I'm an intrepid nomad and professional coach, possessed with a keen curiosity to explore the world around me, and to keep discovering and learning new things. I help people to move forwards, by taking them sideways.
Matilda and I commenced the 3 day long Santarém Circuit cycling tour from my home-away-from-home, Caldas da Rainha. On this ride, we experienced both freezing downpours and, in complete contrast, some superbly sunny weather, I dined with some German Camino Portuguese pilgrims, and we even spent the night sharing the doorway of a closed camping ground with a bunch of feral cats! Along with all those delightfully unexpected events, we also visited some very interesting out-of.the-way places, such as the salt desalination basin (Salinas de Rio Maior) on the outskirts of Rio Maior and the holiday destination of Olhos d’Agua (Eyes of the Water).
Our main destination was the major inland city of Santarém, which is located on the banks of the Rio Tejo (Tagus River), the same one that flows out to the ocean beyond Lisbon. There we has the opportunity to do a walking tour to see some of the city’s major sites, such as the historic Santarém Cemetery, the Igreja de Santa Maria de Marvila and Santa Maria de Graça, Church of Our Lady, as well as the peacefully tranquil Jardim das Portas do Sol (Garden of the Gateway of the Sun).
With a longing heart, into the unknown I ride. My shadow falls long.
Beyond Chaos’ by Jyri Manninen
I hope that you’re able to capture some of the atmosphere of what it was like to not have the easiest of conditions to both cycle in, or to sleep, in the beginning, but then to enjoy, at the end, the complete opposite of riding in absolutely glorious, emotionally uplifting sunshine on the the final day of the tour.
This is a compilation video illustrating the best parts of a 4 day cycling tour on a circuit around Portugal’s mid-Atlantic coast region, which I did with a good friend of mine. The place of departure Caldas da Rainha, which was also the destination.On the way down the coastline, we dropped in at Porto Novo, Ericeira and Guincho. When we reached the very popular coastal holiday destination of Cascais, we headed north back towards Caldas via an inland route that took us through the famous Sintra, as well as a visit to the spectacular Mafra Palace.
The weather was absolutely stunning, the food was superb, and to have the company of a good friend along for this tour was the proverbial icing on the cake. I hope that you’re able to capture even a fraction of what we felt on this ride, at being able to see such amazing places, both natural and man-made. For me, the absolute highlight was experiencing the simply magical, awe-inspiring sunset at Praia do Guincho.
I also hope you like the special cycling song that Pedro and I wrote, Snarky Puppy Roadkill.’, inspired by the many short, but rather sharp uphills enroute.
Going down, going down, going down it means uphill, Snarky puppy roadkill!
Upon waking on one particular, and rather dreary, mid-autumn day (in 2017), I was hit with an undeniably powerful compulsion to ride my bike from my home in Turku, Finland to Portugal, my other home-away-from-home. But why?
Well, to put a long story short, I had reached the end of a significant phase in my life, and I was sans any clue as to what I was supposed to do next. In other words, my newly found status in the world was not something that I’d planned on. However, after examining (and re-examining many times!) all the signs that had been there during the past few years, but maybe hidden in plain view, the end of that path was as inevitable as the night following the day. In hindsight, there had been plenty of time to prepare for the transition, but I simply had not. Instead, I had favoured putting the associated, very painful issues on ice, so to speak. As a result, when reality finally came knocking, I was left staring forward into virtual emptiness.
On that fateful fall morning, my heart had decided that now was the time to begin filling the gaping wound with an epic effort of endurance, one as much mental as physical. Though I was not at all sure what was to come, my hope was that it would grace me with the chance for me to heal, and to become whole again. So, after only a two week long period of preparation, I set-out on my 4220km long journey of self-discovery, which would see me reach my destination of Viana do Castelo after 55 days on the road.
During this long roll, I saw amazing places, and I was also blessed to meet so many wonderful people, who helped me keep moving forwards, literally and figuratively; and in ways that I simply can’t clearly describe in words.. I fought against the environmental elements as Europe headed into winter. Safe to safe, I was challenged on the daily, and I suffered. However, when I finally learned how to work with the weather and my surroundings,, I began to smile and laugh a lot, almost like a maniac, at just how amazing it felt to be alive and to experience everything that I was putting myself through; and that was the point, all of this was because of my own decisions – ultimate freedom of choice. At times, the rush of joy was so wonderful that I could barely contain it. On occasion, I also wept deeply, both in happiness and sadness, as the many past experiences, memories and emotions – the good, bad and ugly – bubbled up to the surface of my awareness as a result of the relentless daily physical ground as I worked my way south to (hopefully) a new and better life.
This entire journey is made up of 5 distinct phases, to which I have given the following names: Penance, The Escape, The Escape, Journeyman, Buen Camino, and Homecoming. Each has its own theme and story to tell about my journey of awakening and understanding – or, perhaps more exactly, my rebirth; and for each, I have also created separate, more detailed videos.
I hope you enjoy this Life on the Run ‘Best of Cycling Tours’ compilation video of my Finland to Portugal cycling tour, and that it may inspire you to also get out there and explore this amazing world … and to provide a vehicle for your own personal healing, should that be something you need, just as I did.
run for your life 