The central Portuguese Caminho ride deserves to be in every Mountain bike magazine out there. Don’t get me wrong, it is not the technical adrenalin blasting skinned knee big drop off a 20’ ladder adventure, but it is a legitimate mountain bike required blast. (although I did bloody my knee once). I was more than pleasantly surprised at the amount of dynamic terrain that we encounter throughout the ride.. This is not a road ride. We road from cobble stone, to dirt, to the street, to technical mountain single track. Around every twist and turn a new terrain was waiting for us. The climbs are legit but totally manageable and there was even cold beer at the top of the hardest and most technical climb. It was like it appeared out of the clouds..
Live Love ride… what can I say? these guys rock! They set us up with the adventure of a lifetime and every detail was seamlessly orchestrated. All we had to do was ride to the next town. Pedro set us on our way with the gear and information that we needed and then made everything work for us in the background… If you are considering a biking adventure, then this is the place and live love ride is the company.. it is a guaranteed life changer..
Cheers and “Bom Caminho”
This was my first bike tour trip and it was the best vacation I have taken. Despite having biked recreationally in many different places, I greatly underestimated the joy I would feel from cycling as a mode of transportation while on vacation. Traveling town to town, over varied terrain including beach boardwalks, medieval cobblestone roads, dirt paths, rocky trails, and cruising through small towns, thriving cities, beautiful agricultural lands and vineyards, and bisecting gorgeous pine forests, fed all my senses. Each day led to a different challenge with unique rewards along the way and at the finish line. My biggest concern going into this trip was not having enough time to explore each town once we arrived by bike. Fortunately, this was not an issue, we arrived each day with plenty of time and extra energy to really enjoy the scene.
The boutique hotels Live Love Ride chose for us were each special in their own way. Whether it was a lushly landscaped garden, a castle walled courtyard, or a cozy hotel bar, arriving to a beautiful stone walled manor at the end of the day’s ride was always a great surprise. The luggage transfer service was very reliable and well worth it. In addition to the exceptional customer service and outstanding hotel choices, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the restaurant recommendations; I strongly suggest going with their choices.
Portugal and Spain are each beautiful countries and the culture changed more than I expected as we moved along the route. Experiencing the region on two wheels gave us the opportunity to experience these countries using all five senses, at a perfect pace to take it all in. We Lived. We Loved. & We Rode our way through one of the best experiences of our lives.
