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Bloody liar, your wife did that ..................

There's not shit in this town; the hotel and a few small tiendas, not even a fuel station. Might be a problem later....

After my previous solo ride to Tras os Montes, Sofia had a few days to get away from being a vet and felt like going and checking the place out too, so that's what we did. Tras os Montes is sadly ignored by most tourists and even most portuguese tourists don't know the place. On one side this is bad, on the other it's very cool because it's a land of harsh climates, harsh landscape (that I've been told sometimes looks like Scotland), and authentic people and places, a lot of this is usually lost with bigger volume tourism. The aim was to go north, spend a couple of days at my parent's to keep my dog company, and then head north and inland in search of amazing old landscapes and good rustic meals. Tras os Montes reminds me of a time of kings, with it's abundant sweet chestnut trees, old castles, and stone walls that endure time. First, starting from the south / center of Portugal: I set of from my home near Lisbon on a monday morning, the sun was out and the day was to be sunny and plenty warm. I was early getting out, had already cleaned my place the day before so after taking out the trash the blinds were shut and the place left until my next stay. When I see that house closed I better leave quick or my emotional side takes over and I end up staying a few days more. I take only small roads, after a while I stop by a dam for breakfast at a cafe and a few work calls to get a few issues done for the day: Quickly made a friend, that abandoned her owner and came to check out my last bit of toast: Arrived at Constancia, quaint small town by the Tejo river with the claim of fame that very important historic poet Luis de Camões once lived here for a while. I stopped, had an espresso, and proceeded to wait for @Sofia, at the time setting off from Ericeira via motorways to catch up, she made it in illegally quick fashion but still gave me an hour to sit around watching country town life unfold. Posto de Turismo is where you get information about museums, tour guides, etc, and it's set up in the old jail house. Cool stuff, I did go up there to see the inside but it was closed. The sky was amazingly blue, and the warmth was arriving, it was supposed to be 30º that day. A contrast to the following days. At almost midday, Sofia arrived after her motorway blast, ready to take off a layer or two of warm clothing, and head into smaller slower roads heading up through the center of Portugal. We managed to eat a cheese and ham toast for lunch, which was a pleasant surprise, and continued north through dense forrests, here starting to look back from the first noticeable hills Not many pictures were taken, here's another friend that popped up while stopped for refreshments: Pampilhosa da Serra, roads around here are just underrated, this is hill and forrest country and the roads just seem to be well maintained, and fun enough to enjoy in all sorts of bikes. We stopped at a lookout over the town for a breath, and for me to think of the following roads. We had already settled on a historic hotel for the night so the general destination was set, just not the specific road to get there. I struck a pose: Brief stop at Gois, where I frequently get lost and exit on the wrong direction. Gois hosts Portugal's second biggest bike rally, after Faro. This is more of a portuguese thing, deep in the center of the country and away from touristy Algarve beaches. As we approach our hotel, which is deep in a forrest nature park, I stop for a bucolic pee and to enjoy the coolness the dense forest provides after a warm day on the bike. We park the bikes for the night, and quickly have a shower in time for a stroll around the property. Hour hotel is Palacio do Bussaco, a proper palace built for a real king. Rooms are run down and severely overvalued, but the building itself is amazingly characterful and the gardens and special forest around it are breathtaking. I never heard so many bees around, flowers are in bloom but we were later on having a glass of wine outside and you could hear the millions of bees in the background, like if a distant natural white noise. Sofia knows all about the story of the place, I am a little bit more of a simpleton and just enjoy the trees and birds and some (overpriced) wine. After a lovely dinner, we enjoy a walk around the gardens (like you do), before turning in. Tomorrow I have mountains and twisty roads planned! Before checking out, we walk a little around the forrest / garden surrounding the hotel, I learn that we have a special kind of cedar that only exists in this place. Cool stuff! ced Adequate parking location for the GS, although to be fair if I had my choice I would have left it under cover. I think the artisans that sculpted those pillars wouldn't have minded. From Bussaco and Luso, we set of to Serra do Caramulo for a coffee, some amazingly twisty roads up the hill have Sofia in a good mood after a little more than an hour to get there. Again, we set off, down the other side of Serra do Caramulo, and up Serra da Arada, we ride up a road I used to be very familiar with back when I used to race up here on the Transalp almost every weekend. The road twists up the hill with gravel and dirt thrown in on some bends, luckily for the Speed Triple it was better kept now but still a little out of spec for the sports bike like chassis of that bike. I forgot how harsh that road was, but it does make up for it with amazing views once you make it up there. BOTM: We ride through a few Serras, heading north, and I really put the Speed Triple and Sofia through some harsh roads, temperatures also reach 29º which doesn't bother me much but we were going slowly and it taxes you. A brief stop with a view After a longish day we reach the Douro river, which is just 40 minutes away from my parents' place. We take a breath of fresh riverside air. My dad was called in for a surprise visit to the doctor in Lisbon, so we made a two day stop in Espinho to hang out with Costa while they went away. It was a cool time, Costa went on nice walks, plus visited the local Honda and Ducati dealerships. I fired up the coals and made dinner. Roasted chorizo for starters, and beef chop. Time to get Sofia used to northern cooking. Next, we head north to Tras os Montes, in search of epic landscapes. Will continue later today.

Rooms definitely have the old west feel to them. And old cowboy chaps on the wall...

Always have the feeling I'm being watched here though ....

Headed for the small bar for beers and tequila. Good beers on tap. Scallops for me for dinner - perfectly done !

The hotel is pretty cool - nice rooms and nice grounds....

450 miles later and we're in Marathon. More importantly, we're in the heat! 75F / 24C and sunny. Landed at out hotel - a 100 year old building that a rancher built as a place to have meetings. We are staying outside of the main building in a place with a nice courtyard

And I did too......lifting my Top Box!

Llangattock

Definite on the BOTM, one each. On the other hand, this photo is gorgeous, any chance you could have wheeled a bike into shot?

Get yourself an inferred camera so you can see it coming next time

Saw these down the dump, they were dropped off anonymously

Glad they were dropped off. Now maybe they can be recycled into something useful like a umbrella stand.

On the road to Marathon, TX - eating at only the finest fuel stations. Actually, there is nothing else to eat. Miles and miles of desert crossing today///

All it needs now is a trailer.......!

Fire and ice.

It was his wallet that did it.

Rolling tarmac more like Pedro most of the local stuff is short rocky or muddy tracks everything in-between is narrow country lanes. like this kind of stuff But we also have a lot of this as well which i enjoy riding as much as the dirt tracks and sometimes more https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5584811,-3.6372126,3a,75y,342.8h,85.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scp8XPNpLU0eyhR6BZT4jJg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Getting old is shit! And being old is even worse!

I'm not staying in Amsterdam......just flying in there. Then getting a train to Groningen!

that's the one so far.

Just booked the flight to The Netherlands for my boy's wedding in July!

Nope - retractable claws

Reg comes back as a black HD, tax and MOT expired.

A few pics of the grounds....

Now that's a serious Top Box!

You really have got to wonder about politics when someone who is totally bereft of any common sense (like she is ) can get so far. It baffles me completely .............

I was going to make some comment about trailer trash, but I saw your excavator joke and I can't bring myself to do it now.

Bless you. Hay fever?

I've never stopped, just don't ride as often anymore because of underlying health problems.

Pepe Le Pew was French wasn't he?

To be fair, I can only see two of the wheels.

Time to take the forum to the next level.

When are you going to set fire to it?

Few more o f the Big Texan. Couple eating the 72 oz. steak challenge; if you can eat it all in an hour, it's free. Probably make ya shit like a baboon for week though........

@Six30 would.

As you say.....it's to get tea bags! Not to fucking socialise!