Hello to all of you.
Between April 26 and May 2, I cycled 738 km along Portugal’s National Road 2, known as the N2, with nearly 10,000 meters of elevation gain. It’s one of the longest paved roads in Europe and is over 80 years old.
The route runs from Chaves (in the north) to Faro (in the south), crossing the entire country. The first half includes some mountains, while the second half is flatter, so you get to enjoy a wide variety of landscapes throughout the journey.
I traveled to Chaves by bus (from Fátima) with the “Rede de Expressos” company, and returned from Faro to Leiria—first by train from Faro to Lisbon, then by bus to Leiria.
Some trains have designated bike spaces (two per carriage), which need to be reserved in advance. Regional trains, however, can be trickier. On "Rede de Expressos" buses, you can buy a ticket for your bike and place it with the other luggage, but you must remove at least the front wheel and protect the bike using plastic wrap or cardboard and tape. The idea is to avoid damaging or dirtying other passengers' bags—so it’s also a good idea to take off the pedals, just in case.
I completed the trip in 7 stages. It was my first solo riding adventure, and only my second multi-day ride ever—so I’m still new to this 😊
I stayed in small guesthouses along the way, all booked in advance.
Here were my stages:
Chaves → Lamego: 109 km / D+ 1,750 m
Lamego → Santa Comba Dão: 117 km / D+ 1,650 m
Santa Comba Dão → Pedrogão Pequeno: 109 km / D+ 1,750 m
Pedrogão Pequeno → Ponte de Sor: 105 km / D+ 1,300 m
Ponte de Sor → Torrão: 129 km / D+ 1,240 m
Torrão → Almodôvar: 100 km / D+ 940 m
Almodôvar → Faro: 75 km / D+ 1,080 m
Stage five was tough—I rode nearly 100 km in the rain on a 129 km day. The first 2.5 hours were under heavy rain. Not fun, and I wasn’t well-equipped for it. 😄
The final stage also brought heavy rain, this time with a strong headwind—30 km/h, with gusts up to 60 km/h as I crossed the top of the Caldeirão Mountain. I had to stop twice to avoid being blown off the road. Also not fun.
The good part was that the stage was only 75 km, and the road through Caldeirão is stunning, even in wind and rain.
On those two days, I was completely soaked.
At 50 years old, I had never ridden so many days in a row, with stages of about 100 km and such elevation gain.
I’ve been mountain biking since I was 16. I did some small races until I was 22 and occasionally rode bike marathons between 60–100 km just for fun. After that, I mainly rode on weekends (Saturday and/or Sunday), usually no more than 50 km.
To prepare for this adventure, I trained for 5 weeks: two short sessions during the week on a basic bike trainer (max 1 hour), and longer weekend rides of 45–65 km, including hill repeats.
That training was enough to finish this adventure—but I did suffer, especially on the rainy days.
My body definitely needed more time on the bike (especially my butt! 😂) to handle something like this—or I needed to plan shorter days. I think that’s why my legs felt torn apart after stage four and never fully recovered.
I rode my Scott Genius 27.5 with 150 mm of travel. I installed 2.0 slick tires, added extra air to the suspension, and nearly closed the rebound to reduce bobbing—since the rear lockout wasn’t working.
In the end, as many people say: “The best bike is the one you have.”
I proved that true. I had my doubts, but you were all right.
Would a lighter bike, better clothing, or more compact gear have made it easier? Maybe.
But it would have cost more—and money is tight.
We naturally adjust our speed and effort to match what our equipment, body and mood can handle each day.
Booking everything in advance added some pressure to stick to the schedule—but honestly, most of that pressure came from me, wanting to arrive at a certain time… for no real reason.
Trips like this teach us that things don’t always go as planned, and we need to learn to adapt and cope with that.
That’s the biggest lesson I took from this—and I’ll keep learning it if I continue doing adventures like this because I’m a slow learner in matters of stress 😊
Here are a few photos. Wishing all of you great rides and new adventures ahead! 🚴♂️🌄
by Mission_Priority_245