5/31: day 5 (second full day of the VBT trip)

The day started with breakfast and an orientation to the day’s ride on the bus to the start of the ride, Redondo. It was about an hour to Redondo.

VBT assigned me a 56cm bike and I asked the guides if they could swap it out for a 54 or 52.  My Felt F70 is a 56 and it is too big so I use it for spinning. My Scott Addict is a 54 and after a bike fit, I took 5 cm off the integrated seat tube. My Moots is a 52. So while each bike feels a little difference even if they are the same size, the 56 cm Fuji felt a little stretched out. 

My new bike today was a 52 and it felt better but I had to re-attach all my accessories so once again, I was the last one out of the gate. This time, the boyz waited.

We rode together at first. The roads were much better than the day before with some nice rollers. The problem with Stu’s bike was audible and we stopped a couple of times to trouble-shoot it but it wasn’t obvious like a mis-aligned brake or derailleur that required trimming. Whatever it was, it was slowing him down.

When we stopped at turns, Walter continued on which gave us an opportunity to chase him down. Mike eventually caught him and was first to the finish.

The ride included a climb at the end of about 1.5k to the walled village on Monsaraz. It was not a terribly steep climb and we were looking forward to it. About halfway up the climb, a team of a dozen of so in matching kits came screaming down the hill. I was hoping to climb the hill again to get some of that downhill on video but when I got back to the van, the bikes were gone to the next stop.

Here we are at the end of the climb. I look like I'm in a recliner.

Here's the strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/1608050560

Here's the Ride with GPS link: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/23754082

I haven't figured out how to crop the ride in Ride with GPS. There's a piece at the beginning that doesn't belong. I also don't know how it got there.

Like many European villages, Mosaraz was walled and located on a hill for protection. Here are Stu and Walter at one of the main gates.

The streets were all paved with stone and barely wide enough for a modern compact car to pass through. 

The fort at one end of the village provides a good overlook of the countryside. In this picture, you can see the largest artificial lake in Europe.

This is one of the entrances to an ampitheatre. Perhaps this is where they kept the lions. 

Here are the boyz along with Mark and Leisa having a post-ride beer.

I like the road signs embedded into the wall.

Apparently there is a university nearby.

On the bus back to the hotel, Walter was pretty tired from his day on the breakway.

In the afternoon we went to Evora. One of the main attractions is the Chapel of Bones. It is constructed of human bones, removed from a cemetery in the 1500s. It is not exactly clear why the decision-makers of the time thoughts this was a good idea but the entire structure is built with bones.

We were left to our own devices for dinner in Evora. It turns out that it was a holiday so we experienced a parade. We’re not exactly sure what the significance of the parade was.