The next BIG cycling destination

In this video I take 14 women with me to cycle in Portugal, a true hidden gem for cyclists! We enjoy stunning landscapes. gorgeous food and epic climbs juts for ourselves – simply dreamy!

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[Music] Hello, [Music] Alex. In that little suitcase here, there is so much. It all happens thanks to the absolute magic of the packing [Music] [Applause] cubes. Monour. I’m Alex from Moo and this week I’m in Portugal with 14 other girls and a call. Got a horn, don’t I? This is our first woman escape of the year. It’s an amazing region of Portugal that’s very unknown. So this week I’m going to show everyone around this region that I love and that’s a true hidden gem. So let’s ride. [Music] [Music] [Music] So today we actually on our way to Spain. We are going to cross the river which is actually the border between the two countries and we’re going to Gadisha where we are going to eat my favorite dish ever pulpo algaa octopus. So nice [Music] already. Go girls. Go girls. We’re about to go on a little adventure. We’ve decided to get on the boat to cross the river. And the boat doesn’t look very legit. [Music] Our time to cross. Jesus. [Applause] Okay, let’s go. Okay. [Music] Okay. So, you see those people over there? Well, last year they were here and I went for a swim and they gave me some of their food. They gave me a glass of wine. They gave me a towel to dry after. And they told me they’re here every single day of the year to go for a swim. And I think it’s jokes that they’re actually here again this year when I’m coming back. They weren’t lying. So, I’m going to go and say hello and see if they remember. [Music] Uh the cathed much saludias. Cheers. What’s a life? Looks like we’re having a 10 full dinner. Um, everyone got a little bit excited. We We all saw food and there was more food coming, but it’s incredible. Like this place 10 out of 10. The food [Music] [Music] is a lovely time in Spain and uh now we’re about to cross the border again through the bridge. This time we’re not taking the boat again to get back to Portugal. So green here is amazing. Lots of vegetation, flowers. It’s very [Music] [Applause] beautiful. We’re in Kaminia and this square seems like is the place to be. Everywhere we’ve been today, it was dead, like not a soul. And now I think we found them all. I just raved the bakery. I paid €10 for all of this. [Music] Hello. [Music] Well done, the girls. And we back to Vienna. That’s the ride down. That was a lush, lush day, but it’s now already 7:15. We literally been cycling the whole day, stopping for coffees and cakes and everything. So, I’m now going to have a shower and we’re going to have dinner outside at sunset. It’s going to be gorgeous. Um, and yeah, bring on tomorrow. [Applause] Good morning. It’s Wednesday today and this is our second ride of the holiday. Today we have a 12k climb on the menu called Bulusa. I don’t know how to pronounce this. I’ll try again and I check but I’m pretty sure it’s Bulusa. Uh it’s beautiful climb lost in the mountain. Again, there is no one there. Every time I’ve done this climb, we didn’t see three goats. Last time we saw three goats. Is going to be stunning landscapes again. The weather today is absolutely stunning. So happy. And then we’re going to have lunch in a town called Pontes Lima. It’s a UNICE World heritage town. Absolutely beautiful. Lovely architecture, the Portuguese colors on the buildings. What I really love about this place is that I feel like we get to explore places that we would maybe not see otherwise. It’s so untouched. There’s basically no tourists in here and we visit lots of different places on the on on the bike. Yesterday was awesome. It feel like an adventure between the boot crossing, the lunch in Spain. It’s lots of little things happening and I’m so excited to see what today has for us. Let’s go. Morning. Yeah. No need for jackets today, do we? No. First climb done. [Music] We’re cycling on the Camino de Santiago at the moment. So, we see lots and lots of people with their big backpack hiking, which is pretty cool. I’d love to do that one day. Yeah, it would be fun, I think. So we are taking our second climb, the 12k climb. And it starts very stingy. That was a bit intense. But now the work is done. We just have lovely ahead of us. Need to keep the chickens motivated. [Music] So, we’re all climbing at our own pace because, you know, there’s no point chasing someone to uh blew up and it’s quite a long climb. which means that for now I’m on my own in between some rockets at the front and some people are taking it easy at the back. And I love climbing so much. And I think I love it because it gives me so much head space. Like I think about nothing. I just enjoy the landscapes. It’s kind of slow pace but still active slow pace. Just love it. I wish the 12k was 24. or 50 like in the [Music] reef. Yes, queen play. Oh, lovely. Oh, that’s amazing. We had ice cream, refilled our bid, and now we climb again. We’ve got only 20K for lunch, so we’re doing well. [Music] Yeah. [Music] There you [Music] go. It’s rest day and we’re so bing for it because in some places you might be like, “Oh, rest day. What am I going to do?” But here we’ve got the most beautiful hotel with pool, sauna, blah blah blah. But mainly we’ve got the beach. Literally 2 minutes walk away from where we are. We just leave the hotel and we’re walking there. So I’m on my way to the beach and this morning we doing a surf lesson which going to be super fun. Um after that we’re going to head for some mush and probably a a stroll in town with some cafe pastel dinata. Obviously, like my goal today is to find me some pastries. And yeah, we just recharge to uh go cycling again tomorrow. Let’s surf. [Music] Do you think this qualifies as a rest day activity? No. My body is so hungry. [Music] So, we just had amazing lunch at the hotel and now most of the girls are relaxing by the pool, going for massage, etc., etc. And five of us are about to hop on the ferry to cross the river to get to town. Plan is coffee, cake, having a little bit of a stroll around. Also, to clarify, I use the word ferry, but this is the ferry. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] That’s a good work session we’re doing, isn’t it? [Music] Cheers. Bonjour. It’s Saturday today and we are going into the beautiful Sarah Dear National Park in the north of Vienna. It’s going to be amazing. The initial plan was to climb the infamous Sido. However, we did change the route around and decided to descend it instead. I will share with you the story of the Y in a bit. But anyway, we still have 20 of climbing which is going to be uh interesting and beautiful. But we had the most gorgeous relaxing day yesterday. So all the legs are fresh, so everyone’s going to enjoy. Some chickens have opted for the shorter route. They’re going to meet us for lunch. Some speedy chickens are ahead. And I’ve got six girls with me to uh to tackle the mountains today. [Music] [Music] Going lightning up the hill, down the [Music] hill. This is a climb, but how you feeling? Um, shaky. I need more. Oh, what a climb. I need some banana for some fuel. We should call her the goat from now [Music] on. Whoop! Go the girls! [Music] Die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die [Music] die right so fun fact the reason why we decided to change the roots around is because Sid was actually the worst clown of my life but I’m not sure if it was because of the climb or because of the situation. So it was 36 37° on that day. We were 120 km into a 170k rise and I was so scared of bonking and not having enough food that just before the climb I ate uh two steak sandwich with garlic butter. They were delicious at the time. I was like, “Oh, I’m feeling so well. I’m nailing nutrition today.” Um anyway, we started to climb and I regretted all my choices. I think it was the first and only time ever. I genuinely thought I’m going to turn back. I’m not doing that It’s just so bad. And now we’re descending it. I’m remembering why um it was so hard. And I’m really happy we made the decision today. But anyway, this corner here I remember is the spot where I had to stop to vomit my steak sandwich two years ago. Yeah, it’s giving a bit about the Lake District vibes except it’s not a 3K climb is literally 15% for like I think 6 km. It’s It’s a [Music] And we are back at the hotel. What a day. It was gorgeous. I really think everyone had the best day. Those views were incredible. And again, what I love here is literally we saw three bikes today and it’s Saturday. There’s no bikes, no cars, no no one. And there’s something super special to feel like you’re exploring a place that maybe no one has seen before. Climbing was pretty spicy, but much better than if we had done Selkido. So that was great. Everyone absolutely crushed it. is I I really love leading a trip and seeing people especially a group of girls because sometimes girls interacting can lack a bit of confidence like we don’t back ourselves as much as we should and definitely not as much as guys do. So before the rise there’s a lot of apprehension about the clims and if we’re going to manage and just seeing everyone completing it and getting to the top and being so proud is just amazing. Another thing that’s amazing today is that it’s 3 p.m. So, for once, we are back early. So, we have 4 hours until dinner to make the most of the hotel. And talking of which, I am finally going to give a tour of this place because it’s absolutely stunning. There’s actually so much to do to relax and enjoy here. So, I’m going to give you a tour and then I’m going to go and enjoy a drink by the pool. [Music] [Music] No, dinner has not arrived for you. Sorry. Okay, you can have mine. No, keep it. Keep it. Keep it. Keep it. Too late now. And this is now the end of our week with the girls. Everyone has gone. It was amazing to have them all here. Girls trip really differently for some reason. Um, I love the mix one too, but that was a very special week. And I’m actually staying here for another 10 days with Melissa for a week and we are about to go and climb that Cido. We uh we wanted to try it again to see if it was really that bad of a climb. So wish us luck. We about to attack this now. And to finish off this blog, I would like to talk quickly about the top tips like maybe the pros and the cons about cycling in the north of Portugal. So on the cons, uh obviously as I’ve said there’s no one here, so it might be a bit challenging sometimes to find places to refill your butter or to find a snack. So you need to get super organized about your nutrition and carry everything you have with you. It’s also not built for cycling because it’s not very famous. So you don’t have any cycling lanes. Some of the road sections can be a little questionable and the driver can overtake a little bit tight because they’re not that used to cyclist. And finally is the cobels. Those cobels, my god. So you can avoid the cobells at all time. However, you need to be really really hot on how to make your roots when you plan it because commute would tend to take you out of the cobels. But every time you try to reroot, you’re going to end up on a cobalt section. How does one do par? You need to be really prepared with your roots and you can’t really like improvise that much unless you love cobbers and it’s your vibe. Be my guess, but it’s definitely not mine. Now, on the pros, the amazing thing about this area, well, the fact that it’s very remote and not known can be a con. We just talked about it, but I I actually think it’s a massive pro. You get to discover the most stunning landscape with amazing clims, beautiful roots, and you have it all for yourself. And when I mean for yourself, there’s no cars, no the cyclist. You literally feeling like you are discovering something special on your own, and it makes it very unique, which I absolutely love. A really, really, really big pro about the north of Portugal is the food. It’s just insane and is so cheap. You go to all those restaurants and you get to eat those plates of octopus and seafood and fish and you just pay nothing for it and is the tastiest food you’ll ever have. I highly recommend. I also recommend if you’re in the north to just cross to the border to Spain because Galysia is very well known for its gastronomia as well and the octopus we had there was beyond limit. And finally, the last pro about staying here is the hotel where we stay is incredible. It’s called Filana. If you come with Moco, you have a cheeky discount that I’m going to link in the bio. And it’s by the beach, you’ve got the ocean, so every time you don’t want to ride, you can just go surfing, swimming, chill on the beach. Those sunset evening walks are unbeatable. And I am sure you will love it there. Thank you so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed that video. On the next one, we will be exploring Jes National Park. So, make sure you subscribe to the channel not to miss the next one. And see you in the next video. [Music]