TransPortugal 2007

TransPortugal Garmin "SuperTravessia" is an 8 day mountain bike stage race that travels the entire length of Portugal, starting in Braganca in the northeast corner and finishing at the beach in Sagres, at the southwesternmost point of all of Europe. The route is 1000km long and each stage finishes at a fine hotel where the riders are treated to great food, massage, and real beds. During each stage, the riders are on their own and must be self-sufficient, but get pampered in the evenings. Navigation is done by GPS, there are no markings on the course, just a ground track to follow on the GPS unit.

I went to this race with two goals: finish the course and have fun. I accomplished both goals and ended up placing 15th overall. My bike was a bit of an oddball as it has no suspension and only three gears. I could have used a higher gear at times and had to be careful on the few technical rocky parts of the course, but for me the bike was perfect.

	Joao and Jorge one kilo into the first stage, rolling out of Braganca in the far north east corner of Portugal.
	Much of the course was on old farm doubletracks like this through the countryside.
	Everything is made of stone, the houses, the roads, even the fenceposts. Most towns had a fountain where we could refill our water.
	Start of stage two. Waving in the middle is Paul West, one of the fun British guys.
	The magic nav system - just keep the little arrow on the red line and watch the k's click over. I had to make sure that I looked around at the scenery, not just at the screen and the ground.
	Paulo - I saw this guy a lot in the mornings, but by the finish, he was always way ahead of me.
	Steven, a South African living in New York was my roomate. He put up with my hacking cough all week and didn't even get mad when I crashed into him on stage two.
	Steven starting up one of the long hot climbs.
	Joao telling me all about the farming in the region. He works for the agriculture department and knows all about the area. I was just trying to make it up the hill. ( :
	One of the many hilltop castles we climbed up to see.
	Tim is one of the many strong Belgians at the race.
	Sven, Claudio, George, and Paul early in stage three.
	Roman Coblestones!!!
	Filomena always had a smile.
	The finish of stage four at Castelo de Vide - shattered.
	That night, a big storm rolled in and my spirits lifted - a break from the heat and sun.
	Stage five - pouring rain, headwinds, cobbles, mud, 140km, 3500m of climbing - heaven for the pacific northwesterners and Belgians, not so good for the Portugese.
	Castles, castles, castles.
	The big Americans, Martin and Vince from Seattle.
	The Portuguese contingent, ready for stage seven.
	A flat start allowed a big pack to form at the front.
	The overall winner, Peter of Belgium.
	Peter, Dominiek and Joao, with the rest of us tucked in roadie style. I was playing tourist taking pictures.
	I held on for 33km, then had to slow down a bit to survive the next 83.
	That's a railroad bridge!
	Starting up one of the big climbs at the end of stage seven.
	Staging for the final stage.
	We finally see the ocean. The last two hours were over the cliffs and down to the beaches headed south along the coast.
	Paul got stronger as the race went on.
	You can see four riders at the top of this very steep descent.
	The finish at the beach in Sagres.
	Packing the bikes into boxes for the trip home.
	Johan and the wild Corratec.
	At the airport, saying goodbye to new friends.