Lisbon - Cascais - Ericeira - 68km

Well what a day of mixed experiences! So as not to bore you, I’m going to dot point it for those in a hurry. More details below. 

High heart rate alerts - 3

Aussies met - 2

Unrideable roads (not roads) - 2

Times temporarily misplaced - three (at least)

Food - Neil’s famous biscuit - thank goodness. And three shot blokz.

Trains - 1

Wet bitumen roads - 1

Pot holes - too many to count

Weather - strange even by Portuguese standards

The day started out fabulously with the bike packed and ready to head to the train station on time. Unfortunately, on the way there I got a high heart rate alert. The traffic was shocking so I’m putting it down to the anxiety around that.

I arrived in Cascais without any problems. The train system was easy and efficient. It took me a while to work out how to get onto the EV1 and while doing so, got chatting to a couple of Aussies. It was so nice to connect after a few days without it. I eventually found my path and the infrastructure was great. Just rolling hills beside the ocean. Perfect! 

Then I took a wrong turn up a decent climb. I didn’t know it at the time and I had a truck for company cheering me on wishing me Buen Camino. It was fabulous. There was a cafe at the top which was also a centre for e planning the sand dunes in this area, stunning. 

By the time I realised I was off piste, I knew that likely meant more climbing in the other direction. Boy was I right. It was a continuous climb but the gradient actually suited me. I got into a rhythm and seemed to eat it up. Until….. the EV1 took me to a place no man had been before! Well maybe some but I was a little unnerved to be honest. I was literally pushing my bike through unrideable track. In the end, I gave up and backtracked to find the road. Best decision. However, I chose to follow the EV1 again and it was crazy. The climbing was undoable. I checked in with Google maps and it gave me an option that looked fine so I took it. Then as I went down a 20% + hill, I knew there was no going back. Only problem, I was on a goat track, literally. 

I eventually found the road only to climb more but again the gradient suited me. Until I hit roadworks with lanes controlled by traffic lights. Wet bitumen, my tyres are now covered in it and I’m not sure what to do. I’ll reassess tomorrow after having to find my own route through the town to eventually make the campground just before 6pm. That’s late for me! Boy what a day. 

I’d like to see the town so will see how I feel tomorrow. Food was very scarce today with just a cookie that Neil baked and a few shot blokz. I managed to get some chicken, rice and wine from a close service station but still need to get my compostela stamped. The campground doesn’t have one. ☹️ The weather is very strange with low cloud everywhere. It’s like a whiteout!

A big day!