After having completed the Via Algarviana camino in the south only a few days earlier, I was now in Peniche immediately getting ready for the next adventure. With the help of my long time friend and ghostrider, Mr. Pepe, we got Matilda all set up for our next cycling tour, which would begin in just two day’s time. But first, a local, prologue test-ride of about 12km around the Peniche Peninsula! Sit back and enjoy the roll!
Peniche is a seaside municipality and a city in the western region of the historical province of Estremadura and the Leiria District, with the city itself having a population of about 15,600 inhabitants. The area is known for the picturesque raw beauty of the peninsula with its sharp, rocky cliffs, as well as its long beaches, which are popular for recreational activities and sports such as surfing, windsurfing, bodyboarding and kite surfing, with the most well known being Supertubos, where the waves form fast and powerful tubes, considered among the best in Europe.
From the end of the peninsula, in the distance you can see the remote Berlengas islands, which form one of the world’s first nature reserves. They are located about 10 kilometres offshore, and can be visited by boat, and there’s even a camping ground and hostel there for overnight stays during the summer holiday season. Then there is the Peniche Fortress, which is a notable example of Portuguese coastal defences. During the authoritarian period of rule known as the Estado Novo, or Second Republic, in the 20th-century, it was used as a prison for communists and other opponents of the regime.
Our love holds us close,
‘Família’ by Jyri Manninen
in times of trouble and joy.
Yet alone, I ride.
As Pepe and I completed the final few kilometres of our test-ride with Matilda, while soaking in the amazing views over the cliffs to the south, I began to shift my focus of attention on what we were about to undertake over the next few weeks, the 4th stage of our cycling tour of Portugal. This next phase of our exploration of Portugal would see Matilda and I track up the coastline north as far as Carreço, which was actually the destination of our epic ride from Finland back in 2017. From there, we would turn inland to follow the Lima River all the way to the Peneda-Gerês National Park, which straddles the border with Spain. After that, we would start our return journey back south, but not before visiting the beautiful, historical cities of Guimarães and Amarante. We, of course, would hope to have you come along for this latest adventure too.
Be blessed,
Jyri
run for your life 