Patrícia and João experienced a motorcycle tour like no other

-"How about coming to Bragança for a tour in Northern Portugal with our Pink My Bike Monkeys?"

-"Sounds like a fun idea, but I don't know how to ride motorcycles..." I said to Francisco who challenged us to a great adventure.

-"No worries! We'll give you some lessons right there on our street, and even the most inexperienced riders can easily do our tours." He replied. "We take care of everything: itinerary, places to sleep, eat, and you don't need to worry about a thing."

Accustomed to always planning my own itineraries, the idea of ​​having local people designing routes through their region seemed spectacular to me right away. Why? Because no one better than them to show us through their eyes the special corners of the land where they were born.

On a sunny April weekend, we set off for Bragança on our Infinite RT with a mission: to park it in a garage with a comfortable mat for the wheels, and exchange it for a Pink Monkey for me, and another Pink Monkey for João for a few days.

But it was only when I arrived at the Pink My Bike store that I began to realize I had indeed accepted a crazy adventure! One that had all the makings of becoming epic as soon as I managed to shift gears on the Monkey. The inexperience in riding motorcycles was eased by the ease of maneuvering the Pink My Bike Monkey, and so it wasn't even 9 a.m. when we left the city heading towards the Montesinho Natural Park.

Together on the road, each on our bike, the opposite of what usually happens, we laughed endlessly at every turn! As the kilometers passed, I gained confidence and laughed a lot inside my helmet. "Sorry, monkey!" I said many times, asking for forgiveness if I still hadn't nailed that gear change. Permissive, fun, and absolutely adorable, the pink monkey forgave me everything and took me through the magical roads of the northern country.

At the end of a winter wetter than usual in Portugal, spring finally shows its grace. The mountains still boast peaks sprinkled with white, while at lower altitudes, the fields are covered by a vigorous green mantle. The trees are in bloom. Heather, gorse, poppies, daisies, and many other wildflowers paint the landscape in a colorful scene, in a magical natural setting, the privilege of being able to traverse it by motorcycle is exhilarating. Rivers, streams, and waterfalls flow vigorously, and in the air, we feel the scent of nature at its peak.

We've visited Trás-os-Montes so many times, a region of Portugal that we consider to be one of the best in Europe for motorcycle riding. Still, we managed to discover places never visited before and roads never traveled before. When we travel with a high-displacement motorcycle, the pace of the journey is different. While it takes us farther, it also inadvertently deprives us of the time we dedicate to each place. Traveling on a Monkey gives us more calmness to enjoy the places we pass through, to appreciate nature more slowly, and to feel smaller routes with great intensity.

From the Walls of Sabor to Faia Brava, from the most magical viewpoints of the International Douro to the small villages with so much history and tradition within them. Passing through the magical curves of the N221 and the Alpajares Path, one of the most surprising places in the country. From the panoramic circuit of the Sabor Lakes to the off-road route that skirts the Azibo Reservoir.

A surprising itinerary! But it doesn't just focus on motorcycle riding: it includes incredibly rich cultural experiences, such as the night visit to the Rock Engravings of the Côa Valley, visiting a peculiar winery built in a dovecote, hearing the stories of Mirandese traditions and the art of producing olive oil and wine. Not to forget that at each meal stop, we find restaurants serving the wonders of "Transmontana" gastronomy, replenishing our energy for more kilometers on the Pink Monkey.

I promise we're not exaggerating: we have thousands of kilometers together, through the most diverse places in this Europe, but this 3-day experience in Northern Portugal with the Pink Monkey was one of the most unforgettable and fun of our life on two wheels. 

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Patrícia Câmara

Quilómetro Infinito, Motorcycling travelling blog

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