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.
161 km from Porto to Porto, about 2 h 29 of riding. It goes by way of Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo, Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga, back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga and back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo.
Porto stacks itself up the north bank of the Douro like a deck of cards, with the tiled houses and church towers tumbling down toward the river and the iron arch of the Dom Luís bridge holding it all together. The city has about a quarter of a million people, a lot of granite, and a love of tripe and francesinha, a sandwich of steak, sausage and ham covered with melted cheese and a beer-and-tomato sauce. The Ribeira district along the water is a World Heritage site and a good place to wander, if you do not mind the steep, polished cobbles and the crowds.
Read the complete Porto write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Porto is where the day begins. Next is Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo.
Aqui nasceu Portugal, says the slogan painted on an old section of the town wall: Portugal was born here. Guimarães claims to be the cradle of the nation because Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, is said to have been born here, and in 1128 he won the battle of São Mamede nearby, against his mother's forces, a key step towards independence. The castle on the hill, a compact fortress with a tall keep, and the small Romanesque church beside it, where he is said to have been baptised, are the symbols of that story.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo comes up 19 km in.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
At least 42 km in you reach Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo. Next is Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga.
There are 577 steps up to Bom Jesus do Monte, and a good many pilgrims still climb them on their knees. The sanctuary hangs on a wooded hillside above Braga, in the green Minho of northern Portugal, and what makes it extraordinary is the staircase. It zigzags up the slope in a series of baroque landings, each with its own fountain, chapel or statues, and each telling a different part of the story, from the five senses to the three virtues. Work began in the early eighteenth century and went on for decades, and the white church at the top, with its twin towers, was finished later, in neoclassical style. UNESCO listed the whole ensemble in 2019.
Read the complete Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga, about halfway. Next is Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga sits at 77 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga comes up 96 km in. Next is back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
115 km in you reach back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo, late in the day. Next is Porto.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Porto write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 161 km.
Porto → Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo → Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga → back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo → Porto is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.