2
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