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.
From Coimbra it runs 245 km to Coimbra; allow about 3 h 27 of riding. The stops in between: Convent of Christ in Tomar, Monastery of Batalha, back through Monastery of Batalha and back through Convent of Christ in Tomar. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Coimbra is a hill town that happens to hold one of the oldest universities in Europe. The old city climbs up from the Mondego river in a tangle of steep, cobbled lanes, with the university buildings at the summit, and in the evenings the sound of fado drifts down from taverns and small squares. The Coimbra version of fado is different from the Lisbon one, sung traditionally by men, often students in black capes, and tied to serenades beneath windows.
Read the complete Coimbra write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Coimbra is where the day begins. Next is Convent of Christ in Tomar.
The Knights Templar chose the hill above Tomar in the twelfth century, building a castle to defend the new kingdom of Portugal against the Moors, and at its heart they raised a round church, the Charola, modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. When the Templars were suppressed in the fourteenth century, the Portuguese king transferred their property to a new order, the Order of Christ, which went on to finance much of Portugal's maritime expansion; Henry the Navigator was its governor. Over the centuries, the order added cloisters, chapels and dormitories, and the Convent of Christ became one of the great monuments of Portugal, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1983.
Read the complete Convent of Christ in Tomar write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Convent of Christ in Tomar comes up 35 km in.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Convent of Christ in Tomar write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
70 km in you reach Convent of Christ in Tomar. Next is Monastery of Batalha.
On 14 August 1385, near the village of Aljubarrota, a Portuguese army led by King João I defeated a much larger Castilian force, securing Portugal's independence. Before the battle the king had vowed to build a great monastery to the Virgin Mary if he won, and he kept his word. The Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória, known simply as Batalha, which means battle, rose over the following century and more, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture in pale limestone, with flying buttresses, pinnacles and intricately carved portals. It was listed by UNESCO in 1983.
Read the complete Monastery of Batalha write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Monastery of Batalha, about halfway. Next is Monastery of Batalha.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monastery of Batalha write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Monastery of Batalha sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Monastery of Batalha.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monastery of Batalha write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Monastery of Batalha comes up 174 km in. Next is back through Convent of Christ in Tomar.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Convent of Christ in Tomar write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
209 km in you reach back through Convent of Christ in Tomar. Next is back through Convent of Christ in Tomar.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Convent of Christ in Tomar write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Convent of Christ in Tomar, late in the day. Next is Coimbra.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Coimbra write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 245 km.
Coimbra → Convent of Christ in Tomar is 91 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Convent of Christ in Tomar → Monastery of Batalha is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monastery of Batalha → back through Convent of Christ in Tomar is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Convent of Christ in Tomar → Coimbra is 91 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.