What's your idea of a perfect holiday?

[Pumpy]

Well, I will get the ball rolling with my personal view: for me a perfect holiday involves -

Going places

... the further off the beaten track the better...

Gorgeous countryside

Gorgeous trails

Gorgeous men (hope Possu doesn't read this too closely...)

A bit of sunbathing

But sunshine is not always mandatory - you wouldn't get views like this...

Challenges

... and not just on the bikes!

(Photo courtesy of Sir Fallofalot)

Temporary failure

Teamwork

Improvisation

Fascinating wildlife

Good food

... and drink

A bit of history

Meeting the locals

And, most important of all, great company!

... with a good share of banter

... and lots of fun!

(Photo courtesy of Prelive)


So after this epilogue, you might not be surprised to hear where we went for that perfect holiday...

Yep, after the 'Anthill Tour' in 2013 and the 'Not-for-the-faint-hearted' Trip in 2014 we headed for Portugal again!

This time our riding mates were chosen from a bit closer to home; all being friends from the Oxford TRF (Trail Riders Fellowship). May I introduce you to our companheiros?

Prelive

Riding a CRF250L

Bill Mc

On his mighty CRF230F

Charles

On his Husky TE250

Sir Fallofalot (not so often anymore, I have to acknowledge...)

On his trusty WR250

Dr JM

On her special 'Quality Street' edition of a 350EXC

Berin

(Photo courtesy of Dr JM)

Riding a 350EXC as well

Patrick

Improving the air quality with his 300EXC

VTwins4me (recently exiled to Yorkshire)

(Photo courtesy of Berin)

On his Berg 570

Possu

(Photo courtesy of VTwins4me))

On his Berg 390

And your reporter

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

On her CRF230F

(Photo courtesy of Berin)

I hope this intro has piqued your interest a bit - in the next episode I will start to reveal the stories behind the many intriguing photos...

 

[Mr K]

I'm in.

 

[Monsieur]

Now worn out after looking at all the photos

 

[Possu]

Non one's forcing you to read the report.......

 

[flatdog]

Bring it on, some stunning scenery there, Pumpy

Don't forget our food snaps too.

 

[Wrinkly]

lovely lovely lovely

 

[richardbd]

Looks like it was a top trip!

 

[(RIP) andrewgsadv]

Looking forward to your trip report

I'm in

 

[Shunt]

Grabbed my attention. Where's the big diners? ;p

 

[Timolgra]

Great intro Pumpy, looking forward to hearing more

 

[Dean]

That looks Exhilarating, a lot of Fun, a good laugh, great scenery, a huge social, off road with light bikes. I like it a lot and It ticks a lot of boxes

Great pictures I can feel the Fun

 

[Pumpy]

Thank you all very much for your kind comments!

I have to work on my bike today but will post the next instalment very soon - already thinking about what and how to write...

 

[Pumpy]

How the trip came about...

At every monthly meeting of the Oxford TRF we tell each other of our past ride-outs and whenever Possu and I raved about our adventures in Portugal, we could see the Wanderlust gleam in quite a few people's eyes. So just after Christmas, when we were planning our trail riding trip for 2015, we pondered with whom we would like to spend our main holiday this year and then invited the motley crew along that I have introduced earlier.

On the previous two trips we had been travelling from place to place, carrying all our luggage, looking for accommodation each night and unloading and repacking the bikes every day. While we saw a lot of the country this way, the additional weight made some of the trails more - and sometimes unnecessarily - challenging. This time we wanted un-adultered fun and decided to pick the town of Chaves in the Trás-os-Montes region of Northern Portugal as our base camp from which we would fan out into all directions during the course of a week.

The city is relatively easy to get to from the ferry port in Santander, has several bike shops (KTM, Honda, Yamaha & Husquarna), lots of hotels, restaurants and services, thermal springs and a rich history dating back to Roman and even Palaeolithic times. We had already stayed here in 2014 for a night and when riding past some of the impressive monuments the following morning, I thought that I would have liked to spend more time in this interesting place.

Some friends of ours had already put this concept to the test last October and it had worked well - apparently.

Muddymatt kindly shared his track log with us and it looked like his loops should keep us busy for at least six days.

So in January the invitations went out and in early February we booked ferry and accommodation - five rooms in the Hotel Termas, a gem detected by Possu the previous year; run by an elderly couple with their team of very capable ladies, central, comfortable, clean, with secure bike parking, breakfast and great value for money. The fact that the hotel does not have its own internet presence made the booking procedure a bit more interesting (we needed more and different rooms than the ones available on booking.com) - but with the help of a Portuguese colleague I drafted my first letter and the succeeding correspondence with Senhora Celina was done by email and in Spanish - phew.

In the final weeks before departure we reminded each other of vital documents like the European Health Insurance Card (which expires every five years!) travel insurance and breakdown cover, tools, spares and First Aid kits to take, van-pools and cabin crews were formed, TopoLusitania was downloaded onto everyone's SatNav, mobile numbers and next-of-kin details were exchanged (in the hope not having to use them...), bikes and equipment were prepped and finally, on the last weekend of April, we were ready for take-off!

Although technically no longer a member of the Oxford TRF, we still had invited Yorkshire renegade VTwins4me to join us - after trashing his knee last year on the very first day of the trip, he couldn't wait to go back and - god willing - ride a few more trails this time.

Apologies for posting that picture of a man in agony again, Rob...

Rob duly arrived at ours and the boys loaded the van with our three bikes and the kitchen sink

We then went to meet up with the others in Didcot

... and continued our journey to the south coast

After last year's disaster crossing with LD Lines (who have since been bought by DFDS Seaways and stopped their UK to Spain service altogether), we had splashed out and were treating ourselves to Brittany Ferries again (thanks to Tim Cullis for his help with the booking!)

The Cap Finistère is not quite as state-of-the-art as her sister ship Pont-Aven (sailing from Plymouth) but still...

... the passage promised to be pleasant and comfortable

Bye bye, Portsmouth...

We were briefly contemplating that, if this vessel sank, Oxford TRF would lose its chairman, the treasurer...

... all three group reps and the newsletter editor...

But only very briefly - mainly we were fiddling with maps, track logs and SatNavs...

... enjoying the start of our holiday...

... and having some peace and quiet...

... after a not so quiet and peaceful night (remind me to stack the snorers into their own secluded cabin the next time, close to the ship's engine room so they know what it is like...

)

Anyway, at last Santander's Isla de Mouro came into view

The Cantabrian coast is always a most welcome sight after an almost 24-hour long sea voyage

We disembarked as quickly as possible, as we still had 500 km of motorway to drive, and only allowed ourselves a 20-minute break in a Spanish service station for some bocadillos, pasteles y café con leche.

Despite the occasional downpour of biblical proportions, we made good progress and arrived in Chaves around 10 o'clock at night, over an hour earlier than I had prewarned Senhora Celina. We even had time to gather in the 'Abade' Bar next door and discuss the plan for the following day.

Whose weather app would be right? Rob's free for all, predicting a cloudy but dry day, or Martin's paid for, which announced rain for the whole of Sunday?

Don't miss the next episode...

 

[Pumpy]

Day 1 - We're getting into the flow...

The next morning started well with everyone turning up at 8.00 hrs sharp for an excellent breakfast

The weather didn't look too bad either...

We relocated the vans from the public car park to just across the road

Got the bikes out and the riders ready

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

Enjoyed the peace and quiet in Chaves on a Sunday morning

Transferred the track of the day to as many devices as possible

... and set off into the countryside. Possu had bravely volunteered to lead the group by following the purple line on his Montana - but what we both had failed to check was in which direction the track was actually going. Well, every time you have a 50% chance to get it right, there is a 90% probability that you get it wrong... eyes

After about 10 kilometres on the road we realised that we should have done the loop the other way round and that we were currently re-tracing the end of Matt's route; you know, that last stretch of the day when the light is fading, when you should stop squeezing in 'just one more lane' and you finally hit the tarmac to get you home as quickly as possible.

Hey ho, we didn't want to turn back to Chaves, the twisties were great, the countryside was beautiful and we were on holiday after all - so we stopped after another 20 kms, explained the situation to the group and assured them that we would soon be on the first trail.

And shortly afterwards we did!

Some lanes on the route had suffered quite a bit from erosion over the winter

... and that particular gully had been cut off by a land-slide. Allegedly, Possu noticed this fact too late and went over the handlebars in slow-motion! Being at the back, I missed the spectacle unfortunately...

It never looks as tricky as it actually was in the photos!

At least we were all warmed up after that exercise and shed a few layers

The next dip in the ground caught Charles

"Do you need a hand?"

With the help of a few more hands, everyone made it to the other side

... and we indulged ourselves in sunshine, warmth...

... and the wonderful smell of Lavender everywhere

The track led from valleys to hilltops...

... down again and through little rivers...

... and then we climbed again being treated to wonderful views

Are we enjoying ourselves? Oh yes!

One of the great things about Portugal is that you get great food everywhere. In Mirandela we just stopped for fuel and maybe to grab a little snack quickly...

Instead we were served a very nice coffee and the Portuguese version of a cheese and ham sandwich

High quality ingredients, produced locally and with much love...

We couldn't have been happier!

In fact, my sandwich was so big that I kept half of it for later - in Portugal it's not unlikely to get held up by a particularly tricky trail (especially if you follow one of Matt's routes...) where that extra supply of energy may be exactly what you need.

As if I had known what was coming in the afternoon...

To be continued

 

[dr nosh]

I'm liking this.

Pumpy. I remember your last ride report. Really good write up and plenty of pictures.........with a nice story line.

 

[Dean]

Some of it looks like hard work but your all smiling Or laying around



Great stuff

 

[Timolgra]

C'mon Ela....... What was coming in the afternoon?

 

[Pumpy]

Day 1 Afternoon - Boulders, Exercise and Pastries

Where did I stop? Oh yes, our very enjoyable lunch in Mirandela -

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

Bellies full, we rode a couple of fast lanes

... until we came to a big boulder field

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

Now, any normal rider would have thought we'd come to a dead end, but the purple line carried straight on - and suddenly Possu remembered that he had been here before.

Yes, the trail leads over there!

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

Well, if both Matt and my Possu say so...

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

... we'll press on

We all made it eventually through the vale of boulders

But the fun wasn't over yet - Sir Fallofalot went first

Pick your line

Interesting technique...

... and through - well done!

Ade looked good as well

Whereas I made a complete mess of it: full of enthusiasm but lacking in skill and crucial momentum...

(Photo courtesy of VTwins4me)

Meanwhile the list of people who will NOT be invited again was growing...

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

Eventually Rob and Steve stopped laughing and helped me up

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

Phew - and another stage completed!

Bill had cleared the track in one go and was already enjoying his well deserved break

... while the rescue team headed back to the gully to assist the unfortunate riders that were still battling the boulders

Others just leant back and enjoyed the show...

Patrick taking over

... as all that pushing and pulling was starting to take its toll on Possu

Do you think we should lend a hand?

C'mon Ade, you can do it!

Maybe not...

Push - push!

The worst is probably over...

But just in case...

You see, nobody really minds those hold-ups - they are a great work-out, create a sense of achievement...

(Photo courtesy of Patrick)

Help the team bonding...

... and give you time to smell the flowers

After that exertion, we thought we'd deserve a cake break at the famous Pastelaria in Rebordelo

... the one where you can feed eight trail riders on delicious pastries and drinks for about 12 Euros - easily

(Photo courtesy of Prelive)

It slowly dawned on Patrick that indulgence doesn't fit into a Romaniacs training regime...

Trails, countryside and banter got better and better during the afternoon

Not sure what Sir Fallofalot was up to...

Prelive got into some entanglement...

Possu and Patrick pondered which trail to take

There are just so many!

And it looks tempting in every direction

We could just have carried on forever...

But it was almost 7pm by now

... and so we headed back to Chaves

Changed, showered and shaved (well some...) we gathered in the bar before settling in the 'Copacabana' restaurant across the road for a sumptuous dinner

What a great start of the week! Tomorrow could hardly get any better - or could it?

Don't miss the next episode...

 

[Possu]

As co-organiser and chief navigator for the majority of the trails we rode, I thought I'd better add my thoughts.

I enjoyed every single mile we rode, regardless of whether it was trail or tarmac, the food was excellent wherever we went, in fact I don't recall a single poor culinary experience, the hospitality was great and last but not least, the company was acceptable.......

I didn't take many photos and the ones that I did take were of a poor quality using my phone. I did however take a few videos which I edited down to these two. I've uploaded them to Smugmug rather than You Tube in order to maintain HD quality as I 'm too cheap to pay for a HD You Tube account. Unfortunately this means I can't embed the video's here, so you'll just have to click on the link below to access both of them, best watched in full screen mode:

http://possu.smugmug.com/Motorcycles...7946&k=7hkxNgj

I don't have a single favourite moment of the trip but there are a few that I'll not forget in a hurry, I won't mention them now, you'll have to wait for Ela to complete the report.

It's trips like this that reveal hitherto unknown sides to people you thought you already knew. Take Ade for instance, he had always struck me as a mild mannered, respectable type but after being told he needed to stretch the throttle cables and to be more aggressive, we began to see a whole new side to him. As the thin veneer of respectability slipped away, another side was revealed in the shape of a throttle happy monster. Who knows if this will continue back in the UK? Patrick also revealed an alter-ego, one that had possibly lain dormant but bought to the surface by his recent purchase of a 300EXC. It wasn't long before he was sliding round bends and pulling the occasional wheelie aboard his Crack Whore of a motorcycle (his words, not mine).

Enough of my babbling, we'll just wait for Ela to post another installment.....

 

[Pumpy]

Possu and I should probably talk more...

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