CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo it runs 427 km to Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo; allow about 6 h 37 of riding. It goes by way of Alto Douro Wine Region, Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo and back through Alto Douro Wine Region. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 97 km this is Douro Valley N222, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Faia is the quietest of the Côa Valley rock art sites, and its distance from the main road is part of the charm. Located on the plateau south of the Côa river, about fifteen kilometres from Mêda, a small town of about two thousand, it is one of the places where Paleolithic artists scratched the animals they hunted onto the schist. Visits are by guided tour from the Côa Museum, and you should book ahead, since the number of visitors is limited.
Read the complete Faia write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Faia is where the day begins. 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 comes up about 117 km into the recorded legs. 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.
about 214 km into the recorded legs you reach Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo. 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, late in the day. Next is Faia.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Faia write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Faia. That is the ride.
Faia → Alto Douro Wine Region is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Alto Douro Wine Region → Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo → back through Alto Douro Wine Region is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Alto Douro Wine Region → Faia is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.