Thirty-eight years ago as we began our married life, we cycled out of Strafford, Vermont and began a year-long bicycling adventure traveling around the world. (The photo is from Nepal.) Then came another wonderful adventure -- children and careers. With children on their own and our careers behind us, we entered the next chapter, again with a bicycle adventure. That one was more modest, train trips across the country and five weeks on bikes from Los Angeles, CA to Portland, OR; but it greeted us with we good riding, great sights, and interesting people.

After two bicycle trips on the west coast, we tried something different. With an old dog along for the ride and a camper in the bed of the pickup, we set off for the desert southwest exploring national parks, enjoying daily cycling, and even playing a little golf.

In Spring, 2017, we decided on an international adventure. We landed in Lisbon, Portugal and rode a loop through Portugal and Spain and back to Lisbon. Once again, seeing the sights, meeting people, and pedaling 1600 miles were wonderful!

In March 2018 we left Maine after a big snow storm and headed to North Carolina for some warmth - we didn't find it. We went further south to SC - still didn't find it! But we did discover new places to cycle and explore!

It is now August 2023, kids are married with families of their own (five wonderful grandchildren) and we are off on another adventure! Our first stop will be Lily Bay State Park on August 13, then head north and west, across Canada and into Alaska driving and camping with bikes and a canoe. Here is the family, though missing Miles' wife, Baily.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Turning the corner

The trip down the Atlantic coast was wonderful!  We enjoyed a wicked tailwind, quiet roads, nice campsites, and great views of the coast. The south coast has been a bit of a different story: the roads are busier, a strong wind blew directly at us and cut our progress in half, we are rarely in view of the ocean, and the development and tourism infrastructure is overwhelming. The later was particularly disappointing for Dana, who had 40 year old memories of southern Portugal before it became a major vacation hub for Europeans and a winter home for expats.  The biking has been quite nice so far. We have been on many quiet roads with no shoulder, but not much traffic. When we have been on highways, there is usually a shoulder. The drivers seem very patient with bikers and wait for a clear place to pass us and give us a wide berth. The road surface is usually decent, and even when we are on little cobbles, they are fairly smooth. The south coast is hilly with some grades as much as 16 percent -- which is just too steep to cycle!!  We have been navigationally challenged a number of times.  We've spent too many hours searching for bike-friendly routes through cities, and our cycle mapping app has put us on some rough hiking trails that just can't be ridden.  The weather has been right around 70 in the day, high 50's at night, and sunny. Today is our first rainy day and it nicely coincided with a needed rest day in Albifeira, a beautiful coastal city. We do hope the wind will die down eventually! You'll notice the cobbled streets and plazas in some of the pictures. The designs are lovely and labor involved amazing! Portuguese is proving to be a challenging language. There are some similarities to Spanish, but then some real differences too.  We struggle with many of the consonant sounds. In the cities and tourist spots English is common.   Tomorrow we head for Fuzeta, a small fishing village just past the city of Faro. On Saturday, if all goes well, we will cross into Spain.   
 
Morning coffee in the tent
 
Espresso on the road
Sandwich for lunch...great bread
Images from Lagos:  
 
   
 
 
   
And one from Albufeira:  
   
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