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
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
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!
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
The first Pedal Portugal guided cycle tour ended on Tuesday when we arrived back in Lagos at the end of our nine-day circuit. It was a fantastic trip around the south-west corner of Europe and all the riders seemed to have enjoyed themselves despite the 'undulating' terrain! (There's a new Reviews page where a couple of… Continue reading Algarve Tour – Photo Gallery 2
It's now day four of the first ever Pedal Portugal guided tour...and it seems to be going more or less to plan so far. The weather's been kind, my group of riders is great and we haven't had too many hiccups. Just a few flat tyres on the first day, a snapped gear hanger, and a… Continue reading Algarve Tour – Photo Gallery
There are many reasons to love being in the Algarve in the winter - the lack of tourists, cheap wine, Portuguese cakes, almond blossom, being able to buy two large tuna steaks from the supermarket for less than €4. And that's before I even get on to the cycling. One of the biggest draws has to be… Continue reading Saturday Ride
Exciting news! (For me at least.) The first Pedal Portugal guided cycle tour takes place in 2016 - a 10-day circuit beginning from Lagos on January 31st. I've been thinking of setting up guided tours for a while as it seems the logical next step. I've been giving out advice on cycling in Portugal for… Continue reading Algarve Winter Tour
Completed a 41m/66km ride today through one of the quietest and most unspoilt corners of Portugal I've ever seen. After a couple of weeks in the far north, Carolyn and I are back in the Beira Alta, exploring the area just south of the Douro valley and just west of the Spanish border. I knew… Continue reading Wild & Wonderful
The first Pedal Portugal guidebook should be available this autumn - a print and ebook version of the Alentejo Circuit.The whole project is a bit of an experiment as I have no idea what kind of a market exists for guidebooks to cycling in Portugal. On the other hand, I'm having enormous fun writing them!My… Continue reading Guidebooks Coming
Pedal Portugal 