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A short ride near home, old churches, cemeteries, abandoned palace, etc

Had the whole day to myself and nothing really to do, weather is warming up but at the same time woke up to a very windy morning. Not wanting to go on a big ride, I decided to go and explore an area close to home with which I was not familiar at all. First a stop by the Dainese shop to research on my next winter jacket, and a little expresso as you do Continued on and stopped near some horses to check navigation. They were mostly very young and mares, some of them still looked pregnant. As soon as I shut the bike down they got curious After a few words they came to say hello from up close, some of the mothers not letting the little ones explore their curiosity It's a nice road, the N114 between Santarém and Rio Maior, check google maps if you want Got off the main road and did a little detour to visit Azambujeira: Azambujeira is a really old village, it was started in 1633 and was head of the municipality until 1836. By 1836 the council was merged with Rio Maior which is a proper big town. Azambujeira has been refreshed and is kept in pristine condition, which is nice to see in an area with sometimes forgotten villages and decaying places. The house of an old important lord, rebuilt and kept looking original, now a small museum, it was closed The Junta de Freguesia is the equivalent to the town hall for small villages, next to it there's a memorial to fallen men from here that died overseas in the colonial war, big numbers for a small town. It's a small unassuming place but having such clean houses and long history, it was a pleasure to visit. Thinking of @yen_powell, I decided to check out the cemetery before leaving. It was next to a field with old cars that makes you think time has stood still since the 70s: I suppose it must only open on weekends: Painter was probably thinking Jesus hit the gym a lot, the Romans couldn't believe how ripped he was as he came back to life Back on the road for not more than 5km and I stop again, this time to see a special looking church. This tower was built by moors at an uncertain time, estimated around 1100, next to which the church was built while at the same time not really absorbing it but instead helping to preserve it. I like that, it's a cool place to visit. Continuing with the theme, I checked the cemetery, it is something I usually don't do but it was just there behind the tower. Somehow I went from not really caring about taking pictures for a ride report of a little ride near home to full on ride report mode The writing on one of the above picture's graves, with the flower closer to the bottom right of the picture reminded me that a cemetery is not just another touristy location and brought spirits to a more serious note, it says: "here sleeps the eternal sleep the little boy Luis Miguel dos Santos Silva, born 10.3.1973 and passed 20.3.1977, the next poem rhymes in Portuguese: dear son of my soul, your body I come to visit, you suffered so much in the world, and I couldn't save you." After a sobering moment I went back to the bike. By now I was a bit hungry and looking for a spot to have lunch, took a GS'y road heading for another little village, this one with a couple of open eateries Parked in the shade in a place that seems to be preparing for popular festivities, and sat outside after ordering a steak. Lunch was a real surprise, I was hoping for a simple pork sandwich or something simple like that but the day's special was "alcatra" steak with pepper sauce. I just looked it up because I am considerate like that and you call it rump steak in English, it turned out to be an amazing meal, with some local olives to start, a good steak with some delicious whiskey and pepper sauce, and the best chips I remember eating. The people managing the place were super friendly, and I'll surely come back often. After lunch I had a short walk around the village centre. Heading out towards home with another stop on the way. It was starting to get a little warm at almost 2pm. not more than 15 minutes later, stopped at Manique do Intendente to look at a decaying palace. The Palace of Pina Manique has an interesting story as it was never finished. On the center you see a chapel that is the only really finished part of it. Pina Manique is the name of the Intendente who planned on building and started with it in 1773. An Intendente is a sort of representative to the king, that acts on the king's behalf sorting all kinds of matters. When Diogo Inácio de Pina Manique's career went wrong and he no longer was the king's Intendente he ran out of funds to build it, and that was it. The rest of the town kind of echoes that mood too. Current inhabitants of the palace are mostly pigeons, plus some lost soul that probably uses an old mattress I spotted inside next to a couple of chairs. Moving off I stopped by a nature reserve, there is no big river flowing through but a series of small streams create this series of ponds that were used for ages as a means of flooding farming fields thus making them good for farming in a place with typically dry weather. It's very rich on wildlife, mainly birds, but the current draught isn't being kind to the Paúl de Manique do Intendente: It has looked like this: Let's hope for plenty of rain in the winter and a more uplifting visit next year... the entrance to it is looking properly sad and abandoned, I guess that's one way to keep the wildlife unbothered Overall, I think I never got more than 30 or 40 minutes away from home and still managed to see new cool places and act a little like I was on tour. Good surprising little ride. Coming back home I stopped by the supermarket for fruit, and got home to a little bit more warmth at around 30 or 32º but with a lot of wind and a strong smell of smoke, as I write this report the skies slowly turned and revealed that what I smelled was a little more than a little fire.

September 5, 2022

5 points

Grubby chic

My old bike which my mate part exed on Monday for a 2016 Triumph 800 Tiger. Apparently they must be new discs (they aren't).

August 17, 2022

4 points

A photo you took today.................

KILL IT.....KILL IT WITH FIRE!

August 17, 2022

4 points

Continental Recalls 68,770 Tires Including TKC 80, ContiGo!, K62 and LB

the TKC70 I have now are not mentioned in this article, but just to be safe and after reading this about tire oils I just went and gave them a good soaking with some oil I had laying around. 10w60 oil, good stuff! Should be good to go another few thousand miles!