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Everything posted by Pedro
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Is there a kick start on it too?
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I was thinking exactly of that when I wrote it
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A close encounter to you?
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You ruined @Clive’s excitement!
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We have our top men on it
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Me too
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this is similar but huge, enough for 5 or 6 people to eat as a proper meal.
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Chorizo and cabbage rice Sofia's Gravlax: @Sofia went very English in the kitchen this last Christmas, some sort of pie with turkey and mushrooms inside. Plus some weird cake that was fed spirits for 2 months before being eaten. I did the artwork! Portuguese "king cake", traditional Christmas cake here. It's store bought, though. I don´t get pies, the whole thing of eating bread in a plate is a mystery to me. However, as far as pies goes this one was as perfect as can be. It had some sort of beef stew inside. And back to normal, a proper beef stew: The traditional peas, with chorizo and poached eggs inside:
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I'll start it off, the weather's gone ugly now so doubt I'll get a better one until the end of the month.
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It's not horizontal, nor on a ride. You're killing me here!
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Did you use a discount coupon?
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Is it a surprise that every month ends?
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To give all these bots something to look at, I've decided to open this a little earlier than normal. This is the picture submission for January Bike Of The Month. You get one entry, consisting of a horizontal picture of a bike you currently own, taken in January during a ride. You can post multiple pictures, I will consider the last one you post as final submission. By 29th January evening time, submissions will be closed and the poll started. For "anyone" that has a special picture taken on the last two days of December that they wish to submit, they're welcomed to it, although it is the lame move
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Are you going somewhere Clive?
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He had one, 3 years ago.
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I hear she’s spamming Elon about a ferry over to Mars
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Done, thank you for the warning. I was riding through a monsoon of epic proportions!
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We woke up with a clear plan, to show Sofia a part of Portugal she really didn't know and that I quite like, the coast between Tavira and Spain. We hopped on the motorway and went straight to Cancela Vella, a small village on top of an old fort overlooking the ocean. It's a very busy beach in the summer, but great in the winter. A short 5 minute ride away was an ideal spot for what would be a supreme lunch stop. We took our time and enjoyed the warm sun. Very typically, for the region, we had clams and sauteed cuttlefish. From there, we were almost too lazy to get back on the bikes as the location was so great. We went past Manta Rota and Monte Gordo, both locations that get flooded by thousands of families that take advantage of more or less reasonable prices and safe beaches for the kids. The sea here is usually warm and very quiet, not Mediterranean but very close, and since it takes forever the walk into it to get to a dangerous depth it's nice for families. We didn't stop until Vila Real de Santo António, where the Guadiana river serves as a natural border to Spain. That's Spain on the other side. And that's Portugal on the other side now: From there, we got back on the motorway and rode straight back home, about 1 hour or so, making it with plenty of time to relax before dinner. All this taking short trips and having lunch in the sun is very exhausting Next day, we rode a short 40 or 45 minutes to Silves, to visit the Algarve's most important castle. Al Gharb is the muslim name for this region of Southern Portugal, it went from that to Al Garbe, to modern Algarve. It was obviously moor and it's own kingdom right until the Silves castle was taken over by D. Sancho in 1189 and thus established the Portuguese mainland territory and borders that last until today. It's a region where Jews, Arabs and Christians used to live peacefully together, and sadly it's not very often that happens. This Arab influence is felt to this day in the Algarve, their food, their slight differences in mood and ways of being, etc. It's a well preserved castle, and it was cool to walk around it. The Arab influences were very obvious. Oranges are the main culture in this region, and Silves oranges are the sweetest there are. Here extra sweet in the form of cake , with a crumb being shared with a little friend. Lunch was a split portion of bbq pork slices, it was a lovely little trip with not much motorcycling involved but it was still a pleasure to be out on the bike in the sunshine. Sofia obviously took today off from the Speed Triple and rode pillion, seems it's much more practical to have a chauffeur on a GS to deal with mundane urban traffic, boring little streets, and going to the supermarket, and the Triumph is better enjoyed as a proper bike on nice roads with no traffic! That night we had João over for dinner, and many laughs were had, stories were told and wine was consumed. We had some grilled chicken take away which was terribly dry and a big disappointment, touristy shit, but we soldiered on. A big rain storm was supposed to arrive in two days, so the next morning was probably going to be the last sunny day for a week or two, we took that hint and headed back home, packed the bikes and said goodbye to our lovely home for a few days, very kindly lent to us by a friend. We left a little late to sort the place up and leave it tidied up and clean. First hour or so got us up high in the Algarve hills, where we stopped for the traditional morning espresso on a café frequently visited by bikers and cyclists as it's on the end of a lovely road with a nice view. Crossing over from the Algarve to Alentejo: the weather was great, the fields were green, storks everywhere, and spirits were high so i stopped for pictures An hour or two later, and we stopped at a café to eat something as Sofia was freezing as the weather was beautiful but cold. We had a couple of nice sandwiches, juice and water, two espressos, and warmed up in the sun. Total was 7,5€: it was good to find a little bit of old school Portugal As always, cats or dogs come to Sofia for pets And we're off: We got home just a little bit before sunset, it was an amazing day to be out on the bikes, low traffic, just the right amount of bikes out on a sunny saturday, warm sun but low temperatures, just nice. Yesterday the rains arrived, which proves we made the right choice, and today it's absolutely pouring down, it was nice to have spent those few days leisurely enjoying the Algarve at a slower pace than what I usually do.
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Next day we went for a walk. Had a nice breakfast outside and left on foot, after an hour or so made it to the beach for a cold refreshment. It's a very cool bar / restaurant with a great view of the ocean. We booked a table for dinner and walked off back home. Sofia went for a rest and I took the GS out for a wash that ended up making it look almost worse, and the Triumph for fueling up because I'm such a great guy. It was a lazy day, which is exactly what Sofia was looking for. The next day we went for lunch with João, he would take us to a very typical Algarvian restaurant, first meeting him in Faro by the market with a brief stop by the marina. We spotted a little 125cc Suzuki that looked very similar to Niel's 1000cc beast, this one even had a similarly slick looking front tire: Parked my bike next to the market side by side with a neglected looking but strong running Famel, fully made in Portugal with an engine built under license from Zundapp. Stickers were Faro MC, arguably Portugal's most important MC. Lunch took forever in true Portuguese style, coal grilled fish under some vines, I loved it! Sunset was watched by the sea, and it was very nice. Got back home in the cold, as temperatures plummet when the sky is this clear, minimum that night was 3 or 4ºC. It was very romantic. Next day, typical Portuguese motorcycling.
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We were sleeping near Albufeira, which is the most benidorm style place in Portugal, all sorts of Thai massage parlors, Curry restaurants, Irish pubs advertising premier league matches on the TV, all day long full English and "big boy full English breakfast", the pits! Gammons (Pete mode: on!) were dragging their knuckles crossing the street, etc I took Sofia around these roads, not really motorcycling greatness, but still interesting to see if you're from Portugal and don´t know this region. Albufeira, viewed from a not very flattering viewing point : Stopped by Alfufeira's Marina, and was surprised to see all the new houses, all these with bright colors were built after the last time I was here, back then (almost 20 years ago) it was just a proper Marina with almost nothing built near it. Now it's ugly as hell: Sofia was pillion on the GS today, not too keen on riding the Speed Triple on boring slow streets and almost urban style traffic. Another small beach, Olhos de Água: And another, access to these beaches is very crowded in the summer, can't park anywhere and it's an absolute chore to get here, unless you really are sleeping within walking distance or have a motorcycle: To end her exposure to the most british oriented part of Portuguese tourism, we ended the morning with a spot of lunch in Vilamoura's Marina. I enjoy a walk around a proper marina, although I do prefer a smaller one with a diverse more authentic sailboats from all around the world, the marina in Vilamoura is where I remember my parents sometimes bringing me and my brother for a walk after dinner when holidaying in the cheaper places around, we'd come here to posh things up Now it is less fancy and most of the shops and establishments have lost some class, but it's still a nice place to visit in the off season. The sun made an appearance so all was instantly looking better too. Getting in the spirit of it, we had lunch in Pizza Hut: After a little shopping for Sofia's birthday present, we carried on heading to a supermarket in search of supplies for the next few days, and in the spirit of the area I took her to Food & Co, which is a British enclave sort of supermarket . Everything inside is from the UK, all the staff is primarily an English speaker, and the groceries and food is completely not what you find in a Portuguese shop. The prices are adequately increased too, to make up for feeling at home while living away. We ended up buying almost nothing there, and moved on, back at home and had a quiet dinner by ourselves. Next morning, breakfast was had enjoying the great weather we were now having, still too cold to go in the swimming pool but it was very nice outside for the time of year. The morning was dispatched with no hurries, proper lazy style living. It was a saturday so I had no calls or work, and eventually we made it to Faro to meet a friend for a snack and talk, about 45 minutes away. Both him and Sofia are members of the Triumph Owners Club in Portugal so there was lots of talking about Triumphs and meetings and stuff. I used to spend a lot of time in the beach in Faro, and love coming here. It was an uneventful day, nice to just relax and sit down talking. Next day we went and met another friend of Sofia's, she lives in a very posh area near Faro, Vale do Lobo. Vale do Lobo is mostly villas with manicured gardens and quiet streets, it's more or less detached from reality and a retreat for people with money, property values there are quite expensive but end up being closed and empty for most of the year. We had a little snack with a view to the ocean, and Sofia and Sharon were very happy to spend time with each other. The next day, we set of to Tavira region, East of Faro, hoped on the motorway to get there in time for a late morning espresso, but first stopping in Santa Luzia. We stopped by a 2000 year old olive tree, it's quite impressive to think the same tree was alive though the Romans and Arabs. The weather was amazing. A brief stop by the sea, and someone went to some efforts for a BOTM attempt: Stop in Santa Luzia for a coffee and a little walk by the sea and to enjoy the great sunshine, even though it wasn't that warm. After a light snack in Cabanas de Tavira, we headed back home. Returning home was done the long way around via one of the nicest roads in Portugal. We crossed paths a herd of new Transalps and NC750, both groups coming the other way in quite tight formation. They were clearly journalists, and indeed I now heard they are launching these two new bikes here, if you check MCN or similar channels on YouTube you'll surely see these bikes being ridden there. The Algarve is being discovered by the motorcycling industry as having nice roads and nice weather most of the time. I will keep an eye out to see if we appear on any of these videos We stopped briefly, to enjoy the view from top of the hills. We stopped by the supermarket to buy some fish, and made it back home during an amazing sunset. Just in time for a shower and for our friend João to arrive with some nice wine in time for dinner.
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