Pombal

So far Portugal is much better than Spain for hungry cyclist feeding - you don't have to wait until 9pm and a meal is never knowingly under carbohydrated

 

I slept soundly with a very full tummy until a storm hit in the middle of the night and we were very aware of the Atlantic in front of the hotel. Fortunately it came and went before I was ready to pedal off and, although it was still windy, amazingly it was mostly behind me (never usually happens!).

I didn't like the look of the Strava route so decided to put my trust in the Garmin. It took me a wiggly, undulating and lovely route, initially through a beautiful pine forest which smelt amazing after the rain 

 

I had no idea where I was going so it was a magical mystery tour past castles and vineyards

 

  

After 53 miles and 2503 feet of ups and downs, I arrived in Pombal where my support crew had already checked in (and found a bar

obviously!)

We had a walk around the deserted town, visited the castle and then found a restaurant that was open

 

 

There was no menu and the lovely waitress helpfully typed the plats du jour into my translator app

 

Fortunately Woody turned out to be some sort of tasty casserole although the wine carafe was a bit worrying

I think it's going to be an early night, I'm a bit battered after 2 days of sun and wind and tomorrow the hills really begin..,

Praia de Mira

As expected, the cheerful cockerel and the subway train meant an early waking up. Compensation was the lovely breakfast delivered to the room

 

The cycling got off to a shaky start with bone/bike rattling cobbles and a Garmin that immediately told me I was off course.

Fortunately both were soon resolved and I pedalled off along the side of the river Douro and then down the Atlantic coast to Espinho

 

Unfortunately the route didn't stay scenic for long as the coastal marshes meant I had to turn inland through towns and endless suburbia. I still enjoyed being in a new place and there were so many cyclists out. Apparently it's still winter clothing required (not for a hardened Cambridgeshire cyclist!) and the required greeting is 'dia'.

There weren't many photo opportunities but these stork nests were rather impressive

 

I managed to get lost, obviously, in a big town called Aveiro and eventually got fed up with the boring straight road and did a detour through a pine forest. My mileage was therefore more than expected (quelle surprise) at 66.7 miles and a flattish 1624 feet.

Bob is modelling his first pastel de nata which was delicious

 

I arrived to find the support driver in a bar slurping beer in the sunshine which seemed like a good idea, followed by a walk down the beautiful beach.

I have never seen so many seagulls

 

 

 

Porto

 I was so worried about entrusting Bob to Ryanair but fortunately he reappeared unscathed at Porto Airport in his smart new bag

 

I was also slightly concerned about my ability to put him back together, but thanks to Big Bro's instructions and a deep intake of breath, Bob is hopefully ready to roll.

The hire car company was utterly incompetent and had lost our booking, so our planned Porto lunch was rather later than planned but so worth the wait

 

Obviously a Bob blog wouldn't be complete without the first of probably many Rusty beer photos (having a few problems with portugese pronunciation of cervejo but we're getting there)

 

So Porto is stunning - obviously we walked miles up and down some serious hills ooing and aahing at the amazing architecture. This is a view of the port houses across the Douro river

 

So many buildings with fancy bits

 

  

Our rather quirky hotel is the other side of the bridge - we aren't expecting a quiet night with the train, cars driving over cobbles and next door's cockerel

 

A cunning plan

 

In theory I'm getting braver on these cycling trips and have decided that I can be more independent. Fortunately I have a one man support crew who is happy to find his way from hotel to hotel whilst I pedal in hopefully the same direction (ish).

I have spent a few happy, rainy Sunday afternoons developing the cunning plan and it's now up to the legs and the Garmin to make it work.

I have used Strava to plan my routes with an alleged, assuming no getting lost, total mileage of 408.5 miles in 8 days. This photo is backwards but I think it's in the Garmin in the correct direction!

 

I also need to learn a few essential words in Portuguese:

Custard tart - pastel de nata

Water - agua

Thank you - obrigado