sábado, 12 de outubro de 2013

Cycling to Lisbon with my Couchsurfer Dilay from Turkey

Dear all,

 

Yesterday I have started the hosting of my couchsurfer Dilay from Turkey! She is a football fan, so what better than going to the stadium and watch Portugal beat Israel (cheers Yael!!!) ?

Unfortunatly we could not win, but was nice go go to the stadium with Dilay!

Although the result was not what 10 million Portugueses ( and a lovely turkish couchsurfer) wished, there were still Portugal fans in the next morning:

Dilay, the Portuese fan, trying to dry her hair

Weather was cloudy, but good for cycling, with temperature around 19 degrees.

Starting the journey in Alges

We headed to Belem for some sightseeing.

Well, it happened something unbelievable: I was taking her a picture and I was not aware of the lighting colloum on the sidewalk and crashed against it!!! Fortunatly we were not cycling faster than 12 km/h, even though was a decent crash!!!

Dilay cycling along River Tejo

We passed at Champalimaud Center for the Unknown and at Torre de Belem.

Dilay and PeterLamb at Torre de Belem
Dilay with the bikes close to Torre de Belem
Dilay, the sheep, heading to Padrão dos Descobrimentos

We went to Pasteis de Belem for the best breakfast we can imagine on Saturday morning! 3 pasteis each seemed a good number :)

Breakfast!!!

After "refueling" we continued our journey.

Almost reaching 25th April bridge

We continued all the way to Cais do Sodre, where the cycling path finishes. After that we cycled straight towards Praca do Comercio.

Dilay and PeterLamb close to Praça do Comercio

Time then to head to the city center. We cheated somehow, taking the escalators at Baixa Chiado!

Going up on the easy way

After a stopover for some water, we continued our way to Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, where we had a beer (good fuel for cycling!)

Great view from São Pedro de Alcântara viewpoint

After the break for some talking it was time to get back home. The route took us through Principe Real, the Parliament and the back to Cais do Sodre to take the cycling path back home (without a crash this time!!!). Here you have some pictures of the way:

Cycling on narrow road
2 in a row
Cycling side by side with Dilay
Someone is foccused on the way :)

 

It is always nice to cycle in good company! Thank you so much Dilay, cheers!!!

 

Summary of the day:

  • Distance: 25,87 km
  • Time: 2h18m34s
  • Average Speed: 11,57 km/h
  • Maximum Speed: 33,92 km/h

 

See you at the next trip!

 

Best,

PeterLamb