Tilt & Weebles 2009 Spain/Portugal

Originally Posted by anna

Can I just say fantastic choice of routes... a word about day 7...

I don’t know what riding skill level of the people going on this ride are however, the road Via R. Douro is one of the most challenging roads and for me is up there with the twisties in Wales.

Thanks for the heads up Anna. Actually that day is of some concern. The Douro looks superb on Google Earth and you may note that I have chosen the south side of the river which has the twistier smaller roads.

Basically if it gets too much we simply just slow down and take a hit on the schedule probably switching later to the North side on the more major road.

We had a similar problem on the N260 Pamplona to Andorra road last year. A section in the middle (not the bit by Sort) became exeedly twisty whilst narrowing to 1.5 car widths with cambers and inclines all over the place plus camper vans coming the other way. (ask Weeble about that one)

Basically non-stop for about 10 miles as below climbing then dropping.



Fun, but your an idiot to "hoon it" fully loaded...........

Originally Posted by anna

I don’t know what riding skill level of the people going on this ride are however, the road Via R. Douro is one of the most challenging roads and for me is up there with the twisties in Wales.

Originally Posted by Tilt

Thanks for the heads up Anna. Actually that day is of some concern. The Douro looks superb on Google Earth and you may note that I have chosen the south side of the river which has the twistier smaller roads.

The Douro looks even more superb when you're actually riding it but...

Basically if it gets too much we simply just slow down and take a hit on the schedule probably switching later to the North side on the more major road.

I think this might be a very good move. I was born in Lamego, and I've been through the Lamego - Resende road a few times (as well as the other ones that lead to Porto). While it's a spectacular road, it's not one I would like to do fully loaded and with a deadline to meet. Like Anna says it's a very treacherous road, and some (if not most) of the bends will close in on you instead of opening up like you would expect them to. Rinse and repeat, and with a lot of miles on your backs and schedules to meet it's just disaster waiting to happen. Those roads have claimed too many locals already.

We had a similar problem on the N260 Pamplona to Andorra road last year. A section in the middle (not the bit by Sort) became exeedly twisty whilst narrowing to 1.5 car widths with cambers and inclines all over the place plus camper vans coming the other way. (ask Weeble about that one)
Basically non-stop for about 10 miles as below climbing then dropping.
Fun, but your an idiot to "hoon it" fully loaded...........

I've never been through that one, but 10 miles sound like nothing compared to what you're facing here.

So... my advice would be:

a) if neither of you is feeling tired and you're not in a rush, turn to the north bank of the Douro at Régua, and follow the Entre-os-Rios road just like your 3rd option for stage 7.
The view is equally amazing, the road is fantastic and great fun, but please take it easy, it's still not an easy road by any stretch of the imagination.
You might be fooled by the straight lines out of Peso da Régua, but it will begin twisting and turning pretty much after a couple of miles. Be careful with the heavy vehicle traffic there, some of the bends are WAY too tight and trucks will appear to you on your side of the road (you'll see the marks on the walls...). Don't even think about cutting left handers if you can't see clear roads at least two bends ahead (and you won't for most of the time). Keep in mind it's not just going left or right, it's also going up or down...

or...

b) if someone in the group is not at the top of their form (and I'd reckon there's a high chance that might happen by this point) or you're on a tight schedule to get to Porto, turn north in Peso da Régua, get yourselves on the A23 motorway (no tolls as of Feb. 2009) up to Vila Real, then get on the IP4 / A4 headed Amarante / Porto (the A4 is a toll road, starting a few miles after Amarante right up till Porto, I don't know how much it is right now but I'm sure it's less than €10):

Peso da Régua - Porto

It's not as good a biking road as the other one, but it's safer if you're on a tight schedule (1h30 abiding to the speed limits, and you'll want to do this, see next paragraph).

WARNING: the IP4 is supposed to have a very constant police presence, and it's marked as a Zero Tolerance road due to a high rate of accidents in the past, so make sure you stick to the speed limits. You might be lucky not to find a police car, but if you do and you're above speed limits, their orders are to stop you there and then and take your license as a "recuerdo"...

Starting from Peso da Régua, you'll be joining the A23 motorway (quite simple, mainly uphill, a few tight bends but I'd say it's quite easy to ride on - careful if it's windy though).
Then the IP4, as I said earlier you will want to keep to the speed limits and if you do it's an easy road that will make you want to go faster. Resist the temptation though. First half is going up, second half is going down with 7% and more inclines. Use engine braking, allow your brakes to cool down as much as possible and mind the wind. Again, if you're sticking to the speed limits you shouldn't need them that often.
A4 - this is a bit of a rollercoaster motorway. The paving is not the best, in fact it sucks for a motorway, and it's got a fair share of uphills and downhills with some tight corners but it's still a motorway so not too difficult. Traffic here will increase progressively as you approach Porto, but being a saturday you won't have the rush hour problem. Just mind the loonies with no lane discipline whatsoever.

Let me know if there's anything else you need to know.

Thanks Filipe.

If the view from the N108 is as good as the minor lanes to the south of the River then I will switch that to plan A. N108 seems to have no less bends however.....how busy does it get on a Saturday in September?

If you have never done the N240/N260 Pamplona to Andorra then do it this year... its 428 Km so spend the previos night in Pamplona and plan to spend the next night in Adorra la vella.

http://tinyurl.com/Pamplona-Andorra-N240-N260

Originally Posted by Tilt

Thanks Filipe.

If the view from the N108 is as good as the minor lanes to the south of the River then I will switch that to plan A. N108 seems to have no less bends however.....how busy does it get on a Saturday in September?

I don't think it will get very busy, but erractic traffic is always dangerous around that road. You're probably right about the ammount of bends, but they're generally easier and with better road surfacing (of course that could change in 6 months time...)

If you have never done the N240/N260 Pamplona to Andorra then do it this year... its 428 Km so spend the previos night in Pamplona and plan to spend the next night in Adorra la vella.

http://tinyurl.com/Pamplona-Andorra-N240-N260

Thanks, will keep that one in mind, though I'm a bit of a poof and 428 km of twisties in one go sound like 400 too many I'll add that one to the "to ride on" list though

Will post some pic's on our return

Are you back yet? Am itching to see the pics

Yeah back. Some superb roads. if you like twisties you will love the Picos and NW/W Portugal.

With one exception we stuck absolutely to the route posted above.