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Continue reading →: Back in the saddleI’m in recovery. From a head-cold and a bad case of the winter doldrums – as far as exercise goes. I’ve kept busy in the workshop over the months since Christmas, but the bikes have hardly seen the light of day. Today I cycled to the university and Sports Village.…
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Continue reading →: What Traffic Fumes Do to Our Children
Should cars have etched into their windscreens the message that “Driving may seriously damage our health” just like cigarette packs carry the same message? I suspect it is becoming ever clearer that they do. I gave the bikes their spring clean and fettle this week. Just in time it…
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Continue reading →: Loulé to Armação de PêraWe have two usual routes between these two towns. The more taken by us takes us into the hills via Paderne. The alternative is south to Quarteira, then west through Vilamoura, AlfaMar, Albufeira, and Pera. This time, with a nice tailwind from the East promised, we decided for the latter…
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Continue reading →: Almodôvar to Loulé – heroes!Well this will sound boastful, but after yesterday’s tribulations today we were heroes. 60K, Category 5, 4 and 2 climbs, the last mentioned over 14k long and at points over 8% gradient in 25 degrees of heat, two dog attacks and we did not put a single pedal-stroke wrong, finishing…
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Continue reading →: Mértola to Almodôvar – tough goingWe knew in advance this was going to be a day of climbing: we had checked out the elevation gain and climbs on Map My Ride, but so how it still caught us out. We both suffered like dogs on the road. Perhaps it was the heat or the humidity.…
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Continue reading →: Beja to Mértola – perfecto!We rode out of Beja with gloves and cycle kit still soggy from the day before, despite all Jacqui’s attempts to dry them overnight. However, the early morning sun promised a better day. Half an hour into the run we were riding in bright sunshine and a warm, steady and…
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Continue reading →: Viana to Beja – rain!We headed off aware that we were threatened with a day of rain. In fact we were into the last 8k of our 50k run to Beja before the rain found us. In fact we rather found it as it was waiting over the city for us to arrive. Before…
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Continue reading →: Évora to Viana do AlentajoThis was a short, but enjoyable ride that brought us to our Tourismo Rural in short order – except, of course, we could not find it. The ride was typical – reasonably flat, but with long rolling hills up and down. Again we were in cork, vine and olive country,…
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Continue reading →: Lisbon – tourist daysOur plans had always included three days in Lisbon with family. We had thought we would cycle in and out of the city. After researching it we decided there was no point. We would not cycle in the city, so why fight our way in and out? We decided to…
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Continue reading →: Évora – rest dayI am always unsettled by transition days when we move from being cycle-tourers to tourists and vice versa. Today was no different. After the euphoria of our fast – for us – run from Torráo to Évora yesterday, we had to adjust to late rises, leisurely breakfasts, strolling the Sunday…
Hello,
I’m Norman
Welcome along! Enjoy a rummage through my bin-end ramblings on all things bicycle.
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