Ericeira and back

[Pedro]

First of all, most pictures were taken just for you guys, didn't feel like stopping at all 

My home is about one and a half  to two hours away from Sofia's, if I take small scenic roads. A little tired of being alone by myself I offered to visit and cook dinner, we were to meet halfway for a coffee. As I ride off the weather is looking a little much like not-summer.

We were to meet at my cafe of choice for going to have something on the bike, it's located in Serra de Montejunto, which is what divides inland weather from coastal weather, going there on the extreme summertime provides me with easy relief from the summer heat. 

 

Riding into a very low cloud 

 

A few minutes after I arrive, she does too:

 

Thinking of wether to ride straight back or not, it starts to rain heavily so I choose to have a nice hot toast and coffee in the dry and heated cafe. After, I put my padded winter mid layer on and plastic rain overpants, in June , to go to Ericeira.

Ride there was wet with roads covered in mud and grime, I followed Sofia as she was breaking in her brand new Pirelli Supercorsas in less than ideal conditions   

In Ericeira she went straight to work and I went for a warm shower instead , before visiting her current patients, that were born not long ago and now getting a feel for chewable food:

They're rather more interested in playing and exploring than eating:

 

Dinner was prepared by me, and consisted of tinned sardines cooked in paprika and turmeric seasoned onions and tomato, African inspired, it tastes a lot better than it sounds, and was served on toast on top of goat's fresh cheese. 

 

Too much wine was consumed so the next day I slept a little later with her dog for company, also lazily taking some effort to get up:

Instead of riding back home, on friday I did a little ride around the area, successfully avoided more than a few rain drops, and managed one single picture of the entire thing, stopped for refreshment:

Today, weather is glorious in sunny Ericeira, so had breakfast at a street side cafe and took my sweet time walking around before riding back home.

 

Riding back, I used countryside roads to head home, crossing the Lisbon wine area without taking any pictures as basically whenever I though of doing so the pretty landscape had already passed 

 

Stopped for a cafe at lunch time back at the same hilltop cafe, but since it was almost empty I decided to stay for lunch. Had a nice burger, cooked while both other bikes there idled away for 15 minutes, some people must really worry about riding off on a not hot engine. They proceeded to stop 1 km away for almost another hour 

 

Burger was not worthy of a picture. Going back down the hill on the other side, almost home

 

A brief stop for urination purposes was made a lot better by pissing with a view:

 

Arrived back home with a terribly dirty bike to a dark and moody sky. Might even wash the bike once it has properly cooled off, if it doesn't rain.

[Sofia]

Great ridding, great food ( Gordon Ramsay move over, @Pedro is in the house! ) great wine and great company, bikers will be bikers! Thank you Pedro!!  

[boboneleg]

Excellent Pedro, lovely back roads, great coastal scenery and who doesn't love a cute kitten

[MooN]

nice pics pedro nearly all the ingredients of a top ride report. Only thing missing is Burgundy... 

 

[Pedro]

4 minutes ago, MooN said:

nice pics pedro nearly all the ingredients of a top ride report. Only thing missing is Burgundy... 

 

Got to hand it to you, when you’re right, you’re right!

[XTreme]

Brilliant @Pedro

I love those little cobbled streets with the blue houses!

That's Ericeira is it?

[Pedro]

28 minutes ago, XTreme said:

That's Ericeira is it?

Correct, it’s one of Portugal’s prettiest 20 towns, I think.

you just spend two days here, Pete, and I’ll show you a little tour with those blue houses, nice eating, nice drinking, and some nice roads, and you’ll be able to show these portuguese twats (that warm bikes up forever in 20 degrees) what styling and profiling really means!

[XTreme]

I just had a look at house prices there......bloody expensive!

Is it an upmarket type of area?

[Pedro]

Ericeira? Yes, very much upmarket and very overpriced, it's very pretty as well and worth a visit. It's one of europe's surfing paradises and it´s near Lisbon, and also where Lisbon's wealthy intelectual or political families have been keeping weekend homes since forever.

I get a kick out of being out of place there, being from the north and foul mouthed and sticking like a sore thumb amongst southern twats or foreign surfers. But it's a very pretty place, with a very chilled vibe on week days, and I wouldn't say no to a small place with a garage there.

[XTreme]

12 minutes ago, Pedro said:

Ericeira? Yes, very much upmarket and very overpriced, it's very pretty as well and worth a visit. It's one of europe's surfing paradises and it´s near Lisbon, and also where Lisbon's wealthy intelectual or political families have been keeping weekend homes since forever.

I get a kick out of being out of place there, being from the north and foul mouthed and sticking like a sore thumb amongst southern twats or foreign surfers. But it's a very pretty place, with a very chilled vibe on week days, and I wouldn't say no to a small place with a garage there.

Is the north considered the poor relation then......like Andalucia is here?

[Pedro]

North is old money and industry, blue colar and foul mouth people that are honest and down to earth, south is finance and banking more than industry, overpaid people that spend too much on superfluous shit and end up being broke next to their relatives up north that get paid half as much but live better. North is better wine for less money, south is overpriced cocktails. North is in your face hard truth versus south being backstabbing sweet talking ponces, you get the gist of it.

 

PS: I'm from the north, so this is my disclaimer for considering my opinion above

[Sofia]

17 hours ago, Pedro said:

North is old money and industry, blue colar and foul mouth people that are honest and down to earth, south is finance and banking more than industry, overpaid people that spend too much on superfluous shit and end up being broke next to their relatives up north that get paid half as much but live better. North is better wine for less money, south is overpriced cocktails. North is in your face hard truth versus south being backstabbing sweet talking ponces, you get the gist of it.

 

PS: I'm from the north, so this is my disclaimer for considering my opinion above

Pretty accurate! 

[Sofia]

17 hours ago, Pedro said:

Ericeira? Yes, very much upmarket and very overpriced, it's very pretty as well and worth a visit. It's one of europe's surfing paradises and it´s near Lisbon, and also where Lisbon's wealthy intelectual or political families have been keeping weekend homes since forever.

I get a kick out of being out of place there, being from the north and foul mouthed and sticking like a sore thumb amongst southern twats or foreign surfers. But it's a very pretty place, with a very chilled vibe on week days, and I wouldn't say no to a small place with a garage there.

 Ericeira is the only World Surf Reserve in Europe. It is a very special place for many reasons, but above all has a special energy. One can compare it to St Ives or Padstow. 

 

Rich Northen European Retirees discouvered it ( helped by the Non Habitual Resident status ) and started buying houses like mad, so a place that has always been above average regarding house prices, became ultra expensive. It was never cheap, its a little bit like Isle de Rè in France, but now its crazy. Not even Corona brought the prices down. 

Still, if you fancy holiday here I can help and @Pedro can be your guide!