Portugal Bike Tour 09

The day of our departure for the 600 km between Paris and Interlaken (Switzerland) is almost there. After that we’ll be crossing the Aletsch glacier (the longest in Europe, where the retreat of the ice is flagrant). We need to be in good shape and know all the equipment given by the supporting brands. As a preparation this tour through the interior of Portugal revealed itself useful, although this wasn’t the only motive to ride almost 1.000km. The promotion of the Ice Care project and crossing the country to meet a dear friend in Chaves, and hand to her my recent book ‘Aventura ao Máximo’, were also among those. Yes, revisit a person whom I had not seen for many years, seemed to me the best reason to justify the destination …
On the 14th of May I’ve left from Setúbal on a morning ferry. In Tróia I’ve started to ride, and ride, and ride, … for 8 days without stopping! From 6 to 8 hours per day. Until I’ve arrived … !!! Not without changing some of the initial plans: I wanted to reach the Algarve, but bad roads demanded more time. So, instead of reaching the Santa Clara dam (Algarve’s border) I’ve started to turn southeast in Ourique. Passed Almodôvar and only had a glimpse of the ribeira de Vascão, before turning north and continued through Mértola. Then, I followed always along the border, next to some of the Oldest Villages and, after Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, I rode strait to Chaves – my final goal (more photos at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=117593&id=613684777&ref=mf ).
If I managed to conquer the attention of 4 or 5 persons to follow our site and blogs, I’ll be happy. The equipment from brands such as Berg, Silva and TrangoWorld, had to be tested in real conditions, adjusted and optimized. The physical condition and the logistics – a sort of autonomy with stages longer than a 100 km – had to be proven. And they were! At last, a special word of thanks to the Firemen of Portalegre and Vila Flôr (respectively Mr. Alberto and the Chief Commandant), and to Quim (Firemen of Idanha-a-Nova), big fan of mountain biking, for their time and support given.
por José Tavares

Equipment
TrangoWorld: mountain clothing (polar and waterproof garment) and camping gear (‘Mountain TR 30’ sleeping bag and ‘skin micro-lite’ self-inflated mattress); Berg (bicycle ‘Torah 9.5’, helmet ‘Raden’ and other gear); Dual Brand (‘Ranger 3’ compass and head lamp Silva, Gerber multi-function knife).