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.
379 km from Guimarães to Guimarães, about 6 h 04 of riding. On the way it passes Alto Douro Wine Region, Vale de Figueira / Teixugo and back through Alto Douro Wine Region. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
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.
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 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 97 km into the recorded legs. Next is Vale de Figueira / Teixugo.
What I can say is that this stretch of the Côa valley is the part where the story of the rock art really begins. In 1991 Nelson Rebanda, a young archaeologist working on the dam project, noticed engravings on the schist walls, and over the following years teams recorded hundreds of panels along the river.
Read the complete Vale de Figueira / Teixugo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 190 km into the recorded legs you reach Vale de Figueira / Teixugo. 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 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 at Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo. That is the ride.
Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo → Alto Douro Wine Region is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Alto Douro Wine Region → Vale de Figueira / Teixugo is 93 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Vale de Figueira / Teixugo → back through 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 → Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zo is 97 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.