I’ve just got back from 10 days riding my new Griso 8v in the Serra da Estrela mountains in Portugal & thought I’d make you all a little envious!
First big surprise was finding 3 other Griso's on the ferry out to Spain, icluding the first 8v SE I've seen in the flesh ridden by Gordon from Moto Corsa, a mate of his on a red 2v 1100 and another orange 2v 1100 but I never found who the owner was.
Anyway after a couple of days R & R at my friends small holding/farm I set off & rode up to the summit of the mountains. These are the roads on the way up......
Then I came across a bloody great big sign announcing road works for the next 25 kilometres......not what I wanted to see!
But it was OK.....they finished everything except for painting the white lines! Yippee! 25k of pristine virgin black stuff, but I had to take it easy as there was still a little loose grit and some of the drops off the edge of the hairpins are a L-O-N-G way down!
Then I got to the summit. If you want to get your Guzzi higher than this in Portugal you need to get it up this stone edifice.....which apparently was built exactly 7 metres high by the government so they could boast there was somewhere in Portugal 2000m above sea level.
On the way down I took a scenic diversion around and about a bit before heading back towards the top up this glacial valley......nice twisty road but bumpy as hell.....I think there are still 19th century granite cobble stones under the tarmac.
Then I followed a sign up a single track road up what I believe is called the Devil’s Crack. A spectacular gorge with stunning views......
The area must be one of the best kept biking secrets that I’ve just let you in on! As you can see from the photos there’s no traffic jams! The whole time I was there apart from the usual twist’n’go scooters & teenager’s mopeds in the bigger towns I only saw a few local dirt bikes.....and only 10 or so road bikes. I think the cost of big bikes is prohibitive in Portugal with taxes on new registrations sky high keeping even the secondhand prices beyond the means of all but a few.
The other thing that is a very rare sight is these......
But if you do cross them watch out.....I hear modern socially acceptable policing methods have still to filter down to street level so you can expect a tough time if you get caught being a naughty rider!
To close this missive a couple of shots of the route back somewhere in N.Spain:
Now I'm home....and fed up! But I've racked up over 3000 miles since I picked the bike up on 4th Sept and its run perfectly. I even enjoyed it on the desloated Spanish motorways where it cruised effortlessly at higher speeds than I manage in previous years on my old 1100 2v. I'm already planning next years trip & I feel I know the area well enough to maybe take a coupled of mates along.....if they stand slumming it and helping out on the farm to pay their way.
First big surprise was finding 3 other Griso's on the ferry out to Spain, icluding the first 8v SE I've seen in the flesh ridden by Gordon from Moto Corsa, a mate of his on a red 2v 1100 and another orange 2v 1100 but I never found who the owner was.
Anyway after a couple of days R & R at my friends small holding/farm I set off & rode up to the summit of the mountains. These are the roads on the way up......
Then I came across a bloody great big sign announcing road works for the next 25 kilometres......not what I wanted to see!
But it was OK.....they finished everything except for painting the white lines! Yippee! 25k of pristine virgin black stuff, but I had to take it easy as there was still a little loose grit and some of the drops off the edge of the hairpins are a L-O-N-G way down!
Then I got to the summit. If you want to get your Guzzi higher than this in Portugal you need to get it up this stone edifice.....which apparently was built exactly 7 metres high by the government so they could boast there was somewhere in Portugal 2000m above sea level.
On the way down I took a scenic diversion around and about a bit before heading back towards the top up this glacial valley......nice twisty road but bumpy as hell.....I think there are still 19th century granite cobble stones under the tarmac.
Then I followed a sign up a single track road up what I believe is called the Devil’s Crack. A spectacular gorge with stunning views......
The area must be one of the best kept biking secrets that I’ve just let you in on! As you can see from the photos there’s no traffic jams! The whole time I was there apart from the usual twist’n’go scooters & teenager’s mopeds in the bigger towns I only saw a few local dirt bikes.....and only 10 or so road bikes. I think the cost of big bikes is prohibitive in Portugal with taxes on new registrations sky high keeping even the secondhand prices beyond the means of all but a few.
The other thing that is a very rare sight is these......
But if you do cross them watch out.....I hear modern socially acceptable policing methods have still to filter down to street level so you can expect a tough time if you get caught being a naughty rider!
To close this missive a couple of shots of the route back somewhere in N.Spain:
Now I'm home....and fed up! But I've racked up over 3000 miles since I picked the bike up on 4th Sept and its run perfectly. I even enjoyed it on the desloated Spanish motorways where it cruised effortlessly at higher speeds than I manage in previous years on my old 1100 2v. I'm already planning next years trip & I feel I know the area well enough to maybe take a coupled of mates along.....if they stand slumming it and helping out on the farm to pay their way.
)
