The adventure begins

[emily_in_nc]

Hi Crankin ~~ I've been too busy for TE for awhile with all our travels so am just reading this thread now. I wouldn't like riding cobbles (or in the rain) either! I hope your last day ended up good. I guess even if the riding wasn't all you hoped for and that you weren't feeling 100%, but at least you are enjoying good food!

Hope your trip back to the US will be easy and uneventful. Safe travels!

[Crankin]

We had an awesome last day of riding. Definitely the most beautiful scenery, great weather, and I had no problems with the climb up to the castle where we are staying. It was hard, but, it's done. The cobbles were after the climb, on the descent into the parking lot. It was steep and very few rode down it, except for DH and a couple of others. Even walking down was challenging, as the cobbles were uneven. We are going into an area that is noted for ceramics in about an hour (in the van) and later for our last group dinner. We didn't actually ride right up to the border of Spain, but we can see it from here. Tomorrow they drive us back to Lisbon, where we are spending 2.5 more days. I am looking forward to that. It is a very cool city.
I will post a link to our pictures after DH culls the amount and puts them up, probably next week.
I would still recommend this trip to anyone. It was not as difficult as Spain, but the scenery wasn't as spectacular, either. Riding with Cycling Country feels like you are riding with a family, which you are. The down side was on this trip, we had a group of 6 from Colorado who were slightly cliquish. Not like when I went to the Czech Republic, though. And we have our friends with us this time. We don't spend every minute together, though.

[AppleTree]

Enjoyed reading about your adventures Crankin, can't wait to see the pictures of what you've described. Cobbles...yikes. Glad you enjoyed the tour, even though you were feeling a bit off, it's hard to bed happy happy when you are not feeling well...

[azfiddle]

Sounds really beautiful and I'm envious. Keep posting.

[Crankin]

Had an uneventful trip home, though Sata Airlines is a slightly below average airline... but it was the only non stop from Boston to Lisbon.
DH is working on the pics now, should be posted soon. Laundry is on, now to make grocery list. My kitchen has rarely been so bare.
I am feeling better today, but it is not all from being home. I just never rested once I got sick, before the trip; I led 3 rides, commuted 3-4 times, which in retrospect, was not a great idea. However, it probably helped with getting through the climbing. I've never been one who's much for "training," but I do think I should have tried riding more consecutive days in a row. I did ride 4 days in a row a couple of times, but some of those rides were my short commutes. I know I can always make it through on sheer mental toughness. I may not be the fastest, but I can do it. In fact, I was squarely in the mid range of ability on this trip, toward the top of the mid range. There was one couple that was very fast, along with my DH and our friend. However, except for part of one day, DH rode with me. DH is probably not as fast as this couple was, or at least he has no desire to bust his azz this way, for several days in a row. Next time, though, I think I will do a little more preparing.

[Pax]

Never made it to Portugal, but the pics I've seen show some very pretty countryside... looking forward to seeing yours.

[Crankin]

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2lnh56x3l...CW4E501Ga?dl=0


Here's a link to a few of our pics.