20 Years ago today – Day 7

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March 10 - Lisbon to Setubal - 149 km

This is it, the big day. The last two days have been practice runs. Today is our first day of loaded touring. It is a wonderful feeling to load my bags on the bike, throw my legs over the top of my saddle and push off knowing that I am leaving town on my own steam, and that tonight and for most days afterwards I will be in a new city I have never seen.

It would have been dramatic to leave Lisbon by cycling over the great bridge that spans the harbour, Ponte 25e de Abril, but instead we ride only about 400m to the dock in the harbour where a ferry takes us across to the community of Almada on the south side. A more subtle crossing, but perhaps safer.

It is a gentle beginning to a year of cycle touring. It won’t always be this easy, I am sure. On the far side I make one final touch to my cycling ensemble. I have kept this a secret from Mike until now, and I am quite sure at the moment he wishes that I had kept it a secret for another 12 months. At the dock on the far side I pulled two plastic ‘windmills’ (you know, those children’s toys that twirl on a stick when the wind hits them) and set them up so that they jut out from the tops of my front panniers like two crazy, whirling headlights when I am moving into the wind. Mike doesn’t like them, or that him not liking them makes he laugh with delight.

From the docks in Almada, we find our way to N10, Av. 25e de Abril, and follow it south east. By now you must be wondering why so many places have this name – the pension, the bridge, the street. That was the date of the Carnation Revolution – which doesn’t mean that the Portuguese find carnations to be revolting. The Carnation Revolution, which began on the 25th of April 1974, was when a left-leaning military coup overthrew the long-ruling repressive (some say ‘Fascist’) dictatorship of General Salazar and paved the way for Portugal’s first democratic election in 1976. The big bridge used to be called the Salazar Bridge until shortly after the coup. That election was won by Mario Soares, leader of the Portuguese Socialist Party. It was Soares who convinced the Portuguese to join the European Union, in part to prevent any future dictatorships from taking hold of the country. On January 13, Soares was re-elected President with 70% of the vote on the first ballot. I can still see some campaign signs here and there left over from the election.



About 10 km along N10, we turned south on Av. Padre Cruz, N378, which leads 20 km south to the resort town of Sesimbra. The last few km, we encounter sizeable hills and the south side, facing the sea, is covered in low cloud and fog. I had hoped this would be an interesting town, being off the beaten track at the west end of the Arrabida Natural Park, but it isn’t. A forest of new condominiums ruins the natural beauty of its setting. It is probably a weekend seaside get-away and a bedroom community for Lisbon. Along the boardwalk that follows the beach, also named 25e de Abril, the smell of barbequed fish on outdoor grills is strong.

We climb the painfully steep hill back out of Sesimbra. It was a struggle partly because of my cold and partly because I am out of shape after a long Toronto winter. Mike is worried about our pace (my pace) as I have been trying to take it easy on my knees this first day. He wants to take the busier truck route north of the national park into Setubal because it would be faster. I want go through the hills in the park to see the rugged coastline and I feel I am being punished because he wants to arrive earlier. He agrees to go through the park when I promise that we’ll arrive by 6pm. I am worried about my knees but I am determined to keep my word.

The route through the park led back up over the hills to the slopes above the coast. Then it plummets steeply until it is almost at sea level. My odometer tells me I surpass 45 km/hr at points. It is slow after this though, as the road climbs again to about 300m right into the clouds. Damn it is chilly in the clouds. The road falls back down to sea level and remains mostly level until we arrive in the city of Setubal.

Setubal is a regional capital, but is unspectacular as we coast along around the bay on roads parallel to the beach. We check out a couple hotels and settle for a modest one at 3000 esc/night. We have covered 83 km today and did three major hills. Not a bad start.

PHOTO 1: hills before Sesimbra
PHOTO 2: Sesimbra
PHOTO 3: north of Arribida National Park
PHOTO 4: coast, Arribida National Park
PHOTO 5: castle outside of Setubal