Jyri Manninen | Kajura – Page 9

El Jefe

December 10, 2023 Jyri Manninen | Kajura

It would be a relatively short ride of just 54km to Carreço, which is just north of the major northern coastal city of Viana do Castelo. However, it would be all the more significant, because this was the final destination of my 4220km long Finland to Portugal Trans-European bicycle tour back in 2018. I departed Póvoa de Varzim in idyllic conditions, with clear skies and a wonderful, fresh coolness in the air. It wouldn’t be long before I arrived at my first key destination of the day, the small historic town of Fão by the Cávado River. From there it was just a few kilometres more to Esposende, a popular tourist coastal location.

As I continued north towards Viana do Castelo, by pure luck, I crossed the Camino Portuguese walking trail. I took a moment there to take in the calmness of the water crossing, and to enjoy reminisce about my own Camino Portuguese, the original trek that had led to the birth of Life on the Run. Soon enough, I found myself at the southern bank of the Lima River at Cabedelo, with Viana do Castelo coming into view on the opposite side, and after a short ferry crossing, I was back in Viana do Castelo once again. However, I still had an additional 8km ahead to reach my day’s destination of Casa do Sardão at Carreço, where I had spent the penultimate night of my Finland to Portugal bicycle tour. To this day, this albergue still remains the most amazing guesthouse that I have ever stayed at, and it is run by the most gracious of hosts, Hugo, who is also a seasoned world traveller.

Seven year cycle,
from broken to renewed soul.
The boss speaks to me.
‘El Jefe’ by Jyri Manninen

When I’d started this current tour, I’d always planned to spend an extra day at Casa do Sardão, to not only catch up with Hugo, but to also have some valuable down time to re-explore Viana do Castelo and surrounds. After having picked up Matilda from Viana Bicycles in the morning, where Matilda had had a few of her rear spokes replaced, we rode through town and then up the coastal pathway back to Carreço. For the remainder of the day I just chilled out at Casa do Sardão, chatting with some Camino Portuguese pilgrims about their own experiences. Then, in the evening, I spent some quality alone time, lying in a hammock watching the sunset, as I sparked up my ritualistic El Jefe cigar, which had been especially gifted to me back in Finland for my birthday by one of my closest friends.

It was now time to set my sights forwards to the Pe–neda-Geres National Park, which I would reach the next day by following the Lima River inland. This would then also include a reconnection with my original Camino Portuguese trekking route at Ponte de Lima. As the sun finally descended beyond the horizon, and the night sky lit up with a myriad of hues, my El Jefe gradually transformed into smoke and ash. In this moment, I felt that I was, once again, truly home.

Be blessed,
Jyri

Beyond My Eyes.

November 26, 2023November 26, 2023 Jyri Manninen | Kajura

This third day of riding on my Portugal’s Northern Coastline and Peneda-Geres National Park cycling tour would be another almost century long one, starting from the relatively quiet Torreira, by the Aveiro Lagoon, to the very touristic, beachside tourist city of Póvoa de Varzim. At approximately the half-way point, I’d go through the major northern city of Porto, which is located on the banks of the Douro River. The morning’s ride had me leave Torreira at the crack of dawn, and I was able to ride in very quiet traffic conditions, given it was a Sunday morning. In fact, for the first few hours, I think I saw more cyclists out on their training rides than I did cars!

As lunchtime approached, I reached the long and busy beachside stretch leading up to the mouth of the Douro River. There was now a lot of traffic, pedestrians as well as cars, but the excellent bike paths made it fairly painless to navigate the chaos. I meandered along the south bank of the Douro to the famous Ponte Luis I bridge; and what views! After crossing it, I made my way back to the coast on the northern side to continue my ride up to my day’s destination of Póvoa de Varzim. On this stretch, the riding surfaces were quite varied, including nature trails, stretches of sand, wooden boardwalks, as well as very rough cobblestone roads in and around the small beachside villages, which actually resulted in Matilda breaking a couple of spokes on her back rim, but luckily not resulting in any warping.

While it had been a rather excellent day of riding, I was running very low on fuel once I reached Póvoa, and the only thing I had on my mind on arrival was to get me a shit ton of pizza and beer. So, once Matilda was set up for her rest at the hostel, I walked a few kilometres to my favourite refueling station, ‘Mr. Pizza; and boy did it totally hit the spot!

The horizon far;
all that lays ahead, still hides.
One day, I will see.
‘Beyond My Eyes’ by Jyri Manninen

Now, with a belly full of goodness, I slowly strolled back to my hostel along the beachside boulevard, as I enjoyed a wonderful, prolonged sunset over the Atlantic. It allowed me the perfect moment to reflect on not only the fantastic first 3 days of this current tour, but also on all the amazing places and experiences that still lay ahead of me, not just in northern Portugal, but also, in future years, over the ocean’s horizon.

Be blessed,
Jyri Manninen

The Lonely Road.

November 12, 2023November 26, 2023 Jyri Manninen | Kajura

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,
as if, never was I here.
The road home, I found.
‘The Lonely Road’ by Jyri Manninen

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