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    8 kwietnia 2023
  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik

    Get set...

    9 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    So we're finally here at the start line. Sagres describes itself as the end of the world( or, alternatively, the last bratwurst before America: I think those two descriptions are really saying the same thing).
    Only way from here is North.
    Tomorrow.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik

    Odemira

    10 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    First day completed. Brisk headwind was challenging especially for the first hour or two. The windmills should have been a clue. surprisingly wild coastline. Lots of surf dudes in bombed out campervans. My gears playing up a bit but littoralbykes near Odemira did us proud. Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    12

    Ervidel

    11 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia

    And so into the baking interior. Lovely rolling countryside lit up by spring wild flowers. A bit of roadkill as reminder of the beasties in the bushes: maybe wild camping not such a good idea? And a wee bug carrying a lot of kit- I have some sympathy. Lunch was in the cement works canteen. 🤷‍♂️And finally we joined the n2 -now just follow it north... Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    11

    Montemor-o-novo

    12 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Cooler today. Fast start then a relaxed afternoon( museum stop & large lunch put paid to record setting) large birds fighting overhead- ?storks. A snake jumped out of the undergrowth in front of me. More dangerous are the Portuguese drivers- n2 is a quiet but fast road... detours off the n2 are few and far between and generally poor quality. Endless rolling hills of cork forests. Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik

    Abrantes

    13 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Pre breakfast and chilly start allowed for multiple pasteis da nata breaks as we ate up the miles through relatively flat repetition of days 2 and 3. Lakeside at montaguil- but road busier and faster and killer head wind omnipresent. Surprise hill at the end up to a hotel perched on top of a hill in Abrantes- the first significant town of the trip.
    Getting through some miles today allows for 2 days in Lisbon- with no bikes!!!     Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik

    Lisbon

    14 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Feel guilty posting this but a day ( or two) off from the bikes and trained into Lisbon. What an amazing yet confusing city! Plenty of A- listed sights , but so much more to wander around .

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    2
    23

    Pedrogao pequeno

    16 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    And into the hills.. hot today and the northerly winds eased a bit. Most of this part of the n2 has new faster bypass bits- once we realised the old road still existed, was in good condition and was all but traffic free we settled into a lovely day. Even saw some other cyclists. Visited the geodesic centre of Portugal-don't know what it means but it was up a 15% ramp in the midday heat. Lunch was a feast next to the old bridge in Serta with lovely chat to a couple of expats who were living the "good life " here. Tonight-another "quirky" twin peaks hotel recommended by Jude- great views, but, inevitably, up another steep hill!! Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    113

    Penacova

    17 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Amazing meandering road through the heat of the mountains today with plenty climbing and a 20k descent . However a dark side to this scenery: we're told the devastating fires of 2017 were started on purpose to clear vast swathes of old deciduous forests: fast growing eucalyptus monoculture taking over. All part of portugals plans to maintain europes supply of toilet paper Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    11

    Viseu

    18 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    A day of variety. The first bit cool and shady following hydroelectric complex- flat and lakeside interspersed with 12% ramps up the dams. Most of the N2 cycle way is very well signposted here but then it disappears around for example motorway bridges 🤷‍♂️. Then we ended up wandering across a quarry and scaling 8ft high fences to access the ecopista de dao. 🚜 Once found , this is a real gem-45 km of traffic free tarred cycle path along an old railway line that drops you out in the middle of Viseu: our destination for tonight. Great university city buzzing with life. Jay from Brazil- or was it Boston led us to a bike shop that hopefully have fixed all the creaking and groaning coming from my bike ( a luxury not extended to myself). " We like to eat pig" he proclaimed. Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    1

    Peso da Regua

    19 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Viseu was marvellous but is surrounded by hills. Geographically we reached a the high point today- possibly for the whole trip? otherwise the high point was an interrupted 30km/ 800m descent to Peso. Here we join the Douro valley and will spend a couple of days exploring the area- lots of vineyards 🍷🤪. The descent took us through Lamego and a great Tapas bar halfway up the outrageous baroque staircase up to the Igreja. Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    11

    Pochino

    20 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Peso is where we split from the n2 and I start to head east ( and Helen will head west to Porto and home). The Douro valley is a "must see" destination with terraced vineyards cascading down ( unfortunately ) steep hillsides. The Douro cuts deeply through mountains and drains a large part of the NE plains of Spain.the complex geography means a lot of steep ups and downs: not ideal bike touring country. So i've done todays 100k/2000m unlaiden and got the amazing "bucket list " train ride back to the start. Ride with gps came up with some outrageous route choices, including an extensive precipitous cobbled section- and a tarmac section that ( I think) will be the steepest road I've riden down. Good news though- from the last hill I could see Spain!!! Saturdays job. Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    1

    Peso da Regua

    21 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Rest day today. Explored a few vineyards and produce thereof. It rained!! Last day with Hels. 😔

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    11

    Miranda do Douro

    22 kwietnia 2023, Portugalia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Sad to see Helen off on the train to Porto and her own adventures packing her bike away. My train back to pocinho was cancelled then delayed so didn't get on the road til 1pm. Decidedly cooler today so made reasonable time slogging out of the valley and onto the plateau that defines this corner of Portugal. Also had 15 k on a nice cinder cycle way - until I realised that the road, largely alongside had virtually no traffic . Indeed today, over the first 100k, I'd be surprised if I was passed by as many as 100 cars. This corner is pretty remote - known as the " wild east" of Portugal. I eventually arrived in the border town of Miranda d D at 7 - or was that 8- my phone keeps switching between Portugal time and Spanish time. Here they speak a different language, do stick dances and wear silly hats. Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    1

    Medina de Rioseco

    23 kwietnia 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Well finally crossed into Spain! I awoke to eagles circling above the Douro gorge that makes the portguese/ Spanish border and they remained a feature of the first couple of hours cycling. Rocky plateau covered in dry stone walls constructed between huge menhirs every few yards. There was no signs of ( current) life for the first 20k of Spain- a bombed out petrol station and a boarded up village- and eagles. Gradually this made way for cleared land and large scale crops and I joined a lovely valley where I gate-crashed an ultra running race and cycled down(up?) to Zamora with one of the spectators cycling home. I was able to sneak around Zamora's impressive castle on bike as it was Sunday free day and there were disabled access ramps everywhere😉. A mega tail wind and flat cycling was too tempting so pushed on to Toro for lunch. For the same reason decided to add another 50k to the day and was blown into Medina. Castles everywhere- must be why this area is called Castilla y Leon. Very much on the Camino Frances here so will try and follow it for a while to get the pilgrim vibe/ mow down pedestrians/ cheap accomodation🤪 Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    11311

    Burgos

    24 kwietnia 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Another sizeable day with favourable tail winds and flat terrain- it took more than 2 hrs to have climbed 30metres! Just as well as all I could find for breakfast was doughnuts. Palencia looked interesting but seemed a hassle after the open roads. That said, my new best friend, Arno from Carcasonne, agreed too. He is cycle touring and our paths crossed several times today. After casteljeriz everything changed: we joined the Camino Santiago. Where there was no body there now were ramblers every 50 yards. Literally. And it's only April. My bell got a good work out. With the Camino also came lots of signs ( following EuroVelo 1 too: haven't seen signs for that sine day 1) and lots of auberges/ cafes, but also a choice between road (indirect: long day) and gravel( direct: sore bum) . Hotel central in Burgos which looks like a lovely city Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    1
    11

    Logorno

    25 kwietnia 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    I discovered a new range of mountains today - the sierra de cebollera. They lie between Burgos and Logorno- and became my high point of the ride so far. Fortunately Burgos sits at 850m so there wasn't much climbing up them. However I didn't fancy much uphill Camino gravel for the first 20 k - so opted for the adjacent n102. This was undoubtedly the busiest road I've been on so far, with a procession of big trucks. The hard shoulder is broad and usually clean but never big enough with the lorries' draft. So it wasn't a hard decision to find a detour which was beautiful and quiet- but long.
    Over the hill and I drop out of the Douro catchment and into the Ebro which drains into the Med. I was strangely excited by this as a mark of my progress. The watershed also delineated the border between Castile y Leon and Rioja- the smallest Spanish county. And a return to vines. A shadow on the horizon delineates the next barrier- the Pyrenees.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    12

    Pamplona

    26 kwietnia 2023, Hiszpania ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    A hilly one today with no friendly tailwind. But bumped into Aussie Steven on his Brompton somewhere in the middle which passed some time. I left Rioja almost as soon as I arrived and am now in Navarra. There's a strong Basque influence here with double names for most places (Pamplona is Iruna). The language has many z,x and qs so will be a strong hand in scrabble. Still lots of vineyards- and increasingly pointy mountains on the horizon. The route criss- crossed the Camino so if you couldn't see the hundreds of walkers you will here their walking poles tap tap tapping in the bushes.
    Fortunately no bulls running around the streets but lots of bull/ shit paraphernalia     Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    1211

    St Jean de Luz

    27 kwietnia 2023, Francja ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Wow! What a route today. I had been apprehensive about finding a route through the Pyrenees: big mountains/ complex geography/ lots of unrecognisable place names mixed with the occasional motorway and no go A -road tunnels. However the route today was brilliant! Firstly weaving my way out of Pamplona on mostly car free cycle lanes with the commuting traffic and kids on the way to school: all cities in Spain seem to have good cycling infrastructure but in Pamplona they seemed to be well used. Secondly on my first via verde ( traffic free converted train lines)- I might have complained that some of the surfaces were a bit rough- but that's why I brought the gravel bike, right? Thirdly up and over the hills through beautiful ( and shady) beech forest on a deserted basque road. Descending you could feel a change to more humid maritime atmosphere. Then catching up with another via verde for 30km down the valley and spit me out - voila!- on the coast and the French border. The roads in Spain have generally been brilliant for cycling- quiet/good surfaces/ well graded: I hope France can deliver!! Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    13111

    Mimizan

    28 kwietnia 2023, Francja ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Too far today. Partly dictated by weather ( might be raining tomorrow) but also due to accomodation options, I did my longest ride today. Despite being the flatest, it was too far. You know the old joke "why are you riding north to Norway? It's all uphill" that's what it felt like- a slight headwind meant it was a day of uninterrupted effort. After getting through Biarittz- which I thought was pretty cool, Bayonne- lost in an industrial estate, and the oddly named Capbreton( no headland, no hats, not in Brittany) it was then flat endless forests. The velodysee cycle path was easy to follow and nearly all tarmaced and away from traffic- amazing. Though with this came lots of peddling traffic. All very friendly and by the end of the day I was remembering to say "Bonjour"rather than "Hola" to my 2 wheeled friends. An unnecessary detour to Mimizan plage at the end of the day was not what I needed. But the day is done- and a much shorter day tomorrow to look forward to Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik

    Cap Ferret

    29 kwietnia 2023, Francja ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    " easier day today" but somehow still totalled > 90k. Lat night was a slightly strange "chambre d'hote" experience eating with the hosts then listening to the squeaky bed next door- for a long time. It rained overnight but I seemed to have missed the wetness and it was cool , windless and overcast. Stultifyingly flat : 20 m climbing in the first 30k! The biggest mound to overcome was the flan ecossais... The "hills "at the end of the ride were over giant sand dunes and allowed a wee detour "a pied " up the dune de pilat- the highest dunes in Europe. I had 2 hours spare before my ferry from Arcachon so searched out a bike shop to finally get my rear slow puncture fixed. They did an amazing rapid turnaround that max Verstappen would have been pleased with and had everything sorted ( plus a replacement for my nearly offensive thinning cycling shorts) in the 30 mins it took me to track down some grub. A bit of a spin needed to get to the ferry in time now.... and everything then seemed to go wrong. Because of my bike shop detour I no longer had directions to the ferry. Then it started raining. What??! I didn't come here for this! Then it started pouring. Then I couldn't find the ferry and was given erroneous directions. Then it was chucking it down and my phone wouldn't work with a wet screen. But ... I made it.!
    By the time I was off the ferry the rain had all but stopped. I had a short ride to the Bois- Laurent's in Piraillon: how wonderful to see them, and in such good health. Olivier and wife and Cecile there too. Fantastic hosts and tuned in to my need for drying/ warming/ cleaning- and a cuppa tea🙂     Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    Total for this trip ( minus 1/4/23 ride in cowal)

    Cap Ferret

    30 kwietnia 2023, Francja ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Rest day. Didn't touch the bike apart from moving it the shed to get the sun lounger out. Midday trip to Cap Ferret and my most expensive coffee yet- even with a "s'il vous plait" and a "bonjour"..loads of "leisure" cyclists!! That might sound a bit snobby but not meant to- this is the 2 wheeled world we should aspire to! lovely chill time with the Bois-Laurents- joined by Etienne and wife so a full house for a lovely dinner. Best get back en velo tomorrow... Czytaj więcej

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  • Simon RandfieldAcross EuropePodróżnik
    1

    jonzac

    1 maja 2023, Francja ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    2 parts to today- the pancake flat medoc- lots of forest and scrub land , making way to vineyards that produce some of the worlds most expensive wine( eg chateau Margaux). Drizzly and cool but never wet or cold. It's a holiday( celebrating end of WWII) and everywhere was deserted- including the boulangeries/ patisserie/ cafes- all replaced by kids selling flowers and plants. Had to put a bit of beef into getting to the ferry on time( what is it about ferry's and me?)so no time to stop even if there had been somewhere..Part 2- on the other side of the decidedly grim brown waters of the Garonne , Blaye seemed somewhat austere , overlooked by its citadel. However one cafe was open , run by a dippy wine soaked South African and his exasperated staff. Despite the cafe going like a fair, he insisted on showing me his winery and talk through his slightly unusual wine making techniques before showing me his amazing collection of wine paraphernalia, old 2cvs a beautiful old Porsche and other bits and bobs. Moving on I found a stray Camino walker(?!) and then somewhere to stay in Jonzac, just round the corner from chez B. Czytaj więcej

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