CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
327 km from Braga to Braga, about 4 h 29 of riding. The stops in between: Historic Centre of Oporto, Alto Douro Wine Region, back through Alto Douro Wine Region and back through Historic Centre of Oporto. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 1 km this is Douro Valley N222, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Braga is Portugal's most religious city, and also one of its oldest. It was founded by the Romans as Bracara Augusta in the first century BC, became a Christian bishopric in late antiquity, and has been a seat of the Church ever since. Its cathedral, begun in the eleventh century, is the oldest in the country and mixes Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque, and the city's skyline is a thicket of church towers. During Holy Week, its processions, with hooded penitents and torchlit marches, are among the most intense in Portugal.
Read the complete Braga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Braga is where the day begins. Next is Historic Centre of Oporto.
Porto is a city built on a granite slope above the Douro, and for a rider that means two things immediately: the views are wonderful, and the streets are steep, narrow and paved with stone that turns slippery as soap in the rain. Tram rails cross the old centre, cobbles are everywhere, and traffic is dense, so the best plan is to park the bike once and walk. The historic centre, from the riverside quarter of Ribeira up to the cathedral and the Clérigos Tower, was listed by UNESCO in 1996.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Oporto write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Historic Centre of Oporto comes up 39 km in. Next is Historic Centre of Oporto.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Oporto write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
79 km in you reach Historic Centre of Oporto. Next is Alto Douro Wine Region.
The Douro river has been carving a gorge through the north of Portugal for millions of years, and for about two thousand years people have been planting vines on its slopes. The terraces, held up by stone walls, climb steeply from the water and rise through schist and slate in rows, and the effect, in the right season, is of a vast green staircase. The Alto Douro was the first wine region in the world to be officially demarcated, by the Marquis of Pombal in 1756, and UNESCO listed it in 2001. Port wine, the sweet fortified red that made the region famous, is still made here.
Read the complete Alto Douro Wine Region write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Alto Douro Wine Region, about halfway. Next is Alto Douro Wine Region.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alto Douro Wine Region write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Alto Douro Wine Region sits at 158 km, about halfway. Next is back through Alto Douro Wine Region.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Alto Douro Wine Region write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Alto Douro Wine Region comes up 197 km in. Next is back through Historic Centre of Oporto.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Oporto write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
236 km in you reach back through Historic Centre of Oporto. Next is back through Historic Centre of Oporto.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Oporto write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Historic Centre of Oporto, late in the day. Next is Braga.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Braga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 327 km.
Braga → Historic Centre of Oporto is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Oporto → Alto Douro Wine Region is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Alto Douro Wine Region → back through Historic Centre of Oporto is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Historic Centre of Oporto → Braga is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.