Serra da Estrela Long Weekend · part 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Monte Estoril

   Faded grandeur and Atlantic light define Monte Estoril. The district rises from the coast between Estoril and Cascais, west of Lisbon, with villas, gardens and old hotels on the slopes above the sea, and a long promenade along the beach below. This was once one of Europe's most fashionable resorts, and some of that elegance survives in the palm-lined avenues and the houses with their tiled facades.

   Read the complete Monte Estoril write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Serra da Estrela Long Weekend photo pull-off is where the day begins. Next is Serra da Estrela Long Weekend checkpoint 8.

2. 2. Charneca de Caparica

   Charneca de Caparica sits on the high, sandy plateau behind the beaches of the Costa da Caparica, on the south side of the Tagus across from Lisbon. It is part of Almada and mostly residential, a sprawl of villas, small streets and umbrella pines spread over land that was once heath and scrub, which is what charneca means. To the west the plateau ends abruptly at a line of tall, golden cliffs, and below them lies one of the longest unbroken beaches near any European capital.

   Read the complete Charneca de Caparica write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Serra da Estrela Long Weekend checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is Serra da Estrela Long Weekend high point.

3. 3. Comporta

   Rice is not what most people expect in southern Portugal, but here at Comporta the land flattens into wide green paddies laid out along the Sado estuary, with herons and white storks standing in the water and the smell of mud and salt on the wind. Comporta is a small village of whitewashed houses and reed-thatched cottages on the edge of these fields, set between the estuary to the east and a huge Atlantic beach to the west, on the long sandy peninsula that runs south from Tróia.

   Read the complete Comporta write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Scenic stretch near Setúbal.

4. 4. Scenic stretch near Setúbal

   Setúbal is a working port city at the mouth of the Sado estuary, the sort of place that tourists tend to skip and locals quietly love. Fishing boats, ferries and cargo ships share the water, and across the estuary the long, flat sand spit of Tróia stretches out. Out in the water lives a small resident community of bottlenose dolphins, which you can sometimes see from boat trips leaving the harbour. Behind the city rises the Serra da Arrábida, a steep ridge of limestone covered in Mediterranean scrub.

   Read the complete Scenic stretch near Setúbal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Setúbal, late in the day. Next is Back to Serra.

5. 5. Back to Serra

   There is nothing glamorous about this spot, and that is its charm. It lies on the flat lands south of the Tagus, in the region between Alcochete and the town of Poceirão, a country of cork oaks, pine plantations, sandy soil and straight roads. After a long day in the mountains of the Serra da Estrela, this is where the Lisbon area starts to wrap itself around you again.

   Read the complete Serra write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Back to Serra. That is the ride.