Saturday trip to the south of Portugal

[Ghost_diver_imp]

This past Saturday two of my regular riding buddies and I decided on a day trip to the south of the country (a region called the Algarve) to enjoy the nice weather, the fresh grilled fish and a stretch of road that has some of the best twisties in Portugal.

The road itself, called the N2 (the Portuguese equivalent of Route 66), crosses the country from north to south, starting in Chaves and ending in Faro. This particular stretch, in case you want to look it up on google maps, runs from Almodovar to São Brás de Alportel, and is some 60 kms long, boasting more than 350 turns. It transverses the Caldeirão mountain range in the Algarve, which, in turn, is partly responsible for the warmer and drier climate in that region of Portugal.

We left Libon around 8:00 am, and after some 80 km of highway, exited to ride the secondary roads for the rest of the trip. We reached Faro around 1 pm, had lunch (all you can eat fresh grilled fish caught locally, plus some regional delicacies, for about €10 per person, not a bad deal at all), talked about the ride by the marina and, by around 3 pm, headed back.

All in all it was a 640 km round trip, and we got home by around 8 pm.

Just as a caveat, our wives regularly ride pillion with us, but none of them could make this particular trip, which may explain the more, ahem, "spirited" ride. That, and the "official" video.



http://youtu.be/0mTq0piy7Q4

[Cormanus]

Great work with the video, Ghost_diver! Those roads look excellent for a ride. I was surprised by how little traffic there was. And what a glorious day.

[Ghost_diver_imp]

Great work with the video, Ghost_diver! Those roads look excellent for a ride. I was surprised by how little traffic there was. And what a glorious day.

Thanks!

The road has a nearly parallel highway close by, and the cars prefer that route to all the mountain twists and turns. All the more for us!

[Pterodactyl_imp]

Great work to show us a great ride. Thanks.

Cheers

[the Ferret]

that was great. Had me cracking up.. Village people...Chuck....Steven....Bruce...Ahhnold... and really cool motorcycles and roads all in one video. Well done

[Ghost_diver_imp]

Thanks all.

The wives shouldn't really leave us to our own devices...

[Cormanus]

Ghost_rider, this comment runs the risk of being lost in translation but, if I were your wife—which I'm not because I'm the wrong gender—but, if I were, I'd be pretty worried if I discovered your fascination with the Village People.

[Ghost_diver_imp]

Ghost_rider, this comment runs the risk of being lost in translation but, if I were your wife—which I'm not because I'm the wrong gender—but, if I were, I'd be pretty worried if I discovered your fascination with the Village People.

I think she knows it was momentary fascination and nothing more.

[Cormanus]

I would have expected nothing less!