Day two in the Algarve and the alarm did its job: I rolled out of Silves just before seven, past the old bridge over the Arade, on a clear, still morning that was already 23°C. The plan was a big one – north into the Monchique hills, down to the Atlantic coast, round the south-west corner at Vila do Bispo and home along the south coast. After yesterday’s warm-up to the lighthouse, this was where the trip’s first proper climbing would come in.
The first 25 km were a gentle way in across flat, sun-dried farmland west of Silves, legs and coffee slowly kicking in. The locals were up early too – a white stork stood guard on an enormous nest perched on top of a telegraph pole.
Then the road tipped up, and that’s where the cork trees started. They lined the climb, many with their trunks freshly stripped back to raw red-orange wood where the bark had been harvested – easily one of the highlights of the day.
The climb wound up past Caldas de Monchique, where a stretch of road works had a digger parked right on the edge – not a bad spot for it, with a view back down the wooded valley and out across the hills towards the coast.
From Rasmalho the climb up towards Nave goes on for the best part of 12 km, a steady grind with tall trees giving the odd patch of shade. It was the first of the day’s two Cat 3s and the hardest effort of the ride.
Up in the hills I got to see where all that bark goes: the cork harvest was in full swing, with huge curved slabs of freshly stripped cork piled high and a crew loading it up as the morning sun flared through the trees. Just after nine the Garmin was reading 400 m with about 2 km to go at 5%, and the top came at around 485 m, a little past the 45 km mark.
Over the top the road rolled along high ground past Marmelete before a long, fast drop all the way down to Aljezur, near enough sea level. From there it was south along the coast road through Bordeira and Carrapateira, then up the second climb of the day to the wind turbines on the plateau – another highlight, towering over the scrub with the sun sitting right behind the blades.
Vila do Bispo was the far corner of the loop and brought the third highlight: cobbled streets. Not quite Flanders, but enough to rattle the fillings. After a look at the church it was time to point the bike east and start the long road home.
The south coast is anything but flat. Down past Salema, a look over the barrier at the beach at Boca do Rio, then the steep ramp up to Burgau. From there the route ducked inland through the villages towards Bensafrim – more whitewashed churches, more cobbled squares and blissfully quiet roads in the midday sun.
Then it was back down towards the coast through Lagos, Odiáxere and Portimão, with umbrella pines shading the back lanes, and over the Arade to Ferragudo, where the fishing boats sat bobbing in the estuary with Portimão on the far bank. With a few unhurried stops along the way it was a long day in the saddle, and the traffic picked up on this side – 354 vehicles passed me over the day.
The last leg took me past Porches and Armação de Pêra, then inland through Algoz and up towards Messines, the shadows growing longer beside the vineyards, before the final run back west into Silves – over 200 km and nearly 2,400 m of climbing in the bank. Day two done, and the legs know they’ve been to the hills.
The numbers
- Ride: #1079 on Strava, ride 208 of 2026, day 88 of the streak
- Distance: 214.8 km
- Moving time: 9:08:21 (11:59:24 elapsed)
- Elevation: 2,392 m
- Average power: 133 W
- Heart rate: 110 bpm average, 159 max
- Cadence: 87 rpm average
- Calories: 5,146 kcal
- Highlight: Rasmalho–Nave climb – 11.9 km, 478 m, 45:06 at 194 W
- Conditions: clear skies, 23.1°C, 60% humidity, light northerly breeze (about 11 km/h)
- Year to date: Distance 16,435 km, Elevation Gain 171,141 m
The route
Download the GPX (start and finish trimmed for privacy)