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12/05/2024

This past June 22-29 I went on the gravel cycling tour of a lifetime in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy with Muench Photo Tours. As it turned out, neither my training rides nor my online searches prepared me for just how rewarding –and challenging–this trip would be. The Dolomites pierce the sky like no other mountains I’ve ever seen, and being able to ride at altitude among them with a camera was an unforgettable experience. Here is our final Day Seven . . .

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12/05/2024

This past June 22-29 I went on the gravel cycling tour of a lifetime in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy with Muench Photo Tours. As it turned out, neither my training rides nor my online searches prepared me for just how rewarding –and challenging–this trip would be. The Dolomites pierce the sky like no other mountains I’ve ever seen, and being able to ride at altitude among them with a camera was an unforgettable experience. Here is Day Six . . .

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12/05/2024

This past June 22-29 I went on the gravel cycling tour of a lifetime in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy with Muench Photo Tours. As it turned out, neither my training rides nor my online searches prepared me for just how rewarding –and challenging–this trip would be. The Dolomites pierce the sky like no other mountains I’ve ever seen, and being able to ride at altitude among them with a camera was an unforgettable experience. Here is Day Five . . .

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12/05/2024

This past June 22-29 I went on the gravel cycling tour of a lifetime in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy with Muench Photo Tours. As it turned out, neither my training rides nor my online searches prepared me for just how rewarding –and challenging–this trip would be. The Dolomites pierce the sky like no other mountains I’ve ever seen, and being able to ride at altitude among them with a camera was an unforgettable experience. Here is Day Four . . .

Send a message to learn more

12/05/2024

This past June 22-29 I went on the gravel cycling tour of a lifetime in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy with Muench Photo Tours. As it turned out, neither my training rides nor my online searches prepared me for just how rewarding –and challenging–this trip would be. The Dolomites pierce the sky like no other mountains I’ve ever seen, and being able to ride at altitude among them with a camera was an unforgettable experience. Here is Day Three . . .

Send a message to learn more

12/05/2024

This past June 22-29 I went on the gravel cycling tour of a lifetime in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy with Muench Photo Tours. As it turned out, neither my training rides nor my online searches prepared me for just how rewarding –and challenging–this trip would be. The Dolomites pierce the sky like no other mountains I’ve ever seen, and being able to ride at altitude among them with a camera was an unforgettable experience. Here is Day Two . . .

Send a message to learn more

12/05/2024

This past June 22-29 I went on the gravel cycling tour of a lifetime in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy with Muench Photo Tours. As it turned out, neither my training rides nor my online searches prepared me for just how rewarding –and challenging–this trip would be. The Dolomites pierce the sky like no other mountains I’ve ever seen, and being able to ride at altitude among them with a camera was an unforgettable experience. Here is Day One . . .

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06/19/2024

Our 37-mile loop out of Evora on Day 6 of my Ciclismo Classico Portugal bike tour was pretty much a casual, mostly flat recovery ride through terrain that resembled what we had seen the day before. But the two spectacular attraction stops pretty much made up for it!

First, we had a tour of a cork factory, where piles of the huge tree’s stripped bark were stacked up inside the warehouse. Our tour guide showed us how the bark pieces are trimmed, flattened with a press, then converted into wine corks–and at least a hundred other products that I had never suspected. There were chairs, table, purses, wall hangings, and even the trimmings are ground up and made into sound-absorbing wall board. Nothing is wasted. He told us how the first crop of cork bark in a young tree can be removed at nine years of age, but it takes three or so harvests before the tree develops the think bark that’s really useful. If you plant cork trees on your land, the benefits won’t be for you. They will be for your grandchildren because it will take that long before the tree becomes profitable.

Then it was back on the road where we passed forests of cork trees and herds of charging bulls (fortunately on the other side of the fences from us) to the Fita Preta Winery, which lived up to every stereotype you could ever imagine of a European winery. The main building dates from the 14th century, and we enjoyed an amazing gourmet lunch in the winery’s courtyard. That was followed by a tour of the huge facility built in a converted farm estate. Ancient stone walls lined with wooden casks led to a more modern building full of the up-to-date equipment that produces the company’s internationally known wines.

Then it was back to Evora and another local gourmet restaurant dinner. Another great day!

(Photos shot with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro.)

https://ciclismoclassico.com/tours/bike-across-portugal/

06/19/2024

On Day 5 of my Bike Across Portugal tour for Ciclismo Classico we started out with a huge breakfast at our Viva! Farmhouse hotel, then it was another 40 miles that showed us more beautiful scenery including olive groves and cork forest between snack-filled rest breaks, plus a stop at a local pottery workshop.

São Pedro do Corval markets internationally and sells a huge variety of pottery goods. We got a very friendly reception with a guided tour, then watched the potters do their work creating the huge variety of items. Plus they also have a retail store. How convenient! So the van left a few pounds heavier with souvenirs!

In late afternoon we finally reached our destination at the Convento do Espinheiro hotel just outside the Unesco /World Heritage city of Evora. This incredible hotel is a former monastery that is borderline unbelievable as a hotel and spa, since it still has the jaw-dropping, ornately decorated, church sanctuary and gardens intact. It was a real revelation to wander into the huge sanctuary and see how much wealth and power the church must have had in the glory days of this monastery.

A bit later we took a van shuttle into the city center for dinner, where we got a walking tour that included the Roman temple of Diana ruins and some incredibly huge, ancient churches, plus dinner at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant on a street in the Old Quarter that was too narrow for our van to even drive down it. Just another great day!

(Photos shot with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro.)

https://ciclismoclassico.com/tours/bike-across-portugal/

06/19/2024

On Day 4 of my bike tour in Portugal we rode 38 miles across the rolling hill country from Vila Vicosa to the ancient hilltop village of Monsaraz, its white buildings perched high atop a mountain and of course with its own castle. In route we passed olive and cork groves, fields of ripening wheat, several more castles, plus marble quarries and one spot where the stucco houses had been decorated by a carving artist that our guide Goncalo told me was internationally known.

Eventually we reached Monsaraz, which overlooks Alqueva Lake, a huge reservoir that’s the largest man-made lake in Europe. We first did the “challenge climb” up the hill to just below the castle and marveled at the incredible views, then enjoyed the downhill back to the reservoir shoreline where we had a great lunch in a café right by the beach.

Then we checked into our hotel at the Viva! Farmhouse, a small family run, farm-based hotel that has a very home-stay feel. This still left us plenty of time for a van shuttle back up to the village where we wandered around the narrow streets and inspected some of the small shops that sell wine, woven goods, and other local items.

Our restaurant for the evening waswas also up in the village, and it was fantastic! Plate after plate of local food served up by the establishment’s kind owner, and all on a balcony overlooking the olive groves and lake in the distance as the sun set over the hills.

A great day!

(Photos shot with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro.)

https://ciclismoclassico.com/tours/bike-across-portugal/

06/17/2024

DAY 3 - Recently I was hired by the bike tour company I work for, Ciclismo Classico, to go to Portugal to do photography to support promotions for our two new tours there, “Bike Across Portugal” and “Northern Portugal.” I accompanied the Bike Across Portugal tour group as we started in Lisbon, then shuttled by van to eastern Portugal to start our tour that eventually ended at Sagres, the southwestern-most point in Europe. It was an exciting ten days that gave us an intimate window into this fascinating and history-filled corner of Europe. My tasks were simple–ride my bike, mingle with the guests, and get the best photos I could everyplace we went. Yes, it’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it!

On Day 3 we left the monastery castle of Pousada Mosteiro do Crato behind us and started heading south under a sky that was once again clear as a bell. We rode almost 55 miles (our longest ride of this tour) along over gradually rolling hills, through fields of ripened wheat waiting for harvest and cork forests that created scenes like paintings against the bright blue sky. Brilliant red poppies and other wildflowers bloomed by the roadside. Occasionally, drivers would pass us, giving us space and courtesy that never left me feeling unsafe. The cars are almost universally smaller here, and I never saw a driver on their phone for the whole trip. In the countryside the roads were generally good quality asphalt that usually gave way to cobblestones when we entered some of the smaller, much older village.

We stopped for lunch at a streetside cafe in the town of Estremoz, full of buildings built of the white marble quarried in the region, then continued to our destination of Vila Vicosa, which is also full of marble buildings and (of course!) has its own castle. We checked into our hotel, the Marmòris Hotel & Spa–REALLY nice!–and then I had some time before dinner to wander up and down the main boulevard of the town, admiring and photographing the various ancient looking buildings and busy street cafes. Many of the trees on the square were inexplicably wrapped in crocheted cloth patterns, and on one side street a boisterous crowd of locals were cheering on their favorite soccer team, watching the match on a giant screen TV erected in the street. Later I guessed “their” team had won, because fireworks erupted from the same street. Then it was time for “on our own” dinner and I relaxed with some tapas in the hotel’s open-air tavern. Another great day! (Photos shot with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro.)

https://ciclismoclassico.com/tours/bike-across-portugal/

06/16/2024

DAY 2 - Recently I was hired by the bike tour company I work for, Ciclismo Classico, to go to Portugal to do photography to support promotions for our two new tours there, “Bike Across Portugal” and “Northern Portugal.” I accompanied the Bike Across Portugal tour group as we started in Lisbon, then shuttled by van to eastern Portugal to start our tour that eventually ended at Sagres, the southwestern-most point in Europe. It was an exciting ten days that gave us an intimate window into this fascinating and history-filled corner of Europe. My tasks were simple–ride my bike, mingle with the guests, and get the best photos I could everyplace we went. Yes, it’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it! On Day 2 we headed east for a 45-mile loop to the village of Castelo de Vide with its own medieval castle, 500-year-old marble fountain, and its Jewish Quarter. Once again, the sky was cloudless bluebird blue, and we pedaled past fields of olive, cork, and other trees plus fields of flowers before making the climb to the village. There we had our rest stop with some delicious local snacks and wandered around this beautiful little town. On our way back to Flor da Rosa I had the route in my Garmin, so I took time to fall behind the group and enjoy some moments to myself just photographing the fields of flowers and enjoying my good luck to be asked to go on this tour. A great day! (Photos shot with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro.)

https://ciclismoclassico.com/tours/bike-across-portugal/

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06/16/2024

DAY 1 - Recently I was hired by the bike tour company I work for, Ciclismo Classico, to go to Portugal to do photography to support promotions for our two new tours there, “Bike Across Portugal” and “Northern Portugal.” I accompanied the Bike Across Portugal tour group as we started in Lisbon, then shuttled by van to eastern Portugal to start our tour that eventually ended at Sagres, the southwestern-most point in Europe.

It was an exciting ten days that gave us an intimate window into this fascinating and history-filled corner of Europe. My tasks were simple–ride my bike, mingle with the guests, and get the best photos I could everyplace we went. Yes, it’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it!

For the first day of our tour, I wandered around my arrival neighborhood in Lisbon getting some photos of this beautiful and cosmopolitan city, then we shuttled from Lisbon to the village of Flor da Rosa in the country’s historic Alentejo region and our first hotel, the Pousada Mosteiro do Crato. It’s the restored 14th century Monastery de Santa Maria de Flor da Rosa that has been transformed into a luxury hotel and it’s considered one of the country’s most important Gothic monuments and the best example of a fortress/church.

After a get acquainted meeting and bike fitting session, we headed out for a 14-mile warm-up ride that looked to me a lot like northern California, just with prettier buildings. The sky was cloudless, and I was astonished at the variety of wildflowers lining the roadside.

The villages we entered throughout our tour would be like these, with whitewashed buildings to help stay cool inside, brightly colored trim, and residents who greeted us with “Hola!” wherever we went.

Our bikes were really nice–custom Italian frames from Officina Mattio with SRAM AXS electronic shifting. At ride’s end we could see the battlements of our castle hotel from several miles away and dinner that evening was at a superb local restaurant.

A great day! (Photos shot with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro.)

https://ciclismoclassico.com/tours/bike-across-portugal/

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05/21/2024

If you're looking for some great cycling events this summer, check out my story in the May issue of Adirondack Sports. There's more great organized rides than ever being offered in upstate New York no matter what kind of cyclist you are!

Use the form on the right to contact us with your comments, suggestions or submissions for our Calendar of Events listing.

04/16/2024

I hope you enjoy my latest story for Adirondack Sports, an Athlete profile of Ian Klepetar and his dedication to overall wellness and community. Huge thanks to Ian for all his assistance is presenting his fascinating story to our readers!

Use the form on the right to contact us with your comments, suggestions or submissions for our Calendar of Events listing.