I love riding a bicycle. Portugal is a beautiful country and has many good countryside roads where you can calmly ride a bicycle.
Although I never went on big trips on a two-wheel vehicle, I had the opportunity to explore Alentejo on a bike.
I’m sharing with you two of the most remarkable trips of cycling in Portugal that I had the chance to venture myself.
If you’re up to some cycling holidays in Portugal, I’m sure this page will inspire you to go on the road and explore Portugal by bicycle.
I’m not going to write about the most famous routes such as cycling Portugal north to south or about the touristy Algarve cycling holidays, rather, I’m going to write about a part of Portugal people usually never go.
Read the page: Atlantic Coast Bicycle Route – Portugal
Cycling in Portugal
1. Évora to Arraiolos = 55 KM
It had been years since I had been on a bike. I decided to travel from Évora to Arraiolos on my new-bought bicycle. I had never pedaled so much in one day before.
Traveling Alentejo by bike is a great experience since the region is so beautiful and you can really get to know it at a different pace.
I traveled from Évora to Arraiolos and from there to Igreijinha, along the Graça do Divor dam and back to Évora. I loved it. It was my first trip on a bicycle.
Detailed itinerary
- Évora – Arraiolos: 22 km
- Arraiolos – Igreijinha – Graça do Divor: 12km
- Graça do Divor – Igreijinha – Évora: 21km
- TOTAL: 55.24 km
Map
Évora to Arraiolos » Traveling in Alentejo by bike
At around 12:30 pm I hopped on the bike and began to pedal from Évora to Arraiolos. I have no idea why on earth I chose to do it when the sun was high.
I pedaled for one hour, uphill, for 22 Km to Arraiolos. The landscape is gorgeous around here. All the flowers are blooming, although everything begins to look dry. But it looks fantastic with those summer flowers and cactuses.
The stretch Arraiolos – Igreijinha – Graça do Divor was a good one because I traveled downhill for almost 4 km, at a speed of 53.6 km/h.
Eight or nine kilometers later, I had quickly reached Graça do Divor, an impressive dam.
I stayed here for about one hour to eat and rest.
Then I went from Graça do Divor to Igreijinha, where I visited the center to see the church the village is named after (“Igreijinha” means small church in Portuguese).
All the houses and the square have a fresh coat of paint. Truly picturesque.
The last leg of this bicycle trip in Alentejo was from Igreijinha to Évora.
I traveled for about the same length as from Évora to Arraiolos, always at a speed around, 25, 30, and 35 km/h.
2. Évora to Comenda = 120 KM
Riding a bike is great to build patience.
After taking the 55 km trip, I decided to add some more kilometers to my itinerary, so I traveled for 120 km from Évora to Comenda, beyond Portalegre.
Alentejo is such a beautiful region. Cork trees, animals, the landscape, and the quietness are perfect for pedaling and enjoy life going by slowly. Part of my itinerary was through the famous Rota dos Vinhos (Wine Route).
Riding a bicycle is liberating. We see things going by slowly, and our mind adjusts to that pace, knowing that you can’t rush anything because nothing will be rushed.
Map
Detailed itinerary
- Évora: 7:45 am – km 0
- Igreijinha: 8:48 am – km 18
- Vimieiro: 9:33 am – km 34
- Casa Branca: 10:16 am – km 49 (stopped to rest – left at 10:37 am)
- Avis: 11:23 am – km 63
- Benavila: 11:45 am – km 71
- Seda: 12:24 pm – km 84
- Ponte Vila Formosa: 12:48 pm – km 91 (stopped to rest– left at 1:06 pm)
- Chança: 1:27 pm – km 96 (stopped to rest– left at 1:45 pm)
- Cunheira: 2:20 pm – km 106
- Monte da Pedra: 2:50 pm – km 114 (stopped to rest– left at 3:05 pm)
- Comenda: 3:27 pm – km 120
Trip statistics
- Distance 120 km
- Time pedaling 6h
- Resting time 1h12m
- Trip duration 7h12m
- Average speed 20 km/h
Évora to Comenda » Traveling in Alentejo by bike
I left Évora at 7:45 am and arrived in Comenda at 5:30 pm. I stopped a few times to rest, talk to some locals, eat, and drink tea or water.
The flowers on the side of the road and the animals. I so lots of snakes, eagles, rats, hares, horses, goats, sheep, cows, bulls, dogs, donkeys, lizards, a lot of insects, many birds, storks, and even ostriches beyond Casa Branca.
I also came across many historical sites like castles, ancient fountains, churches, and Roman bridges.
