I have been lucky enough to have lived for 15 years in northern Portugal and one of the best things about living here is the bike riding you can do here. I have ridden my bike all round Europe in all the glamorous destinations and I still think northern Portugal is one of the best places to ride for its combination of well maintained and empty roads (away from the coast), unspoilt scenery (inland there is very little development), hard mountains (the Serra de Estrela has climbs that are similar to Hors Catégorie Alpine climbs in terms of the aggressive gradients and length) and not least the fact that you can stay and eat at unbelievable hotels and restaurants for a fraction of the price you would pay elsewhere in Europe.
Anyway for many years I have brought Carvalho Custom clients out to ride in Portugal as well as cycling friends from the UK and beyond and now we have decided to host rides for paying guests for a limited number of groups every year. We have a simple site for our guided cycling tours in Portugal here and it is our intention to keep this a small business for serious riders who are prepared to pay €800 for week long supported toura staying at 4* hotels in the middle of nowhere. We will also give 10% discounts to any riders coming from a club we supply clothing to!
Here is a photo of the ride up to Torre, the highest point in Portugal and please get in touch if you would like any further information about the tours.
