I want to start by apologizing to all of you for all this time without any update. This does not mean that I haven´t rode lately, matter of fact I have been riding more than ever, the problem has been my work which has taken almost all my time.
Let´s see, since my last post I have made several mountain bike crossings and also some marathons.
First I started by going through the first two stages of the VPBTT (Portugal Crossing on Mountain Bike): 1st stage – Lisbon/Sesimbra (105.00 km in 06:35:00 hours at 15.95 km/h ); 2nd stage – Sesimbra/Setubal (75.00 km in 05:30:00 hours at 13.64 km/h ). I made it with three great friends and it was an unforgettable weekend.
On the next weekend (18/04/2009) I attended the 3th Alcains Marathon (80.00 km in 05:30:00 hours at 14.55 km/h ). It was very difficult for me due to a breathing problem which didn´t allowed me to pedal properly :(
Until May 29, I made a few rides around my area in order to save some money from travelings expenses.
On this weekend I did two more stages of the VPBTT - 13th stage Serpa > Mourão (97.00 km in 05:30:00 hours at 17.64 km/h ) and 14th stage Mourão > Elvas (105.00 km in 06:45:00 hours at 15.56 km/h ). This time it included a prologue of 152.00 km (in 06:30:00 hours at 23.38 km/h ) to get to the starting point (Serpa) coming from Elvas. The prologue was made through very hot Spanish roads.
You can watch the pictures from this two stages in this Portuguese mtb forum.
On the 6th of June I went from Arrábida to Albufeira (222.42 km in 09:52:00 hours at 22.54 km/h) both on the trails and roads. We finished it like we almost haven´t started yet and we went to party all night long :D
The beginning
Half way
In the end
On the following weeks I went to several marathons and did smaller rides with my better half ;)
Then it came the biggest challenge I ever attempted so far – The second attempt of the OneShot - Crossing Portugal side by side from Monsaraz to the Atlantic cost (223.00 km in 11:13:00 hours at 19.88 km/h) and i am proud and happy to say I was one of the eight who did it!
Photo by Ricky Rock.
There is no words which can describe what we felt when we got to the ocean...
On the next weekend I joined 22 friends and we rode from Almada to Avis (185.00 km in 09:10:00 hours at 20.18 km/h) where we spend the entire Sunday enjoying the pool and the kayaks ;)
Photos by JorgeMariaBolacha.
You can follow all the pictures HERE.
Finally, last Saturday I went to the north and rode through an old railroad which was dismantle a long time ago and we went from Albergaria-a-Velha to Viseu and returned to the starting point (176.00 km in 09:15:00 hours at 19.03 km/h). The astonishing views and the extraordinary company of good friends allowed it to be one of the best riding days I remember :)
Pictures of this day!
Now you know why I haven´t had time to update this blog LOL. Long working weeks followed by short (but unforgettable) weekends made it impossible for me to keep the posts updated.
I just want to finished this long post by saying that I probably never felt as great as I feel right now – Mountain biking rules! :)
