Cycling amongst the Eucalyptus plantations

We arrive by train from Lisbon and are greeted by a gentleman who holds up a sign with my name on it, so of course, this man is our driver.  Once we load up our bikes and luggage, we climb in and attempt to say hello or something..... He remains silent, no English.  Travelling along the highway doing 132km per hour, when the speed limit is 120km, is a little unsettling, but I tell myself, it's ok we have to trust him.  This guy is obviously not Carlos, with whom I had organised our transfers with, a very friendly and happy to help sort of guy, but this fellow, is kinda not what I was expecting.

But we arrive at our home located in the old part of town, down a one way, very narrow street, a traditional Portuguese home of stone, tile and marble floors, large rooms and a sunny courtyard out the back, for Dave to build the bikes, me to read and neighbours to chat over the fences.

Portimao is a city of apartment living, chosen for its central located in the Algarve region, their bold and unashamed use of colour on their buildings, is both striking and inspirational. Joining us for discovering this area by bike is, Lisa from Kansas, US and Bob from the South Coast in Aus. We are now the Fab 4


Our first ride was definitely a tad stressful, stick to the right, stick to the right,  right.....
Thankfully, this is normal for Lisa, so she leads us out of town and into the countryside, full of orange and lemon groves and green as far as the eye can see.  The day is sunny, with little wind, we see our first views of the Atlantic and the beautiful coastline, amazingly similar to the sandstone cliffs of the Great Ocean Road.

It was a good feeling to spin the legs and get back home safely, through the cobblestoned, narrow streets of the old town, albeit a bit bumpy.


Over the next few days we gain our confidence as we become familiar with our location and venture further afield.  We quickly understand the routes out of town and after several rides from our base, we decide to jump on the local train, that heads either east to west to extend our riding terrain.  

We head west towards the only mountain range in the Algarve region, a short 20 minute ride.  The mountains stand tall on the horizon, though nothing compared to the Alps or Pyrenees. Today we tackle the Marmelete, an average grade of 6.8% with a maximum of 10.4%.  A good warmup to test the climbing legs and despite the predicted winds of 30+ we believe the road will be tucked away in the hills and protect us somewhat. 

We were right with the westerly winds, blowing straight off the Atlantic, very blustery at the top, holding onto the handle bars, keeping the power on the pedals, no free wheeling here, till we roll over the summit and down into some protection. Surprisingly, this area is significantly covered in Eucalyptus plantations, And I mean, a lot, rows and rows of them, hill after hill. (Teresa, Eucalyptus globules)


Eucalyptus is a major crop across Portugal, with the country being the largest producer of pulp in Europe, supplying the paper industry.  Introduced in the late 19th century, the plantations are controversial however, due to their invasive nature, thirst for water, the speed of growth and increased fire risk from the oils they produce, which are highly flammable. 

Fantastic ride, on dead quiet roads, finished off with lunch and a 1.50 Euro beer.  Cheap as chips...



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