Sofia

The pump is real, thats for sure!

True, very true!!

Too many cars on my picture...

Great minds think a like!! Epic everything.

Nasty crash....

Its a custard tart! @Pedrocan explain better

Maybe he does, how do you know he doesn't?!

I can very well want that, but it ain't happening!!

Yes, 650 I think. The owner is my customer and rides that thing like he stole it!! He is a cross of hipster with offroad pro!! So funny, ridding with Van trainers and skinny jeans, but really well, which is not very hipster!! I laughed a lot today!! And its always special when people over then 10 years your junior want to hang out, specially with bikes! It sure makes me feel more my "correct" age, that is around 30ish!! The Strom is very capable!! Amazing what I saw it do today!! Not sure the Honda NC500X is that good, maybe....Saying that, wherever we stopped it was the Triumph that left people with feelings of lust and desire! Not even the Guzzi could match the allure of the English Rose!

Not with me you dont!! I smell of roses!!

Thats too long, not sure I trust you to identify correctly!!

A very quick ride report about a very quick round trip to the river Zêzere and back!! A customer and friend asked me if I didnt want to joined them for lunch up in the Center of Portugal, around 200kms away from Ericeira, and seeing its Monday, designated day-off, I grabbed the offer with both hands! Absolutely love this region, one day will write a report about it!! Zezere!! This is a special river, a favourite of mine, meadering all the way from Serra the Estrela to the Tagus river, joining in Constância. Its famous world wide because viewd from high up looks like a dragon! It has a few very iconic towns along the way, one passed today is Dornes, a village established by Templer Knights, with a high up position overlooking a large bend of the river, its perfect strategic point to control the surrounding land. And the dam wall on the picture is from Cabril Dam, exactly the same mentioned on my previous ride report! It was pure coincidence I went there today, but when things like this happen I feel a special kind of fuzzy feeling inside! Happy-happy! There was no time to visit any of the other cool places, got a call to see a sick doggie and had to return! Vets Day-off is not something doggies understand!! Had to get on the motorway, grabed a little coffee and Pastel de Nata, the national pastry, as lunch and was home in a jeefy!! Not legally, but in a jeefy!! Ear plugs courtesy of Pedro, looking after me from far away!! Still, here are a few pictures! And a link to a write-up from a biker that is super informative: https://bermudarover.wordpress.com/2021/01/08/dornes-and-the-zezere-river/

Royal Enfield seams to have cornered that market... I now have serious doubts regarding my gender...

thank you!

A trip to the beach! In 2019 we left the mountains behind and headed to the desert island in Faro! Faro is the capital of Algarve, the furthermost city of Portugal, divided into two distinct areas, the coastline, part of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa (Nature Park of Ria Formosa ) and the barrocal, characterized by hills and valleys, populated with typical Algarvan vegetation. The Natural Park is one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal, with a beach that is around 7 km (4 mi) long from the downtown area of Faro city. It includes the river and a lagoon system, interspersed with dunes, forming small islands and peninsulas, that protect a large area of marshes, channels, and islets. The beaches in Faro are situated on the peninsula of Ancão and island of Culatra, along the corridor of the nature park.The park is a rich and complex aquatic ecosystem, consisting of barrier islands, marshes, and channels, comprising sandy shorelines that separate the waters of the Ria Formosa and Atlantic Ocean The barrier islands are separated by tidal flats and shallows, including (from west to east) the Barra do Ancão/Barra de São Luís, the Barra de Santa Maria/Barra do Farol, and the Barra da Culatra/Barra da Armona (in the municipality of Olhão). Annually, many species of aquatic migratory birds transient northern Europe and nest there during the winter. These include flamingos, terns, pied avocets, Eurasion wigeons, and common chaffinches. Staying in Faro is a very different experience from the tourist brochures of Algarve you can find at your local travel agent, it is a working town, which gives more a real feeling of what Algarve is and not just resorts catering for the beach going addicts of Europe. And ocasionally we have a gem like this one: There is another part of the Faro city identity that is special to us, this town is the motorcycle capital of the country. Annually for 4 days, thousands of motorbikes, beer, concerts, exhibitions and street entertainment are the ingredients of what is considered one of the largest and best biker meets in Europe, every year in July bikers from all the Europe travel to Faro. Vale das Almas, near the Faro International Airport is the meeting point of the thousands of motorcyclists who gather for a weekend with great excitement, making Faro the capital of the 2 wheels. You do find it is a kind town to bikers, very aware of our presence and making room when we need it. Its a similar atmosphere to the one in the Isle of Man when it comes to the motorcycle scene. The meet is organized by the Motorcycle Club of Faro, one of the oldest in the country, full of character and very much connected to the chopper community. I have been to this meet once, many, many years ago, on the perfect bike for it, a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail classic!! With its special geography, the busy town separated from the beaches by water with big tides, to go to the beach we must get on a boat or go round a long way and cross a small, one lane bridge, which gets us an almost deserted, stunningly beautiful, beach to ourselves. Fortunately someone had the great idea of building a restaurant on the Desert Island, and we had a marvelous lunch there! All this was totally unknown to me, I had never been there before, but Pedro had described it so enchantingly that when he asked me to join him there, I could only say yes! My trip down started with masses of rain, although it was the 23rd of June! Portugal's Atlantic coast can be merciless and Summer means nothing to a good Atlantic Low Pressure System other than more rain needs to fall on the unsuspecting motorcyclist!! After 200 or so kms the heat from the South started intensifying and the layers started coming off and by the time I lect the motorway to join the EN2, it was properly hot. No, what is the EN2, I hear you ask?! It is a road, the longest road in Portugal at 738 kms, starting in Chaves, at the top of the country and finishing exactly in the center of Faro. It descends or ascends, depending how you are traveling, on a fairly straight line, right down the middle of Portugal, passing through a huge variety of landscapes: into mountains and over rivers, next to high cliffs and onto totally flat expansions of land. Many villages along the way are very picturesque and welcome the visitors to stamp the National Road 2 Passport! Yes it is a thing, you can get a passport to say you have done it! Stilized image of the arrival roundabout in Faro. Actually a cool way to celebrate this special road. In fairness this road is intertwined with the country's History, its layered with, literally, millenia of stone and earth, parts of it are Roman. It has seen many civilizations use it to conquer and to escape and in 1945 became its current incarnation, after connecting all the little pieces that were missing, acquiring the name “Estrada Nacional 2” There are points of major importance, like the Geodesic Center of Portugal or the Cabril dam, one of the highest constructions in Portugal at over 136m or several wine regions that have many well established wineries ready to quench our thirst!! On a previous visit from Pedro, the absolute center of Portugal, the Geodesic Center! Like so many of these roads around the World, route 66 being one of, if not the most famous of all, it has become a bucket-list thing for many people, a good excuse to do something fairly well sign posted and with many amenities along the way. It is busy, with all forms of transportation, from bycicles to RVs, every one and his dog are very keen to do it and get the Passport stanped! The tourism of travellers that it has gathered have been great for the regions it crosses, bringing much needed revenue and increasing the relevance of the EN2, always overtaken by all the other routes closer to the coast when it comes to trade and fast deliveries for businesses.. Maybe because I don't like to go where everyone goes, or because I prefer the unknown, the feeling of venturing into places, (normally lost !) where there is no certainty of human presence, doing this road top to bottom doesn't interest me much, BUT, some parts of it are epic and I have had the pleasure of riding bits of it along the years. It will not surprise you to know that this route is now a motorcycling meca, all the way to Faro, This was the perfect reason to leave the Motorway and enjoy the smooth tarmac between Almodover and Faro. It does not disappoint, ever! Checking the state of our tyres, mine had some chicken strips, Pedro's used to the rim!! In Faro Pedro was waiting and we spent 3 days only riding the bikes to go to the beach and mainly using the boat to reach the desert island. For that reason there aren´t many pictures of bikes, more of sand, sea and food!! A delightful couple of days were had. And this is how the bikes were used: The restaurant that exists on the island has to take the water by boat, together with all the other supplies, which surely makes their life a little harder, but does not stop them from cooking and serving the most delicious food. We massively enjoyed it! Another amazing memory shared and treasured.

Absolutely fresh from the camara!! May not be a winner on the photography contest, but its on the emotional side of things!

South West does not include South Wales? I thought it did, my mistake.

Amazing pictures!! Really miss the UK ... When I see these I am overcome with a desire to go there immediately! That book must have very good advice on where to go in Wales. I have been a lot to North Wales, not so much to the South part of the country, but I intende to!! Thank you for your posts, its lovely to see a place I love so much, and equally miss.

Pedro explained and I hope you like the writing as much as the shots!! FYI, all shot with sony xperia ZX2 phone. Xx

For the past 4 years, around this week and on this day, me and @Pedro have been out around the country together, riding roads of stunning scenery, eating special food and enjoying mega good wines! Its no news for anyone how much I appreciate Pedro and the blessing that is having him to share so many great things in life. It is difficult to find a better friend, more dedicated and caring, that remembers the little things I have forgotten I love!! There are many reasons to praise him, but I shall not do that, we dont want him to get a big head! .Even if he absolutely deserves the praise and equaly the big head!! We have been literally everywhere, from North to South, East to West, from the gorgeous beaches to the green forests, from the flat lands to the big moutains, in the last 4 years we have travelled extensivelly in this week of June that marks the beggining of Summer time and warms the skin and the soul. We are, indeed, fortunate to be able to enjoy such pleasures ( and some luxuries! ) together, having a lot of fun on our favourite form of transportation! @Pedro always on the big 1200 white Mammoth, me on 2 different creatures, the Tuono 1000, first edition, 100% V2 Mille rawness and then the Speed Triple 1050R, a more well mannered companion.. In 2018 I rode from Germany to Portugal on the Aprilia Tuono ( another possible ride report! ), we met in the center of Portugal and traveled up all the way to the very top of the country., to the Peneda-Gerês National Park,. Its a vast area of unspoiled wilderness, with granite boulders coming out of the ground and rocky peaks as far as the eye can see. It is a magical location, with hidden forests and lakes, a freshness that only crystal clear water can give. Its rugged hills are home to deer, wolves and golden eagles. Many small roads criss-cross the whole of the 70.000 km2 of this beautiful nature reserve, offering us the chance to enjoy many hours of discovery.and adventure. The beggining, first stop! Still wearing waterproof cloathing, soon to come off at the next stop, the Sun was coming out of the cloads and little Snoopy could come out of his bespoke Gore-Tex suit! This year the choice of location was down to me, seeing I had been through here in 2007 and decided then I wanted to return to explore the region more after falling in love with its lush greens and the feeling of being overlooked by fairies and elves everywhere, blessing us with magic dust! It took 11 years, but there we were! We stayed in a little stone house converted, like so many in Portugal now, to cater for people looking for peace, the type of peace one only finds in remoteness and wild nature. With the particularity that 50m away from this little, adorable, house there is a famous restaurant with a super location to enjoy a sunset drink and the pleasures of good food in great company after a day's riding! The little hamlet has around 18 houses, but only 4 people live there permanentely at present. The 4 have a few cows that go out in the morning and come home in the evening, we had the plesure of meeting both cows and their aging owners! And the wild horses that are now tame and eat out of our hands! The owner of the little stone house is a very, very enthusiastic person, also a biker, and was kind enough to take us round the region and show us the little roads and the places only the locals know of. It was a very hot and sunny day and it had been decided the day before that Pedro, a lover of a swim after riding and before dinner, would take his swimming trunks and go for a dive in the fresh waters of the nearby dam. I was not so keen, so didn't take my swimwear and proceeded to regret it and almost went in just with my underwear, but somehow had an attack of puritanism, most unusual for me, and never made it to the water!! We had a really nice time in the restaurant. The food was average, but the drinking was epic and we finished 2 big bottles of bubbles plus a few other things! I left my phone charger behind, but was adamant I must have dropped it on the way there and so we spent 1 hour up and down the road, in darkness, wondering when a wolf would come and eat the unsuspecting tourists looking for a mobile phone charger! The next morning we saw it through the window inside the restaurant, exactly as Pedro had predicted, but my giddy head didn't want to accept! It was a great day!! In fact the whole week was great, but this day will stay in my memory as one of the best days ever!! Thank you Pedro and thank you life!!

Aloe Blacc

Im struggling with the same, but to the right. Practice on the flat first and then on descents, practice makes perfect!

all that will get you places!!

there is a passport for that too!

Its with great satisfaction I find out that it wasn't your choice, so you are a really decent brit!