November 28, 2017
To Estoril: In the rain
The weather forecast has shown rain for today for several days. It has shown it starting sometime between noon and 2 pm. I planned to ride to Cascais, confident I could beat the rain. The only question was whether I would detour to Cabo de Roca. Misplaced confidence.
When I got up in the morning it was pouring. I briefly considered taking the train back to Lisbon and then out to Cascais, but I really wanted to get back on my bike after so much time off, and it wasn't far.
So I packed up, put on my rain gear and left. It was an initial big push uphill to get out of Sintra, and I was nervous about the slippery wet cobbled roads and the lack of a shoulder, so I was careful and pushed the bike when I thought it was safer. Then it was mostly downhill. With the rain, I opted for the most direct route, which missed some scenery and skipped Cabo de Roca, but got me into Estoril, on the coast just east of Cascais, before 10.
I know it was before 10 because the first cafe I stopped at wasn't open yet. I found another one and ordered coffee. The proprietor asked me to sit outside. I guess I looked as wet as I felt, but I would have appreciated the warmth inside. I spent some time there on the Wi-Fi deciding what to do and where to stay. I didn't see much point in going on to Cascais, which is supposed to be great in good weather and not great in bad weather, and was only 4 km away. I looked on booking.com and found the Hotel Smart nearby in Estoril. I didn't book it, but went to the hotel and asked about storing my bike and hoped to get a little better room rate. The hotel is in a nicely kept old mansion, but I was told there were no single rooms available (there were on-line) but offered a twin for 2 euros more or a double for 3. I talked him into the double for the extra 2 euros. Of course, the hotel is mostly empty. Initially I was told I could take my bike to the room, and then told to put it in the garage. I guess it looked wet, too.
After warming up and cleaning up, I walked to a restaurant nearby. It seemed the have a clientele from the building trades, and everyone was eating a white bean sort of stew with some meat in it, so I ordered that, too. It was good, even with some weird organ meat, but huge with about 3 times the amount that I could eat. It had continued to rain, and the restaurant was basically outside under a tent. The owner would periodically push up on the roof to drain the water off the side, causing quite a downpour and a flood on the outside.
I went back to the hotel, got bored for a bit, and went out for a walk again during a lull in the rain. I went down to the beach, and took today's only pictures with my phone.
Oh, and my waterproof socks are not.
Today's ride: 16 km (10 miles)
Total: 1,006 km (625 miles)
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