Leaderboard

Just another young buck....who resides @ Wallowa lake...

War with Russia!!!!.... General Cheeseburger - from the good old US of A. to the rescue!!

owns a glide ... calls another bike ugly

The next day we wake up, put up with an annoying hostess yet a little more and have a pretty mediocre breakfast. The simple but tasty bread rolls from the north replaced with a pretentious person serving tasteless crap. I gave the bikes a wipe to get rid of the most apparent muddy rain drops from the previous afternoon's rain, and we set off, stopping in Rosmaninhal to sort out a navigational miscommunication, and again Sofia finds herself making another friend The tiny municipal road from Rosmaninhal through Tegueiro to Segura is only 25km but it's amazing, and I love it. It's quite narrow so that an average light truck doesn't leave much space for anything else, but it's nice tarmac, often broken in places, with patches of dirt and broken road thrown in. If there was to be a road for trail bikes or supermotos this would be it. I could spend an afternoon riding back and forward there The views couldn't be more different to the previous days' locations up in Trás os Montes and High Douro: Extreme heat and overloaded trucks will do this to tarmac. We got to Segura safe and sound, and went to take a look at the Rio Erges, that's Spain on the other side of the water We started by heading back on the same lovely road we came in before, and I tried to stop for a picture in similar style to the one I took the first time I was there, except the first time I was by myself and at 40º, today with Sofia it was about 18 or 20º and about to rain. I like these worn out by time road marks. Stopped at Nisa for a lunch snack, and Sofia was delighted and envious that the local vet has a parking place reserved for his clients' This Roman bridge has been abandoned from use, but clearly strong enough to handle any load, it's just that the modern two lane road built 50 meters to the side doesn't suit it anymore. It's a shame. The plan was to go home to Ericeira from there, but plans change and instead we made way to Estremoz and then Alter do Chão to sleep in a lovely little hotel built in an old monastery. I ´ve put pictures of all these places before, and sadly took none this time. Dinner in a tiny cafe in Alentejo made up for the previous night's disgrace with a wonderful typical treat, no pictures of that either as the phone was left in the room. Bikes slept soundly inside an old warehouse belonging to the monastery, and after a later than ideal breakfast we were off to go home to the coast. No motorways were meant to be taken, and we did just that. Rode through lovely Alentejo plains and oaks It was starting to warm up when we stopped in Avis for a coffee and a look around: Tiny roads turned to 5 or 6km of dirt road, I had been through there before but I never remember what the surface is like unless it's properly dreadful. Sofia didn't back off and the Speed Triple sailed through smoothly, stopping halfway to look at a stream As we approached Lisbon, we started seeing a lot of bikes, and a lot of foreign ones too. On a short stop we met with some Welsh bikers returning home from watching the Superbikes at the Estoril (Lisbon area). They were riding back to Santander via inner roads, and seemed to be enjoying it immensely, in their late 60s or mid 70s. Someone got really happy from talking to UK people After that, we rode home almost non stop, it was the end of a nice few days mostly filled with wonderful northern Portuguese scenery.

Continuing, we woke up to a warm morning in Freixo de Espada à Cinta, stopped by the local pharmacy for some chapstick, I wanted to get some more potent anti histaminic nasal spray but there's nothing stronger than what I got. One thing that bothered me a bit over the previous days were my polen allergies, whenever we went near blooming olive trees or some kinds of fields it hits hard. 20 or 30 minutes North of where we started, along the N221, we take a detour to Mazouco, and ride down to the riverside to check something quite special. After a short walk down a narrow path leading right next to the water, we find the Cavalo de Mazouco. The engraving of this horse, or probably mare, is probably Europe's oldest open air art work. It's over 10.000 years old and only really noticed by the general public in the 70s. Back then the water level was lower, too. Quite the view, at the little horse's place After a few minutes taking in the sights, with the grey overcast skies kind of ruining the pictures, we made way north, again another 20 or 30 minutes to another view point via back roads: After a km or so of nice smooth dirt road, we reach one of the highlights of the trip, the Carrascalinhos Viewpoint at Fornos. It was impressive both for it's views over the river, but more so because of the number of Vultures and Griffons we saw, never had I seen so many in one place. At over 2 meters wingspan they are impressive when they fly near you. The shadow they cast is like one of a small airplane, we stayed for a while. My phone doesn't make them justice, but here it goes anyway. Being sat on a rock for a while, bugs almost instantly started crawling over me, like this weirdly colored beetle and a tiny caterpillar that was put back onto some vegetation. Next to Penedo Durão, the viewpoint of Carrascalinho is the other obligatory stop if you're passing by this area. The N221 from Miranda do Douro all the way to Barca de Alva a must, with all it's little detours. We headed north yet again, getting out of the more hilly Douro and towards a more typical Trás os Montes landscape, a hilly Altiplano with huge rocks thrown all over the place. Another stop at Bemposta, this time for lunch. We had a little look over the viewpoint, surrounded by houses appearing to be older than time, and stopped at a local café. I wanted Sofia to be amongst the locals so we went somewhere with a few construction trucks parked in front, the accent they speak with here is incredibly different to what Sofia is used to in the Lisbon area it's funny. In fact, Miranda do Douro has it's own language, called Mirandês, with it 's own vocabulary and taught as a second language in the area. In some villages, it is still a first language amongst older people. Hearty portions in this part of the country, I went inside to order and the girl was a little shocked that both of us would share a portion. I have no pictures of said food, but we left with a full stomach. Had a few laughs with the guys there, and were ready for a full afternoon. Half an hour of riding, and another stop, this time at the preserved village of Picote. The place has been meticulously restored and was a pleasure to walk through, even the fields' entries were nice, this didn't really feel like Portugal as it's usually a bit rougher. A great place to see and maybe next time a sleepover location. It was getting proper hot though, at maybe 33 or 35º. Quite fun to see all the signs in Mirandês instead of Portuguese. Eventually, we rode off and arrived at Miranda do Douro, parked in the old town next to a shiny scooter and went to buy some souvenirs. Miranda do Douro is a lovely place, I shall stay longer next time. From Miranda do Douro we went to Paradela, just a 15 or 20 minute ride but it's the place where the river enters Portugal, we went and visited the northernmost place in this trip. Getting there it was proper hot, so stopped for an icecream, some water and a coffee at a local country style café. Sofia made a sensation with the café owner and her mother. They have family everywhere, near where I'm from, where Sofia lives, all over Portugal, and took great pride in showing off her husband's ZZR1100 on top of which they went to France and toured around a few years ago. Northern hospitality: We left the Speed Triple behind and rode the 4 or 5km dirt road to the last Douro lookout on the GS. It was quite hot and dusty, the loose gravel wouldn't have been much fun on the Triumph. A nice place to visit. The dam in the picture above is still in the spanish side, flowing over a trickle of water it might or might not be one of the reasons much of the north is in a draught currently. We said goodbye to the border and rode heading to Alfandega da Fé. The weather was quite hot but threatening to rain, progress now was faster and the roads allowed a constant speed over 100kmh to be easily done. Quick stop to take a picture of an ancient harvester, just casually parked in the middle of a field: A quick stop in Vimioso to figure out where to sleep, and realize the landscape had changed dramatically in only a few kms We rode into Morais at around 19:00 I think, after a long day of short rides and amazing scenery. The surprise heat wave made it a little harder than it had to be, but all was cool. Morais is a tiny town and we were to sleep in a small place, the owner showed up to get paid for the room and left us to ourselves, being the only guests and breakfast available on the café across the street we should just close the door behind us in the morning. The bikes splept outside and the big GS made sure the Triumph couldn't be messed with. A little walk around before dinner looking for an ATM, revealed Sr. Morais' old house, the town founder long gone and his place is left there waiting for someone to do something with it. We had dinner in a small bbq place, inside as the mosquitoes were relentless outside. We stayed in and drank cold wine and chatted almost till they were ready to close up. 11PM in Morais on a weekday, nothing really goes on: After a nice day with amazing scenery, a tasty dinner, we slept soundly.

Heh heh. Well actually it has the top of the line DID chain on it, as sold to me my the MV Agusta salesman, after wiping some of his dinner off his chin (it was about 8pm or something), and then fitted in the morning in factory style with hard rivet link. That chain isn't going anywhere. And actually I gave beer away in Belgium to bloke from the Belg version of the RAC, who left me a can of carb cleaner after trying nearly every hotel in whatever part of Belgium we were, oh and going to buy some spark plugs. The issue was a dodgy ground point which had been painted, it worked, just, but not in the rain. Since then it's been stripped and powder coated... Buuutt I don't think I'll bother. I've got something much worse to test instead.

If you're coming on that, please break a habit of a lifetime and check your chain. maybe clean and lubricate it too. (just for the hell of it) Another broken chain and then having to leave you behind at some random Belgian service station, due to another unrelated show stopping problem. is more than my nerves can stand. And I don't care if you only did it for free beer and sympathy at the Beilsturm... and more sympathy and free beer from some Belgian local. Its the principal of the thing. (not the lack of it)

Yes he was a nob. On the back foot instantly, when I wasn't exactly on the front foot at all, and wasn't even asking for all the money back when they said they can't do it. Thanks to the nice bloke that did actually sort it for me though (he only lives round the corner from me, not sure if he recognised me like). Went back for the wheel and it's sorted, not so hard . The 'orrible one didn't even acknowledge me, just kept swinging his hammer at some poor old lambretta, ah well. So, I can't officially file a grumble but it's nice to vent my displeasure on here. The place is just called "The Garage" I think, but the cafe is called Rev's Relic's and seems a nice little spot to be honest. Too close to home for me to have worked up a need for a coffee though.

just read that the purple helmets are throwing the towel in and this will be their last year

Well …

Thanks mate

This trip is going to be epic I can’t wait! It’ll be great to catch up Reggie

Somehow this thread reminds me of a barefoot shoemaker...

So you win?

Once, in Brazil, very drunkenly almost got one. Luckily my girlfriend at the time asked me not to. people sometimes assume I fell off the bike and it’s roadrash

Psoriasis

Waking up in Murça felt great, breakfast wasn't until 9AM so had plenty of time to get the stuff packed and cases on the bike like I like to do. Here is a little short clip of our balcony at 09:20, just before setting off, proper countryside soundtrack: Quick set off on the little N324 and we reached Mós quite quick, it's only a handful of kms till we saw the first viewpoint of the day at one of the many Saint Barbara Chapels, it was on top of a dirt road so instead of punishing the Speed Triple Sofia opted to ride on the back of my bike up there. Considering the terrain, it proved to be the right choice, too. The view from the top: A bush or tree growing on a split rock, I love stuff like this. We took our time there, I had an incredibly scenic piss and we carried on, took the M614 and shortly after we reached Pocinho. There was need for an expresso so the plan was to stop, but I got enchanted by the old train station and we took some pictures. The train still works using a more modern small building, but these two big wooden warehouses were from a time long gone when this region used to send most of its produce by train to Porto, mostly grapes and wine. They made for an interesting 20 minutes looking around Lots of flowers everywhere, you got to love the Douro! : So we stopped for a coffee with a view to the train station Half way through my cold water, I heard a diesel engine running on the line and ran over the street for a quick video, just for Pete, the train spotter: After Pocinho, I got on one of my favourite stretches of road, basically you go on a map and find find Poucinho or Vila Nova de Foz Coa, and get on the road following the river inwards into the general direction of Freixo de Espada à Cinta. We rode for a few kms before another stop, Sofia started getting a surge of calls and decided to stop in the shade to answer them. I kept myself occupied with taking a few pictures of a small High Douro village, "Peredo dos Castelhanos": Below, typical village scene, a 50kg Serra da Estrela shepherd dog comes home for lunch after giving me a friendly but still intimidating sideways look: And again we rode on, we didn't stop much for pictures of the road since Sofia was having such fun and I had already documented it in a previous trip, we rode to Freixo de Espada à Cinta, heading straight to Penedo Durão viewpoint for a snack. Penedo Durão is my favourite view in the whole of Portugal except for Sagres, there's a 900 meter drop to the river, with the spanish altiplano on the other side. Spain clearly the least favoured side of the river, as in other things.... We had a nice leftover bbq sandwich while looking at the Vultures and the Griffons and the hawks, I can spend hours there: A black vulture can go almost to 2,5 meters wing span, you can see it in the crappy iPhone picture below, just open it in your browser and zoom a little, it's an awe inspiring sight: As far as picnic locations go, it's hard to beat: I got soft, after a light lunch I started looking at the vultures and other birds, it was a surprise heat wave and approaching 36 or 37º. We stopped at Freixo de Espada à Cinta (Ash with a Sword tied to the Waist, LOL) for Speed Triple fuel, these inferior bikes have to fuel up everyday while mine is like a camel and can hold fuel for over a day's riding, anyways... as Sofia was fueling up her bike I moaned about it being hot and feeling like a stop in our friend Manuela's Inn for a dip in the pool and a nice dinner. It didn't take much convincing and I called in, after 5 minutes we were stopped for the day, bikes parked in the shade and me beelining to the pool: Is this hardcore motorcycling? No! Is this serious motorcycling? No! We did about 65 or 75 km that day, if that! It was properly enjoying the day! Before dinner and after a cold bottle of water and some nice orange juice and a nice soaking in the pool overlooking the Douro, we had a shower and I convinced myself it would be good to go for a walk to build up an apetite. I regretted as it's a hilly area and it was properly hot, regardless, here's a couple of pictures from our walk in Freixo de Espada à Cinta... We came back early, downed a bottle of cold water, and then had a bottle of Manuela's own production white wine, which is amazing, alongwith a nice dinner: It was a very short distance ridden that day, but high enjoyment and content. The next day would see more distance and more "Portugal", will post that tomorrow, maybe...

Possibly here, he has the same look on his face that I do when secretly piddling in the shallow end.

Some photos of Pedro doing Pedro things!

No shit. Anyone can make a mistake - just own up to it and rectify the problem when it's discovered. To just ignore it shows a whole 'nuther level of stupidity.

Here I fit mine at a proper tire place that I've used for cars and bikes since forever, and comes up to slightly more expensive than online prices, like 10 or 20€ per tire but that includes the full work, balancing, and valves. Similar prices in some BMW or Honda dealerships, too, about 10 or 20€ more expensive than the shop I use.

No actually. He'd just want to chase the hedgehogs and keep me up probably. I'm only testing what I'll be taking with me anyway , apart from the laptop to watch BSB from the weekend. Bike in for the MOT today. ... err. Wrong bike. Last minute discovery on the viffer yesterday night meant I couldn't take it for a test, so instead of cancelling again I took this old beast. It needs to go on eBay really. Or maybe one last trip? Look at it. Looks just right getting a bit of cheese and bread in for a little supper after a day tootling round alpine passes.

Your choice but I bet I'd do the same.

Day 1 -up at 2:30 am to get ready and the power is out. Heavy snow must have snapped a tree which fell into a powerline somewhere. So I get ready to go in the dark. Nice. I get out to the truck only to be greeted by 6" of new snow. Quick shovel of the steps and I load up and head out.......

happy belated late? yeah well I wasn't even invited to the party anyway was I...

Loaded and ready to roll early tomorrow morning. Going to leave in the dark so the neighbors don't see me driving a truck with a bike in the back. They'll think I'm a Harley rider or something....

Dead jellyfish on the rocks at Portmeirion, it was real shame