Aveiro to Porto - 73km

I was keen to get going early today as I knew the road out of Aveiro would be busy. I had an option for a quieter route that ran parallel to the lagoon however, it required a 9km backtrack and would make the day around 90km. 

For that reason, I took the N109 for the first 50 ish kms. It totally wasn’t fun with so much traffic including large trucks and also a terrible road surface. If you took your eyes off the road or lost concentration for even a moment, you were sure to lose your wheel in a cavernous hole that you may never come out of. 

I eventually made it to Espinho where I was able to get the bike path that ran parallel to the ocean all the way into Porto. The headwind was a killer but much better than dealing with the traffic. 

Trying to get into Porto was a challenge with markets and people everywhere, streets completely block by traffic or roadworks, all combined with a very hilly city. I’m pretty sure my cleats will be worn out from walking. 🤣 I managed to find my guest house. It’s a lovely place run by an elderly couple. I managed to find a spot for the bike in the hallway although I’m not sure Mr was too happy about it. 

I’m planning on an early night so I can make the most of my time over the next couple of days. I’ll explore Porto tomorrow and then I have a tour of the Douro booked for Thursday. 

Not many photos today. 

Sao Pedro to Aveiro - 73km

What a crazy night with wind and rain. I thought I might just get picked up and flown to Oz! I tried to dry the tent before I left but that was fruitless as I wanted to be on the road early. The campsite was lovely and I’d definitely recommend it despite no real shade for tents. They have planted new trees but they will take some time to grow, it was quite cool so I didn’t mind being in the open, well apart from the storm. 

It was a mixed day of cycling today. I got stranded on a busy highway/bridge with roadworks so it was down to one lane in either direction. I jumped into the roadworks lane to be thwarted by a crane and the ground covered in wire cables. After navigating that, I got ‘kamooted’ into climbing some ridiculously steep hills that probably weren’t necessary. So I booted Kamoot and went to my paper maps. The road was busy but I had a good shoulder. Today was really the first day that I’ve felt the drivers were not so good. I had several rogue truck drivers including one who decided he needed to do a u-turn right where I was stationary. He almost wiped out the bike. 🤯😱

How cool are the flamingoes!!!

The ride was fairly busy and not so scenic but I knew I needed to get the kilometres done. I’d booked a guesthouse in Aveiro to help support these couple of tough days. I was grateful to have the separated bike path into Aveiro despite it taking me 30 minutes to figure out how to get onto it! 

I found a nice cafe for a drink and snack so don’t need to cook dinner now. I’m still struggling with a lack of appetite so will see how that goes with a couple of days off the bike once I get to Porto. 

Not many photos today. 

Praia da Vieira to Sao Pedro - 37km

Another short day today to get my re-routing organised. My night at the hotel was lovely and comfortable despite a not so great dinner. 

I’d been recommended this camp ground in Sao Pedro by a Swiss touring cyclist I met on the path. He advised this campground as opposed to the one in Figuera do Foz. It was a great choice as apart from no shade, which is fine because it’s cool, the facilities are great. There is a small town close by and a free boat across to Figuera. Direct access to the beach if you’re brave enough to swim. They have a small supermarket here and a restaurant where I was finally able to get some gluten free food! Unfortunately I have very little appetite at the moment which is proving challenging as I need fuel to do the kms I’m planning. 

The riding today was lovely, separated paths and quiet roads. Apart from the last 10km which were crazy busy but I had a good shoulder. I finally found a EuroVelo sign! The first in over 200km! 

Tomorrow will be a big day so I’ve booked a guest house again. Only 10 euro more than camping. 🤨 

Caldas da Rainha to Praia da Vieira - 58km

My re-routing worked a treat and today’s ride was fabulous. It was a mixture of some busy roads, quiet roads and lots of separated bike path. The ascensor worked well albeit with stairs at the other end that required unpacking the bike and doing the ferrying of gear. The driver told me the bike was too heavy. 🤯🤪 When it fell halfway up, I thought my holiday was over and bike would be forever in the chasm of the funiculare. 

Today I met some other touring cyclists, finally. Everyone has their own agenda and when I was stopped in town today and a tourer rode past without so much as a word, I must admit I was a little miffed. Anyway, that resolved after a Swiss guy and an American both stopped for long chats on the path. It was so nice to connect to other touring cyclists. Both had their individual stories as we all do, one was credit card touring, the other has a holiday house close by. They shared information with me about the forward route and I with them about where I’d come from. 

I arrived in Praia and found the campground easily. Unfortunately, as was bound to happen eventually, this was one of those places that I should not stay. It just felt wrong. There was no map to show me where to camp. I pushed my bike to the end of the campground which apparently was the area for tents. You’d need lunch to get to the bathrooms! There was no dedicated tent space that I could see.Luckily for me there was a hotel just up the road and they had a vacancy. 

Today is the summer carnival for Praia so I spent a little time wandering the streets, connecting with the local culture, and listening to the music. Unfortunately, gluten free food here is a little challenging particularly in the smaller towns. I’ve managed to gather enough together with most food groups covered although some veggies would be nice!

Now to plan tomorrow as it should have been a rest day but I’m going to ride.

Peniche - Caldas da Rainha - 30km

A short day yesterday to give me more time to reassess my planning and work out if I’ve got it right or if I need to do some re-routing. I’ve re-routed my next day on the basis of this reassessment. 

The day started later as I knew it wouldn’t be a long one but I’m quite tired so even a short ride is tough. I used a combination of paper maps and Kamoot which mostly worked well apart from a road works diversion that required another hike-a-bike session. 

The tyres are improving each day - thanks Ian and Brian for the advice! Hopefully by Porto they will have lost the extra grit attached to the bitumen spray and I won’t need to replace them.

I’m staying in another guest house. The same price as camping. However, I didn’t read the fine print. It’s at the top of a ridiculously steep staircase and my room is internal with no windows and a bunk bed. 

I had some company last night when Lorna checked in and we went out for a late (for me) drink. We met the owner of the guesthouse and her partner and friend out and ended up at a bar with a guy playing guitar and doing covers in English. One drink turned into two and I knew I had to get back to get some sleep given I wanted to get an early start this morning. 

Caldas da Rainha is a lovely town full of restaurants, cafes and bars. There is a lovely park in the middle of the old town where the queen used to come for holidays. There is a thermal spa hospital here. Maybe I should have given that a try for my tired legs. 🤨  Unfortunately the house itself is in ruins. I believe they are trying to restore it but that looks like a mammoth task. There was a beautiful peacock strolling through the centre of town. 

There is a really tough climb today but I was advised last night that there is a special ‘ascensur’ that now takes bicycles and wheelchairs to the top of the cliff. That sounds like a superb plan so I’ll report back on whether I am successful. 🤞