Top 10 tips for cycling in Portugal - terrain, maps, highlights, food, guided bike tours etc
Category: Cycling Portugal
Oh For A Few Spare Million
I don't often buy lottery tickets but if I ever had a few million to spare I know what I'd love to do - convert some more of Portugal's old railway lines into decent cycle trails. The country has so much potential. But so few good quality off-road cycle routes of any length. There is the… Continue reading Oh For A Few Spare Million
The Portuguese Discoveries
Keep going back to the same place and it's easy to get complacent. To think you're an expert and you've pretty much discovered all there is to see and experience. But, despite visiting Portugal on a frequent basis since 2005 (and living there well over two years), I was delighted to discover this year that the… Continue reading The Portuguese Discoveries
The Toughest Yet
Last week we completed our toughest guided tour so far - riding from Portugal's highest city, Guarda, to the Vila Real de Santo António at the mouth of the Guadiana river. The Eastern Explorer covered around 600km over nine days of riding but also involved more than 7,000m of climbing. Along the way we crossed three regions… Continue reading The Toughest Yet
The Long And The Short
After five years or so running the Pedal Portugal website simply as an information resource for fellow cyclists, I took the leap and decided to try running my own guided tours at the end of last year. My 'guinea pig' bike tour set off from Lagos on 31st January and since then I've run two… Continue reading The Long And The Short
Border Castles Tour – Photo Gallery
I've just been sent a whole load of pictures from one of the riders on the Border Castles Tour we ran in April. (Next one is in October.) Previous posts have talked about this tour so I won't write much. Instead I've picked out some of my favourite pictures. Thanks for sharing them, Bruce!
New Route, New Schedule
A new list of Pedal Portugal guided cycle tours is now available, with planned dates looking as far ahead as June 2017. The revised and updated itinerary for this autumn (fall) includes two guided biking tours of the Alentejo - the Border Castles Tour (departs 9th October) and the Alentejo Circuit (departs 23rd October). Also coming up in… Continue reading New Route, New Schedule
It’s All About The Experience
For me, cycling has always been about much more than just turning the pedals and clocking up the miles (or kilometres), whether back home in England or touring through another country. That's why on the guided tours I'm running in Portugal I try to emphasise the fact that it's all about what we see - and… Continue reading It’s All About The Experience
Pure Bliss – Sunday Ride In The Alentejo
Sunshine, the sounds of cicadas and birdsong, the smell of hawthorn blossom and cistus bushes, carpets of wildflowers...today's ride was like the best of spring and summer rolled into one. Combine all of the above with almost traffic-free roads and you might begin to appreciate why I just adore cycling in Portugal's Alentejo at this… Continue reading Pure Bliss – Sunday Ride In The Alentejo
Would This Happen At Home?
There are so many reasons I love Portugal - the range of landscapes, the sunshine, the quiet roads, the history, the (cheap) wine, all those castles, the food etc. etc. But one of the most important ingredients is the people. When I first visited the country I thought many of the Portuguese seemed a bit dour. But I soon learnt not… Continue reading Would This Happen At Home?
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