The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Southern Coastal Portugal

April 22nd to May 4th

Ride Coordinator: Alexandra Wagner
Report by: Richard Ellis

We were a congenial 27 in number, hailing from nine states and two provinces and cycling a variety of terrain in southern Portugal under the expert (and patient) direction of our wonderful leaders: Alexandra Wagner, Easy Rider's Jim Goldberg and uber guides/soigneurs/raconteurs Vitor Pinho and Goncalo Ramalho.  This tour, a reprisal of the BAC 2015 version, featured eight required and four "choice" days.  Most had short and long routing available, and the layover days provided hiking and non-biking options, creating a smorgasbord of opportunities suiting most tastes and objectives.  Southern Portugal in the springtime turned out to be a perfect choice: a feast for the senses and a great cycling environment. 

Our tour began in sleepy Grandola, a one-hour train ride south of bustling Lisbon, cycling rolling terrain through olive and cork groves to the Alentejo coast and the Costa Vicentina, a "natural park" protecting habitats and ecosystems along the Atlantic margin to the Sagres and Sao Vicente capes.  We passed the first of many spectacular beaches and headlands, generally acknowledged Europe's finest, at Porto Covo.  Leaving Vila Novo de Milfontes, we rode cliffside dirt sections of the Rota Vicentina between the beaches of Almograve and Zambujeiro do Mar, marveling at the storks nesting in eyries perched high above the cold Atlantic waters below. 

We crossed into the Algarve for a two-night stay at Odeceixe, a hillside gem at the mouth of the Ribeiro de Seixe, which forms a spectacular beach (and surfing mecca) framed by high cliffs and sea stacks.  The hiking option here included an otherworldly trek along 100-meter cliffs floored by intensely deformed and contorted black shales - artifacts of collision at the plate boundary thousands of millennia in the past - now covered by dune fields carpeted with iceplant and a profusion of wildflowers.  Then it was off to the southwest corner of Europe, passing by the cliffs and beaches of Bordeira and Carrapateira enroute to Sagres and the Cape of Sao Vicente, both figuring prominently in the history of Western Civilizations as the embarcation points for numerous discovery voyages to the New World and beyond.  After a short day paralleling the coast, with a stop at the gorgeous Salema beach and one-night stay in the resort town of Lagos, we turned inland for a climb and two-night stay in the Serra de Monchique, our layover day giving us the option to hike or bike the summit of Foia, a "mini-Ventoux" and the highest point in the Algarve, with spectacular, full-azimuth views of south Portugal and the Atlantic.  We returned to the coastal plain for one-night stays at Alte and Estoi, passing through countless orchards on a rainy morning descent to historic Silves, its Moorish castle, Roman bridge and Christian Cathedral attesting to its strategic importance in the centuries-long conflicts for control of this corner of the Iberian Peninsula.  Then it was on to a two-night stay in historic Tavira, returning to the coast and riding the estuaries and barrier islands east of Fuseta.  For the layover day we rode the optional route to the Castro Marim nature reserve on the Spanish border and the Cacela Velha overlooking the barrier beaches.

Throughout, we were witness to the marvel that is post-recession Portugal, successfully clawing its way out of a massive debt trap to become a "poster child" for fiscal responsibility and one of Europe's most vibrant economies.  Southern Portugal is the site of one of Europe's richest fisheries and the country's breadbasket, an agricultural powerhouse with its myriad citrus, fruit and vegetable orchards and fields dotting the landscape.  We considered Portugal, though tied to the euro, a bargain relative to its gaudier neighbors.  Not surprisingly, we found the Portuguese to be universally warm, welcoming and tolerant, and much better at English than we were with Portuguese.  Traffic was generally considerate of the cycling set, and road surfaces, though variable, were generally good and well-signed on municipal and "national" roads.  The weather, unseasonably cool this year, was nevertheless tolerable and gave us just a few days of intermittent rain.

Kudos to Alex, Jim, Vitor and Goncalo for their meticulous planning, organization and logistical support, principal reasons for tour success.  The pre-trip ride rating was appropriate, route design/selection masterful and a great intro to the area's diversity, cue sheets, maps and GPS outstanding and the lodging choices good to excellent to "over the top" (think the pousadas at Estoi and Tavira).  Alex's nightly "happy hour" was a festive affair, featuring tasty local tapas, drinks and Jim's signature route review.  Most considered the tour a locavore paradise, with virtually all food options, particularly the seafood, fruits and veggies, abundant, fresh and locally sourced.  Seven (!) group dinners, multi-course affairs with ample libations, were included, including two "foodie" gems: the endless tapas menu at Altinho in Odeceixe, and the tapas and fresh seafood at Estamine on Ihla Deserta, a barrier island fronting a tidal channel through which the Faro fishing fleet passes enroute to and from the prolific fisheries offshore ... we ate and drank during the nightly parade returning the day's catch to Faro markets.  Finally, special recognition is due Vitor and Goncalo, guides extraordinaire, for their wry, informative (sometimes lengthy) commentary on love of country and all things Portuguese, tireless efforts to keep the troops on route and safe, and three "picnics" nonpareil at picturesque stops enroute, featuring all manner of tasty meats, fishes, breads, cheeses, fruits, etc.  Bem feito!