That road looks awsome & the pastel de nata looks muito bom,, too 
Spain - Portugal Road Trip 2017
- Thread starter soofsayer
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After the pit stop I got on the N15 which crisscrosses the motorway all the way to Vila Real. This road was even better than the morning ride, the Portuguese must have been spread betting on how many corners they could fit into the route when they made the road it is epic, even has positive camber on most bends.
Scenery was ok but the road was too good to keep stopping. Managed a few snaps and strangely some are missing from my phone hmmm. I came across the edge of the forest fires too. Tomorrow I think I'll be riding through the worst of it in the central belt.
Got to the hotel in the middle of Vila Real and it was the wrong place, my fault numpty. Picked the wrong Friday to go into the city unnecessarily. When I rode in I thought there was a lot of roadworks going on, turns out they have been closing all the roads for the motorsport racing over the weekend, navigating to the correct hotel was a total nightmare.
Anyway, that's all for now folks.
N15, it's miles and miles of this:
Fire damage:
Douro wine region;
Scenery was ok but the road was too good to keep stopping. Managed a few snaps and strangely some are missing from my phone hmmm. I came across the edge of the forest fires too. Tomorrow I think I'll be riding through the worst of it in the central belt.
Got to the hotel in the middle of Vila Real and it was the wrong place, my fault numpty. Picked the wrong Friday to go into the city unnecessarily. When I rode in I thought there was a lot of roadworks going on, turns out they have been closing all the roads for the motorsport racing over the weekend, navigating to the correct hotel was a total nightmare.
Anyway, that's all for now folks.
N15, it's miles and miles of this:
Fire damage:
Douro wine region;
stuartb
Well-known member
Roads look great Soof...
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This what's happening round here tomorrow. I'm tempted to stay and watch a bit but meh, I've got 6 hours of my own riding to do...
http://roadracingnews.co.uk/historic-roads-circuits-vila-real-portugal/
http://www.racingcircuits.info/europe/portugal/vila-real.html#.WV_XU7HTWhA
Should stay or should I go, lol.
http://roadracingnews.co.uk/historic-roads-circuits-vila-real-portugal/
http://www.racingcircuits.info/europe/portugal/vila-real.html#.WV_XU7HTWhA
Should stay or should I go, lol.
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Although it was misty this morning the roads have been epic. They're all superb I'll leave it at that.
After running along the valley most of the morning the road climbed up above the clouds on to the Serra.
Stopped for lunch. 2 pork chops, savory rice, coffee, 2 bottles of water. 7 euros. It's like Switzerland or better without the price tag.
Abandoned building project at the top of another mountain. The locals told me the mayor had run out of money. What a view.
After running along the valley most of the morning the road climbed up above the clouds on to the Serra.
Stopped for lunch. 2 pork chops, savory rice, coffee, 2 bottles of water. 7 euros. It's like Switzerland or better without the price tag.
Abandoned building project at the top of another mountain. The locals told me the mayor had run out of money. What a view.
Followed the N2, remarkable road, through some of the fire hit areas. Very sad. Some were saved some were not. It's hit the region really hard particularly with tourism.
The devastation in places is as far as the eye can see. The air still smells burnt. Must have felt like the end of days when the fires were burning.
Tomorrow is my last day en route to the Algarve before a 2 week break. It's hard work this.
The devastation in places is as far as the eye can see. The air still smells burnt. Must have felt like the end of days when the fires were burning.
Tomorrow is my last day en route to the Algarve before a 2 week break. It's hard work this
.
stuartb
Well-known member
Looks brilliant Andy. Exactly why we travel abroad on motorbikes...good roads if a bit crazy, decent roadside scran, sightseeing and above all great weather, roll on 23rd for me .. putting me in the mood this pictorial of yours, keep them coming pal.. ride safe.
S
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S
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So.Very.Jealous...
How much is that villa, could we sell the moderators yacht and buy it?
- Sent from Mobile
How much is that villa, could we sell the moderators yacht and buy it?
- Sent from Mobile
How much is that villa, could we sell the moderators yacht and buy it?
I think that's a great idea, I'll look into it. Only problem with selling the yacht is evicting the playboy bunnies and getting all the drugs and alcohol removed. Could be tricky, you know how much Ryan likes his perks lol.
Looks like a fantastic trip Soofsayer. Great photos: are they from your phone by the way or are you carrying a camera in one of your GS suitcases?
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Just iPhone pics. No room for the slr with all my crap (I've also got the kids' lilo). I don't know if this is useful info for anyone but I am using a quad lock mount and case to secure the phone to the handlebars. I did it originally just because I wanted to know if I'd had a message, but the setup has been really handy for taking quick pictures. It also saved me in the middle of Vila real when my garmin went into meltdown due to the multiple road closures.
JimmyMac
Well-known member
Just caught up on this thread Andy, looks great, smiles better taking the bike as opposed to flying and that's not a typo.
Shame about the forest fires but it gives nature a chance to reset, coming back more beautiful than before.
Was laughing about your experiences on that single track twisty road, two wheeled Russian Roulette is a game most tourers have played at times, gives you titanium arse cheeks and some great memories to look back on.
Enjoy the rest of the trip and keep safe.
JimmyMac
Shame about the forest fires but it gives nature a chance to reset, coming back more beautiful than before.
Was laughing about your experiences on that single track twisty road, two wheeled Russian Roulette is a game most tourers have played at times, gives you titanium arse cheeks and some great memories to look back on.
Enjoy the rest of the trip and keep safe.
JimmyMac
Thanks jimmy.
Today I am riding down through the Alentejo region on the N2 to the Algarve, there has been a lot of this:
Then after being sat like a sack of spuds with the cruise control on for ages a load of hairpins and sweeping curves suddenly appear and you have to wake up again. Then back to miles of arrow straight road and repeat. Bummer. The road is ok, it's a means to an end. The region is very flat and gets very very hot. The people from the region are the butt of many Portuguese jokes as things are very backwards in these parts. One village I went through I managed perfect timing to see a woman cutting a chicken's neck in the road. Lovely morning for it lol. Last 100 miles or so left to do before reaching the sea.
Today I am riding down through the Alentejo region on the N2 to the Algarve, there has been a lot of this:
Then after being sat like a sack of spuds with the cruise control on for ages a load of hairpins and sweeping curves suddenly appear and you have to wake up again. Then back to miles of arrow straight road and repeat. Bummer. The road is ok, it's a means to an end. The region is very flat and gets very very hot. The people from the region are the butt of many Portuguese jokes as things are very backwards in these parts. One village I went through I managed perfect timing to see a woman cutting a chicken's neck in the road. Lovely morning for it lol. Last 100 miles or so left to do before reaching the sea.
stuartb
Well-known member
Bet your glad it wasn't her husband you saw choking his chicken.. lol
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Couple more pics of the area.
Then got to the Algarve. Following the IC1 I saw a sign to the place I used to live. Really random road but I thought I'd give it a try, what a result. About 15 miles of 'GS' road winding across the tops. Best road of the day and the best views.
I was booked into a hotel tonight to then go to the villa I've rented in the morning. As I was passing I thought I'd check the house out so I knew where I was going tomorrow etc. Empty house, keys in keysafe as per instructions and ready for tomorrow so I cancelled the hotel and am going to crash here a cheeky night early.
Then got to the Algarve. Following the IC1 I saw a sign to the place I used to live. Really random road but I thought I'd give it a try, what a result. About 15 miles of 'GS' road winding across the tops. Best road of the day and the best views.
I was booked into a hotel tonight to then go to the villa I've rented in the morning. As I was passing I thought I'd check the house out so I knew where I was going tomorrow etc. Empty house, keys in keysafe as per instructions and ready for tomorrow so I cancelled the hotel and am going to crash here a cheeky night early.
stuartb
Well-known member
Awesome pics .. looks like youve knocked it off Soof !
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JimmyMac
Well-known member
Beautiful photos Andy, similar to a sandy Lecht on some of them. The Lecht is a cracking mountain road north of Balmoral for those not familiar with Scottish back roads.
Glad to see you remembered you aren't Portuguse and are a Yorkshireman through and through and snaffled and extra night. Hope you have enough room in your panniers for the towels, bathrobe and cutlery that you'll obviously be bringing back, lol.
Enjoy the holiday, you lucky Devil.
JimmyMac
Glad to see you remembered you aren't Portuguse and are a Yorkshireman through and through and snaffled and extra night. Hope you have enough room in your panniers for the towels, bathrobe and cutlery that you'll obviously be bringing back, lol.
Enjoy the holiday, you lucky Devil.
JimmyMac
I need to take a 6month career break (and a small lottery win) to experience trips like this.
Happy trails, have a good break with the family
Happy trails, have a good break with the family
Today I started the return journey back to Blighty. The original plan was to spend 3.5 days touring around Spain and catch the ferry back on Thursday afternoon, getting me home around 7pm on Friday.
So I decided not to do that. My primary motivation was missing my family and a very close second was the dread of the 24 hours on that boat again.
The GS has been so good at eating up miles that the routes I had planned (200-250 miles a day) simply weren't long enough meaning I was going to spend most afternoons killing time in a hotel. I had also had 3.5 amazing days of travel on the way down and was suffering a bit of twisty fatigue. Put simply I couldn't be arsed.
Today was / is the last of the grand plan. A ride up to Aracena from the Algarve with roads that didn't disappoint.
And a look back to Portugal before heading into Spain:
A great ride in soaring temperatures that hit 38 this afternoon I got to the convent hotel for the night. Now enjoying some Iberico ham before getting stuck into Iberian stuffed pork later (that sounds so wrong).
Tomorrow is 12 hours on the motorway to Bordeaux before Tuesdays final leg back to the tunnel and home by midnight.
So I decided not to do that. My primary motivation was missing my family and a very close second was the dread of the 24 hours on that boat again.
The GS has been so good at eating up miles that the routes I had planned (200-250 miles a day) simply weren't long enough meaning I was going to spend most afternoons killing time in a hotel. I had also had 3.5 amazing days of travel on the way down and was suffering a bit of twisty fatigue. Put simply I couldn't be arsed.
Today was / is the last of the grand plan. A ride up to Aracena from the Algarve with roads that didn't disappoint.
And a look back to Portugal before heading into Spain:
A great ride in soaring temperatures that hit 38 this afternoon I got to the convent hotel for the night. Now enjoying some Iberico ham before getting stuck into Iberian stuffed pork later (that sounds so wrong).
Tomorrow is 12 hours on the motorway to Bordeaux before Tuesdays final leg back to the tunnel and home by midnight.
