Porto to Lisbon ‘26

[Laidbackladdie]

Last month (May) myself and four friends cycled from Porto to Lisbon over 8 days. I was on my S40 which I brought by plane from Scotland. The other lads were on hired gravel bikes. The first few days were pan flat and then after day three we started to meet the hills. We were mostly on bike paths, asphalt roads and some unsealed roads. Vehicle drivers were excellent, giving us plenty of room. There was one soft sand section which was the result of a navigation planning error - not to be repeated. We carried all our luggage and booked nightly accommodation using Booking.com. We had great weather 29DegC max which was a bit hot for me!! All told 430km (270ml) and 3,000m climbing (10,000ft) approx. A great trip and we are already planning something similar for next year elsewhere in Europe.
I used the underslung rack and two Ortlieb panniers with room to spare - we travelled light! Very comfortable pace but I did stop at times on the steeper hills to regulate my heart rate.

 

[Greg S]

Fantastic trip!

 

[CruzRider]

Beautiful photos. Very jealous. Congrats on a great ride!

How did the other riders adjust for having a recumbent in the group? Did the go slower up hills? Did they have to do anything different to spot you behind them? Did they feel more or less comfortable?

 

[Doccus]

Thanks for report and pics!

 

[Laidbackladdie]

Beautiful photos. Very jealous. Congrats on a great ride!

How did the other riders adjust for having a recumbent in the group? Did the go slower up hills? Did they have to do anything different to spot you behind them? Did they feel more or less comfortable?

Thank you. To be honest it really wasn't an issue. We are an easy going bunch on the north side of 60 - so they naturally go slower on hills . On the hills where I lagged behind it wasn't much of a wait on top and on some hills I was in front. I’m quite visible with a helmet mounted flashing light and another on the rear frame. The lads commented about the attention the S40 got everywhere we went. I did quite a few turns on the front as I was one of the two “navigators” . The S40 (and me!) didn’t like the loose gravel sections - both up and down slope, I’d have needed lots of bravery pills to travel down those at speed. The car drivers throughout the route were courteous and gave us space and often tooted horns by way of encouragement

 

[CruzRider]

The car drivers throughout the route were courteous and gave us space and often tooted horns by way of encouragement

This is refreshing to hear. Make the day a lot more pleasant for everyone

The S40 (and me!) didn’t like the loose gravel sections - both up and down slope, I’d have needed lots of bravery pills to travel down those at speed.

One of the things I miss about my standard gravel bike.

Hope you do it again next year and have as much fun!

 

[Beano]

Chapeau to your mates for doing the trip on hire bikes rather than their own. Glad you had a good trip, Portugal is definitely on the cycling map of Europe to visit, there's only so many times you can travel to the Canaries for a cycling trip.

 

[Laidbackladdie]

Chapeau to your mates for doing the trip on hire bikes rather than their own. Glad you had a good trip, Portugal is definitely on the cycling map of Europe to visit, there's only so many times you can travel to the Canaries for a cycling trip.

Thank you. For what it’s worth, we purposely started in Porto to avoid the cobbles of the Camino. I hate cobbles!!