I dont usually go for tours instead exploring on my own but my previous cycles abroad have been on islands I have been to before, ergo it wasnt as hard to get lost. This being the Iberian peninsula attached to mainland Europe I changed my tact this time.
The days tour, guided by Marco Gomes (who freakily had Scottish friends from Dalmellington, small world and all that) predominantly consisted of 3 climbs.
The first of them was the highest of the day, Mount Foia, at over 900m. Despite being the highest, the gradient was an average of 3-4% so it was a pleasant climb.
The other two climbs were not as high but steep with some sections 15-20%.
As with previous experiences of Europe, the road surfaces were excellent, even in an area of mountains which appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. This nowhere though meant we were passed by about 5 cars in 5 hours of cycling.
The second climb was a quick decent down a steep sided valley followed by a steep climb up the other side and a nice shallow decent back to the village of Monchique.
Most of the day the heat was incredible (for a pasty Scotsman) at around 35-40 degrees so the cycling shirt was wide open and I was dripping in sweat. The open shirtedness had its downside though on the last climb, the hardest of the day (long and steep) when a wasp flew in the opening and stung me a few times on a section of climb at 15%.
The decent and final section of the route was fantastic, long and and good road surfaces. It was like cycling into a hair dryer with the heat at its maximum and by the bottom of the hill I was bone dry and covered in salt lines.
We only covered 50 miles but it included over 1700m of climbing.
I really enjoyed a part of Portugal I have never seen before with a great tour guide to show me some amazing cycling roads.
Next years holiday is booked already in Mallorca (Sa Calobra here we come) but I definitely hope to be back cycling here one day.
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