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.
A 338 km round trip from Coimbra - roughly 4 h 52 in the saddle. It goes by way of 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.
Rua da Sofia was a royal project. In the 1530s, King João III wanted to make Coimbra a centre of learning, and the street, a straight line unusual in a medieval city, was laid out along the foot of the hill to house new colleges for the monastery of Santa Cruz and for the university. Its fronts, in the late Gothic and Manueline styles, with carved doorways and twisted columns, still line the way, and they give a rare sense of what a planned Renaissance street felt like in Portugal.
Read the complete Rua da Sofia write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Rua da Sofia 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 about 80 km into the recorded legs. 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.
about 124 km into the recorded legs you reach Monastery of Batalha.
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.
Convent of Christ in Tomar, 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 sits at 249 km, about halfway. 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 comes up about 258 km into the recorded legs. Next is Rua da Sofia.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rua da Sofia write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Rua da Sofia closes the day.
Rua da Sofia → Convent of Christ in Tomar is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Convent of Christ in Tomar → Monastery of Batalha is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monastery of Batalha → Convent of Christ in Tomar is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Convent of Christ in Tomar → back through Monastery of Batalha is 44 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 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Convent of Christ in Tomar → Rua da Sofia is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.