Day 3 Beja to Aguiar

Day 3. Beja to Aguiar. 64.15kms. 4.07 hours cycling. 49km/h max speed. 15.30km/h average speed (just cruised today). Weather sunny and mild – perfect for cycling. Camped in wildflower field just outside Aguiar.

After retrieving my driver’s licence at the camp ground office (see previous day’s blog) and getting out of Beja as fast as possible, I headed for the historical town of Evora where I plan to stay and sightsee for a day.

  But unlike the previous day where the road had a wide verge that allowed me to get well away from the thundering transport trucks and generally crazy Portuguese drivers, there was absolutely nowhere to ride other than on the road itself.

  To say it was a frightening experience is an understatement indeed!!! On a number of occasions I had to ride into the long grass on the side of the road to get away from huge semi-trailers as they came perilously close.

  It obviously didn’t take too long for me to realise that I had to reassess my route for the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!! An urgent scan of my map showed a small road just outside of Sao Matias that headed in the general direction of where I was going, so that was good enough for me.

  And what a good move it was. For the rest of the day I rode virtually traffic free through beautiful small villages along picturesque country roads on a perfect Spring day.

  As is the case in just about all the villages along the way, the local Council provides free internet so I made my way to the library in Alvito to use skype and to update the blog. How much better it is than in London where I was slugged 9 pounds for the privilege.

  After attending to business I enjoyed a traditional Portuguese lunch of pork and potatoes and wine before hitting the road again

  Anyway, after the hard slog of the previous day I soon realised that I wasn’t going to make it to Evora, so started to look for a place to camp. In the end I pitched my tent in a magnificent field of wildflowers in Aguiar to bring to an end an enjoyable day.

  Let’s hope there are many more day’s riding just as enjoyable ahead!!