Riding 450 miles across Portugal in 3 days with Laurens ten Dam and Ted King on a Pinarello Dogma

Portugal’s N2 runs the length of the country, 738 kilometers from the northern point in Chaves to the ocean at Faro. It’s a beautiful road that traverses wine country, farmlands and quaint villages. The luxury cycling trip outfit inGamba invited me to join a special version of their N2 adventure with Laurens ten Dam and Ted King, which covered the distance in three days instead of the normal six.

The trip was all time, thanks to the absurdly high level of service by the WorldTour team of soigneurs, mechanics and ride leaders.

I test rode a Pinarello Dogma with SRAM Red and Zipp 303S wheels.

I brought and used an old Specialized Power Elaston saddle. They don’t sell it anymore, but the Power Mirror is the latest version it: https://tinyurl.com/y7x8btv6

Check out inGamba: https://tinyurl.com/3f5cc9jn

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The Ride is supported in 2024 by:
Castelli clothing: http://tinyurl.com/43k6pftp
Giro helmets: http://tinyurl.com/72svzzxp
Silca maintenance: https://bit.ly/47xxvzj (save 10% with code ‘theride’)
First Endurance nutrition: https://bit.ly/41SDgqq (save 20% with code ‘THERIDE’)
Shimano shoes & glasses: http://tinyurl.com/ye274tep
Feedback Sports stands & tools: https://bit.ly/3S9Dq8r
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0:00 intro
2:02 day one
9:29 day two
13:04 day three
22:03 Dogma review

over the next 3 days I’m going to be riding 450 mil from the top to the bottom of Portugal with such Elite talents as Lawrence tindam Ted King Sergio poino and Ry vinhas will I be able to make it will I have to climb to the SAG wagon I’m here with the luxury tour company inamba I’m going to be testing this Panero Dogma riding with inamba we have such World Tour amenities as nightly massage Pro mechanics taking care of the bikes will that be enough to get me to the end we shall see come along for the [Music] ride we leave from here we go left and then we go straight to the roundabout with the mark of starting today inside a fort what I would call a castle a drawbridge and everything not a Shabby place to start a [Music] ride r kilm z of the into what many call the Route 66 of Portugal running north to south the country is 350 miles north to south we’re riding 450 taking a bit of a securious route and a whole lot of climbing to boot luckily lawren is going to pull the whole way I’m going to pull the whole way not kilm zero here’s the crew have FM guys [Music] okay what I noticed today which I think is really smart we used we did it had it back in the days the white lid is water and the red lid is sugar which means the SW never have to R down W and S on the bottles [Music] anymore got a flat tire get it changed like a pro thanks sir appreciate [Music] it I also eat them during the night [Music] this is how inamba does a coffee stop [Music] yeah so Florence yeah I’ve never been a professional I’ve seen a lot of professionals I’ve seen you racing professional I know you guys do coffee sub when when you were a racing World Tour did you have coffee stops like this someone racking the bikes putting bottles only when we were training without the team so with my friends down out in the lch we stopped always for coffee and my first team still did but at the end they didn’t do it anymore so it’s really back to the old life but you see the guy the SW is tring the changing all the bottles and for sure that they didn’t do at the pros no so it’s actually better them with the [Music] show come on come on the [Music] energy day one done and dusted 100 what 40 miles 140 roundabouts 140 pasta Andor rice snacks now it’s time to [Music] chew thank you sir wonderful thank you sir what are we drinking this is your finished bottle makes you go fast tomorrow uh I’m going to get some sort of carbohydrate recupero Matthew what’s the verdict Day one good idea bad idea both there is there is Regret there somewhere also Joy maybe too soon mostly reg too soon fear impending doom good times inamba in two day one was exceptional for a number of reasons but primarily because of the support having professional mechanics and Swan taking care of very nonprofessional Riders was an absolute treat you come out of the hotel and the bikes are lined up often I hop on bikes as you guys know at press events where bikes are set up but typically there’s a a fair amount of setup that each of us will do individually to get the bikes kind of dialed in here I provided My Fit specs ahead of time when I showed up I handed Sergio my pedals and saddle walked out the morning of the event the bike was fully dialed I clipped into a bike that already had full bottles on it and a computer with a route loaded on it that was not mine and we went off and rode 140 Mi two andama vehicles follow in Leap Frog group and then seemingly every other roundabout of which there were many roundabouts there was a vehicle there handing up bottles taking vests or arm warmers so we only had to stop when we wanted to stop and with Lawrence and Ted leading the charge the stopping wasn’t on the menu too often as an American accustomed to stop lights and stop signs riding into where roundabouts are the primary thing was a treat just because you can just keep the party going of course the best riding was not through the roundabouts but it was out in the countryside where the climbs were I appreciated a relatively shallow gradient and the descents were spectacular one in particular I enjoyed was a curvaceous Serpentine descent down through Vineyards being able to follow the steady wheels of Ted and lawren and Sergio and ruie uh made it feel not just exhilaratingly fun but also safe and controlled although we were riding what for lawren and Ted was a very pedestrian Pace 140 m miles 10K or 12K of climbing whatever it was there still Lots no arrived at the hotel fairly tired at the hotel get a late lunch and then speaking of this professional treatment got a fantastic massage one of the best SL most painful massages I’ve had in quite some time then it’s time for apertif a delicious dinner rinse and repeat Here Comes day two [Music] we leave from here we turn left we do this small hill and then we go a littleit down we turn left we cross the dam after the D we turn right and then we go down and flat side by side with the river okay [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] [Music] getting paced back to the group how sweet is that so at the start Lauren said he wasn’t going to pull the whole time he’s basically been pulling the whole time he and Ted have been sitting on the front Sergio’s been taking a lot of pulls you know I’ll take a token pull every couple hours for a minute or two now we’re settling into the rhythm of doing half a ride in the morning stopping for a beautiful coffee stop and then slogging out the second half [Music] a [Music] it’s uh like yesterday it’s uh it’s not completely flat but it’s uh it’s it’s easy okay um we go direction to morrow in about uh 20ks and then we start to go more to the left okay um when we pass the mark of 500 me 500 kilm we’re going to do us quick stop for take a picture if you want guys good luck day three the big one 280k 175 is MIL mil going to finish off the in2 in far the southern into of Portugal thankfully forecast is calling for a scream and Tailwind picking up about 10:00 it’s going to be a good long day on the bike I’m going to get back where I belong sitting behind these gentlemen taking us all the way south [Applause] morning we got luxury Pros front and back R Vos and Sergio poino keeping all their kitty cats hurted and taking long pulls as needed climbing off the bike yesterday like ry’s taking my bike before I’m even UNC even in a coffee shop the amount of support on this trip is ludicrous and it was set up as a the best parts of procycling being on a procycling team without you know having to have the talent to do the work but I’ve been around Pro or not and the experience here is in many ways a higher level of service than pro riders did there we go just getting to so what was the what was the idea what was the Genesis behind D gar I mean the basic idea was in 2010 when I was racing as test team I was just really tired and really tired of training hard and starving myself all the time and you know I was living in Tuscany where it was a beautiful area for food and wine and I couldn’t really have any of it CU I was staring at a power meter all the time so Ted and I were having lunch uh we were both at CLL then we were having lunch and I just kind of on a placemat started deciding a week of my favorite rides my favorite foods my favorite restaurants places to eat Vineyards to to go to and that’s how it started with that one trip and then one trip left to two to now we do 60 a year you know but we’re always with that with that ideal of great support like a pro tour team so the vehicles the bikes the swur the mechanics the daily bike washes all that stuff that you experience on a world tour team but then also with food and wine as a really important piece which is key you know so we’re generally riding in the morning done by by lunch and then there’s massages in the afternoon mechanics look after the bikes every day just like on a team you know and that was it that was the idea [Music] [Music] so quiet dig it [Music] how much to go 230 239 239 only 239 kmet To Go Gang of mafos Portugese [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] coffee stop number two of the day at kilomet 205 well needed much appreciated once more with enthusiasm [Music] [Music] oh oh oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] come [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] 738k from the tippity top to the tushi tail that was the into Portugal north to south that was quite a treat we had a blazing blazing Tailwind just sitting behind the engines of Sergio and ruy for part of the day and lawrens and Ted The rest would have been quite a different story if the wind was blowing the other direction we’re looking at what are our stats here camera’s not focusing we looking at um 8 hours for 280k not bad for the four Joe’s who are sitting behind the four Pros now it’s back to the hotel to clean up right now we are down lovely far Southern Portugal normally I would do my post ride Gear wrap-ups with the bike but the pro mechanics here are so efficient and so busy they’re already breaking down and washing the bikes to pack them up for the next trip so I will not bother them with that and we’ll just use Boll of the bike instead want talk two things about bikes one the Machinery itself and two the professional maintenance thereof the bike for this trip is a race bike CH was talking about how inamba is the very best parts of being on a world tour pro race team including having Pro Race equipment and the Pinella Dogma is very much that a Wheels you know zip 3 3 s’s Victoria Corson next 28 mil tubless tires definitely a race machine and going fast on a race bike feels good you know especially coming off of doing a long ride down the California coast on 35 mil tires getting on this bike especially you know sitting behind these former World Tour Racers and today when we had a screaming Tailwind going fast on a race bike feels good no two ways about that some things that don’t feel great about a race bike particularly an arrow race bike is the lack of give so for instance pen Dogma has got you know pretty substantially uh Arrow seat post which isn’t the most forgiving thing on the world most of the time the roads were great but you know occasionally we’d roll through towns there’ be some quaint cobblestone streets and you can certainly you know feel that coming up through the bike and gives you the option to bring your own saddle because you can have the nicest bike in the world and if the contact points don’t agree with you it don’t matter you’re not going to be happy especially on a long 450 m 3day ja they suggest you bring your own saddle I absolutely took them up on that I brought a specialized power elaston a shape that I very much appreciate and one that has a little bit more padding is a saddle that I use for my very first Unbound gravel 200 because of that shape and the padding so comfortable rear ends is Happy rear end and you want your rear end to be happy when you’re in the saddle for like eight hours like we were today UPF front having Happy Hands that also makes for a happy Rider and there is something I would change were I to select my own bike for another 450 M 3-day ride very much unlike the typical product launch where there’s a lot of fiddling around with getting the satellite right and sadle for a you know maybe you know adjusting the stack at a reach on this I climbed on the bike clipped in and rode 450 Mi that was made possible due to the pro mechanics dialing in the fit exactly to my measurements to do that they use traditional bar and stem you know the pinell Dogma also certainly works with its own house brand most integrated cockpit that certainly looks a lot cleaner but uh having you know the two-piece cockpit makes it much easier to adjust stack and reach per Rider so that’s something I would change not to necessarily have an integrated setup but just to have a slightly wider top for the bars you know myself and the other guys who also don’t happen to be former professionals we’re doing a lot of this uh on towards the end of the rides particularly today CU just you know having a narrow round bar doesn’t give you a lot of area over which to disperse the pressure so that would be you know looking for tiny knits to pick that would be that would be a knit to pick when I last tested a pinerolo Dogma it had the integrated cockpit and there my hands weren’t happy in the drops and that there’s a sculpted drop that’s got an arrow shape which seems to me like a dumb thing frankly like a place where you put your hands it doesn’t really matter if there’s a Teensy tiny marginal gain to be had there like if your hands are going numb which was my experience when I did a big ride uh up and over Rocky Mountain National Park and yeah fingers are going numb doesn’t matter if you’re saving 06 Watts whatever riding a high-end bike very nice riding an a im maully maintained bike super cool riding a very nice bike that is imly maintained like the best [Music] let [Music]