Martin Haagmans

As hoped and expected, we had the best weather of the year for today’s ride to Pegões com um grupo muito competente e simpático de 6. Including the coffee stop at the café next to the Igreja, which was a pretty hopping place on a Sunday morning, it was a 5-hour round trip. And, I don’t I didn’t get anyone lost UNTIL GETTING BACK INSIDE SETÚBAL!! So typical 🙄. The current view of the farmland damage was evident, but mostly because of all the debris left along the sides of fields and waterways reflecting flooding of 1-2 meters above the normal level of the ground or banks. The water itself had fortunately either flowed downstream or soaked into whatever water table can be maintained in that sandy “soil”. Anyway, there were only a spot or two where tree damage appeared and that seemed likely due to proximity of power lines (given the presence of a couple utility maintenance vehicles). So, thankfully, much more of a regular ride in the warm sun than a flood control report. Hope the summer crop proves just as good and many livelihoods will be spared more than they feared. The early traffic out of Setúbal was fast and consistent, with the return experiencing considerably less. From Lagameças to Pegões it was VERY light in both directions (11h00 and 13h00). Thanks to the group for sticking pretty closely together 🙏. Separation on a route like this with backroad cross traffic and a lot of unfamiliar intersections and roundabouts can easily make that problematic. (Patty, Jim, Phil, Martin, Jeff M, Jeff S).

The sun teased us the entire ride, but never really came to stay. Fortunately, the group was up for whatever lay ahead. Happily, at the end that meant hot coffee and stories about anything but the weather. Even when the air and roads were damp from mist and sprinkles, it was still a beautiful route to ride with great friends. (Kelly, Betsie, Martin, Phil, Jim, and Jeff)

What a perfectly sunny autumn morning for a bike ride. Just over 2 hours round trip, including a coffee stop at EcoParque. Martin arranged today’s Lisboa transport with Jim and Betsie, so he was able to join and restore a little normalcy to his life for a couple hours. It was also Jim’s first ride in months and a welcome relief by all after Depression Claúdia’s rains and wind. (Martin, Betsie, Jim, Jim Morgan, Jeff)

This sunny, Thursday morning ride was fully paved but there was still a decent amount of traffic on the way out of Setúbal until turning onto the N10-4. Then it was smooth past SECIL toward Rasca and up to the N-10 and Azeitão. After a stop at the Café Negrito, the way back was very fast on the steep Rua dos Picheleiros downhill toward Rasca before merging onto the N10-4. The N-10 shoulders were narrow in a couple places approaching Azeitão, but the uphill was probably easier than going up Picheleiro. Either way, neither is without its challenge. The ride and the day, however, were a pleasure. (Betsie, Junior, Martin, Jeff)

This was a great ride on a sunny fall Sunday morning. We intended to turn around following the steep climb to the Miradouro atop the Upper Coastal Road, but plans changed when we got Nancy’s message that she had separately stopped at the defunct naval gun emplacement. Realizing that we would not be reconnecting with her on this trip (she had previously told us not to wait since she was riding a conventional bike), the battery-assisted group continued on to the Lower Coastal Road and followed it back to town. Long, steep hills make it quite difficult to keep a group together when some have the battery-assist and others do not. Unfortunate, but both are good options so it just needs to be a consideration on group rides. We also did not stop at the EcoParque as planned, instead proceeding to the PUA (Parque Urbano de Albarquel) bike wash station and café. That turned out to be a great choice even if it was at the end of the ride. It was quiet, shaded, and served really tasty croissant mistas. Nancy, we’ll try to tempt you on the flat, rural routes where you (and Marcelline and JimM) will sail along within (or outdistancing) the pack. (Lotta, Betsie, Nancy, Martin, Bob, Jeff)

This was a very easy route, perhaps a little boring compared to riding through the Arrábida or even going further into the rural northeastern section of the Setúbal peninsula. We rode past the Moinha do Maré and turnaround near Lagameças, just southwest of Poceirão. Life becomes a little more agri-rural at that point, but we had a fixed turnaround due to a time crunch so e let that over-rule any desire for adventure or sightseeing. I also don´t see stopping in Faralhão at Docinho do Mel again in the near future because the wait times are crazy (though their offerings are excellent). It´s just too crazy busy for a casual stop on the way home. So, it was a pleasant and easy ride with 9 great friends, but I´m happy that the car race was only on e weekend long and looking forward to a return to our welcoming Arrábida on Wednesday and again next weekend. (Martin, Lotta, Betsie, Marcelline, Linda, Matt, JimM, Bob, Jeff)

This turned into a beautiful ride for a Sunday morning following a known route northeast to Lagameças, appending Nancy Warr’s section over to the Mourisco Tide Mill, and back through Faralhão, Praias do Sado, and home along the river into Setúbal. It was a 3.5 hour paved ride as expected, with plenty of time for café and tostas. (Jim, Junior, Martin, Jeff)

This tried and true route up the Cobra and Lower Windmill Road was a great Thursday morning break with good friends. We did not complete our search for baguettes because two of the likely cafés were closed for post-summer holidays. So, we’ll just have to keep sampling until we find the cure. It’s like a science experiment 🧫 🧪 🧬 and data collection is a critical part. Out of Azeitão we took the Rua Alto das Necessidades downhill past Alcube like slalom racers and, joining the N-10 back to Setúbal. Actual riding time was around 2:15, plus a leisurely stop checking out two pastelarias at the entry intersection to Azeitão across from the flea market park and the “grapes” sculpture. (Jim, Junior, Bob, Martin, and Jeff).

We changed our original course due to weekday time commitments, rolling past Campismo and heading toward Portinho on a hilly gravel road. We cut back east on the lower coastal road above Portinho and on past Galapos and Figueirinha beaches. The traffic was good on a Wednesday morning, though building by the 11:00 hour, and the sun and temps combined for a beautiful ride that included a mix of paved and gravel surfaces, Arrábida hillsides and coastal beaches. (Madelaine, Marcelline, Martin, Junior, Jim, and Jeff)