Wowzers, that was a hilly day of bike riding! It’s been a brilliantly scenic day, and unusually for our preferred cycle tours, it’s involved a whopping 500m of ascent to get here and some of that on very steep, leg pumping hills.

But before any hill dramas, there was a nice ride out of Luz on quiet roads through the countryside, on pleasantly smooth tarmac.

As we had plenty of time, we detoured out to a ruined fort on the cliff top, which involved a short bumpy track, but some great coastal views, and surf watching.

There was also some interesting weathering on the old fort. The mortar has eroded away in to interesting shapes like on some of the sandstone cliffs nearby.

The view west showed our next beach stop.

Getting there was a high speed affair down an incredibly long and steep road that I was glad to be going down and not up!

From the beach we could look back and see the profile of the road as it cuts across the hill.

Our route suggested an off road track for the next kilometre or so, to avoid a steep hill, but after a few hundred metres it soo became apparent that this was not the best terrain for our bikes.

Instead, we returned to the (only slightly less bumpy) road, and headed for the ‘super hill’ (Clare is pointing towards it in the photo below).

Straight uphill at a 20% incline required first gear and a slow pace, but we were both pleased to make it to the top without leaving the saddle.

We rested at the beach in Salema and ate some early lunch to recover.

Then, to leave the beach town, we found ourselves heading up another steep road! This time I had to cycle standing up in order to maintain any forward momentum! Soon after, an ‘abandoned’ looking town led us into some empty agricultural land, with gentle rolling hills.

And plenty of smooth empty tarmac.

We had a second lunch by the church in Bispo, before the final straight to Sagres.

Happily, a new road has been built to Sagres and the old one is used as a cycle path! A long straight section that was traffic free (except for a couple of mopeds), led us into town.

Our friend Naomi, who lives near Lisbon had recommended a cafe for us to aim for in Sagres. We arrived exhausted and thirsty, just as the outside sofa was vacated. We wasted no time in getting established on it!

This was our first ‘cafe stop’ of the tour, so a real Boxing Day treat for us (thanks Mom!).

After washing down the coffees with a burger (they were sold out of cakes), we continued past the town to tonight’s accommodation, just a few kilometres away from our end point at the most westerly tip of mainland Europe.

As is often the way ‘on tour’, you get to experience a range of accommodations. Some better than others. Tonight’s place is best described as ‘tired’ – a bit like its occupants. It’s pretty gross to be honest, but there is a bed, so that’s pretty much all we need right now, after showering under a dribble of luke warm water!

Total Ride: 39.8km