Maybe because it is so close to Spain,
or just because it is direct competition of our cycling offer,
Portugal has never been a very popular destination for Spanish
cyclists (especially for the Catalans). And yet it's a very
attractive cycling destination especially in winter, when we have to
look for the sun and good weather that we need in the north of
iberian peninsula.
Not just for the cycling, but
historically and culturally, Lisbon is a world-class destination.
The amount of attractions that Lisbon
has to offer is enormous, the Belem Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery,
the monument to the discoverers or the the Alfama district are just
some of the attractions that we cannot miss. The fact that the
metropolitan area of Lisbon, with 4 million inhabitants, represents
20% of the total population of Portugal, gives an idea of the
concentration of population in the metropolis and depopulation of
much of the rural Portuguese territory.
The food is, of course, another great
incentive. Not just the Bacalhau (cod, of course), but also the caldo
portugues, the francesinha, all this is a guarantee that it is a
great destination for foodies! The wines are also an undeniable
quality: Albariño, wine Alentejo in the South or green wine in the
North.
The weather is mild even in winter. We
had 4-5 ideal days for the tourism and sports activities. Only one
day we found rain and some of wind (it might be a problem). In
January, for example, the average temperature is 10 °, which is not
bad. The proximity of sea makes the climate usually soft. Regarding
to the weather in the summer, it would be advisable to avoid the
hottest months, not only because of the heat but also for the traffic
that is increased significantly.
Lisbon will always be for the spaniards
the magical place of Freire's second World Championship, with the
ascent to Sefarina and with a fairly hard circuit, a must in Lisbon,
the other city of the seven hills, where there isn't much flat,
except on the riverside of the Tagus River, perfect for a more
relaxed cycling. Lisbon was also the start point the of the Vuelta a
España in 1997 (to promote the 1998 Universal Exhibition in Lisbon.
They were three stages in Portugal (Lisbon-Estoril circuit,
Evora-Vilamoura and Loule-Huelva). By the way, the winner that year
was the Swiss Alex Zulle.
But cycling in Portugal equals to
Agostinho, the most known Portuguese cyclist with a premature death,
still on the bike (he fell in a turn in the Algarve on May 1st
1984, dying 10 days later after not being able to overcome the
coma). Cycling in Portugal is also the Volta a Portugal (la Grande)
with very hot weather in August.
The first cycling day we went to
Sintra, declared world heritage by UNESCO in 1995. Depart from
Cascais and following the coastline, passed by the famous Guincho
Beach (where surfing is very popular) before we went into the Sintra
area with some very interesting ascents (tough ones!) which highlight
was the curious and multicolored Palacio da Pena. A very interesting
area, with narrow roads and many palaces and monuments aside the road
(Palacio de Seteais, Monserrate Park). The highlight of the route we
did, as well as Sintra, was Cape da Roca, the westernmost point of
the European continent.
The second cycling day had to be
Montejunto, that we included together with the nearby Obidos,
starting at the hometown of Agostinho, Torres Vedras, where the
legendary cyclist have dedicated a couple of monuments (see picture).
The second real day of bike meant to
discover the wonderful Serra de Arrabida. A wonderful coastal road
with a magnificent view and where is located the monastery da
Arrábida. There are 3 interesting sides, the closer to Lisbon
(Azeitão), the ascent from Setúbal and finally perhaps the hardest
from the beach of Galapinhos. The highest point of the road is 491 m,
with magnificent views over the sea and the Troia peninsula (to the
other side of the Bay). By the way, one of the most popular sportives
in Portugal in the so-named Troia-Sogres, with almost 200 km along
the coast southwards to the most southern point in Portugal Atlantic
coast.
At cycling level Portugal is very hard
competitor to the Spanish offer. Specifically the Algarve area is
developing pretty much and in that area takes place the Volta ao
Algarve http://voltaaoalgarve.com/ in February (category 2.1 Europe
tour), and also has its touring version, disputed February 17, 2018
from Tavira.
Sportives and Granfondos are developing
quickly in Portugal. In particular this year will be held the
Granfondo Lisbon https://www.granfondolisboa.com/ of April 22, 2018,
with 136 km away
Also the Gran Fondo New York
https://gfny.com/gfny-world/gfny-portugal/ has arrived to Portugal,
and will be held on September 9, 2018 from Cascais, with 160 km and
more than 2,000 meters elevation, with a similar route to the
Granfondo Lisbon, via Sintra and up the Atlantic coast. It is no
coincidence that also in Cascais will take place the Ironman 70.3 on
September 30, 2018, in a cycling route getting through the Formula 1
track of Estoril. Great destination Cascais for cyclists and
triathletes!
In short, the bike is a great excuse to
travel to Portugal and rediscover all the monuments and the history
of this nice country. The golden age of the 16th century when his
navigators discovered half the world. Its food and wines. Fado. Does
not need to be an exclusively cycling destination in our getaway, but
always can take time for a pair of outputs on a bike, don't you
think?
