Sunday March 10 | Costa Nova to Figueira da Foz | 66km
THE BROCHURE DESCRIPTION: Today you’ll start riding parallel to the Aveiro Lagoon on a bike lane. Further ahead you will reach Praia de Mira. Then, the ride leads you through a long section of forest road with little or no traffic almost all the way, this will definitely be an introspective ride surrounded by pine trees and sand for a few kilometers that is sure to delight nature lovers. Coming back down to the ocean to Praia de Quiaios, you will pedal the hardest climb of the day: a hilly gravel road (650 meters long) that will take you through an abandoned quarry with an amazing display of several rock types and geological formations from the Miocene age. After the lighthouse, you will start to see the city Figueira-da-Foz, your final destination for the day.
OUR VERSION: Today was a mixture of highs and lows with an updated distance of 71 km.
Highs included a change in the wind direction so that for most of the day, our new friend; the wind was a help not a hindrance. The sun was out for much of the day and we rode some spectacular roads that hugged the coastline. One literal high was that we reached the first of the “climbs” that were described in the tour notes. Quite a shock to come around a corner and see a roadside sign warning of a 14% grade.
Lows were that much of the advertised forest seemed to have been cultivated so we had about 8 km of cycling through a sandy moonscape. About 20 kms from our day’s destination, Diane suffered a flat tire that required us to do a roadside tube replacement. It was the rear tire of course and it took 2 travel weary brains to get the repaired wheel back into proper position.
Tonight’s hotel was beautiful, with a top floor, corner room with a terrace
