After the way-more-than-I-should-have-done opening day ride of 150km, I wasn’t sure how my body was going to react on this second day as I headed north from Figueira da Foz towards Aveiro. Fortunately, the terrain would be virtually flat, once I’d negotiated the climb up and over Cabo Mondego. After a quick coffee and cerveja break in Quiaios, I hit the long isolated straight up to the Tocha turn off, and, to my surprise, I actually felt really good. Basically, I could only recognize just a small amount of residual fatigue from the previous day’s ride.
I had my lunch break by the church in Tocha, which is located about 7km inland from the coast. I would then soon return back to enjoy views of the Atlantic Ocean at the holiday resort town of Praia da Mira. However, apart from a quick scan of the lagoon and beachfront area, I continued on my way, as I quickly started to feel quite out of place amongst the large crowds of holidaymakers. I guess that introvert in me still hasn’t gone anywhere!
For a moment brief,
‘The Lonely Road’ by Jyri Manninen
as if, never was I here.
The road home, I found.
It wasn’t long before I reached the southern end of the Aveiro Lagoon, and I tracked along it up to the Ponte de Barra, which I had to cross to reach the ferry terminal at Forte da Barra. From there, it would be just a short boat ride over to São Jacinto. At this point, I‘d still not quite decided on what the day’s destination would be, but after reaching the camping ground in Torreira, which was super well managed, and also very cheap – I think it was just 6 or 7€ for me and my tent – I made the call that this would become my home for the night at the end of day 2.
To unwind a little after another solid day of riding, I walked back down to the waterfront to buy some food from a local supermarket, and then soak in the views of the lagoon, as the light of the day gradually began to fade behind me.
Be blessed,
Jyri
run for your life 