TP Stage 2

Hard stage at 93km and 2700m of climbing which started in the first km. Beatiful climbing out of the Douro valley, many times on the old Roman roads. With TP we ride down the rural spine of Portugal. Only small villages or little towns. Some even completely deserted. Coming out of Dora valley was mainly vineyards and as we got further away lots of small vegetable and fruit farms. Higher up mainly cattle or goat farming. Very beautiful. As you can see from the pics always necessary to climb to the wind farms on the way. As tough as today was, I really started enjoying the experience, event and route. With the handicap system – because of my age, we start earlier. This means that you overtake some slower riders but for the rest of the day you are overtaken by faster riders. So not easy to meet and chat on the ride.

Navigation was a challenge today where I got totally lost if two villages for about 10 min. Garmin says you on the incorrect route because so many small streets in parallel. Getting better every day but it did cause a sense of humour failure for a while.

It was a hot day and no wind until the end so hydration was key. I couldn’t find my route map in the morning so the profiles and water points was a guessing game. It all worked out but it’s a thinking game out there with nav, nutrition and hydration. Days Video

Morning sunrise Douro river

Some pics of the day. A lot over old Roman Roads and medieval villages. Hard to ride but stunning.