Nothing
like a nice long mountainous bike ride to remind me how out of shape – and old
- I am.
Nevertheless,
a very scenic ride, with some great views and a visit of the town of Ribeira
Brava in the north-center of the island of Sao Nicolau.
Ribeira
Brava is quite pretty, with well kept historical buildings and an overall clean
and maintained appearance.
The
north shore of the island is just a couple of kilometers away, and the main
highway to Tarrafal skirts the mountainous coast for several kilometers, before
turning inland for the long climb up to Faja de Baixo and Cachaco.
The
initial descent from Cachaco to Ribeira Brava is on that crazy zig-zag “donkey
trail” that is marked as “easy” for MTBs.
It was not.
I
had to walk most of the zig-zags, and only mounted my bike once the slope got a
bit more sensible. The initial part was
so steep and bumpy that it was impossible to brake effectively (The tires were
set up for the smooth highway surface, which did not help).
Photos belong to Jaro Franta
