Solo Off-Road Adventure Ride To Portugal's Largest Lake

Here's a video of my 1200 km off-road motorcycle journey from Northern Portugal to Southern Portugal, more precisely the Alqueva lake in the beautiful Alentejo region. I undertook this trip alone on my AJP PR7 motorcycle over a period of three days. I cut across Portugal from the Aveiro district to Seia on the east side of Portugal and then from Seia I followed ACT Portugal to lake Alqueva in Alentejo. ACT stands for Adventure Country Tracks, which is a route consisting of 50% road and 50% off-road tracks and 0% highway/motorway. ACT is aimed at big adventure bikes so most of it is fast, flowing, easy and enjoyable off-road. From Seia I transversed Serra da Estrela, Portugal's tallest mountain, which was filled with incredibly scenic and enjoyable tracks. Beyond Serra da Estrela I had to find detours due to many trees fallen across roads that made passage impossible. I rode alongside hundreds of windmills perched atop countless windy hills. I failed to make it to my accomodation for the day before nightfall and so I had to ride through the woods and other ACT off-road sections at night. On the second day I finally entered the Alentejo region in Mação, where I got gas an bought some tights to resolve the horrible chafing my Leatt Dual Axis Knee Guards were causing me. I found the Alentejo region to be really beautiful. It feels relaxed, remote and sleepy both in a literal and a literary sense. The off-road tracks in Alentejo were amazing, with many sections that manage to be scenic and picturesque as well as very fast, flowing and enjoyable to ride. It was a sea of golden hills with trees and cattle electrical fences sprinkled around randomly. Even saw some interesting agricultural machinery. I also crashed one of those fast sections in Alentejo. I decided to look down at the map at the wrong time, while entering a corner with too much speed. An unnecessary panic brake combined with minimal traction on loose gravel and dust led to my involuntary separation from my motorcycle. Some blood was shed but ultimately it was just a scrape and bruise and some cosmetic damage on the motorcycle. Had to bash the front wheel against some hard objects to straighten the front end and continued my journey with a lesson I won't forget so easily. I recovered in Alter do Chão in the heart of the Alentejo region were a friendly restaurant owner gave me some alcohol to disinfect my scrapes. Met an ex-SFOR Portuguese soldier who knew all the cities and sights in my home country of Bosnia and a couple from USA who asked me if it's ok to carry a wine bottle outside a paper bag in public. Took me a while to figure out the reason behind their question. After a few more hours of riding I finally reached Lake Alqueva where I spent a total of 20 minutes and the rode all the way back north. On the way back I rode unauthorized through the Santa Margarida military base near Abrantes. I filmed some tanks and cannons. Fortunately I didn't get in trouble. So what was the point of riding 1200 km to a lake where I spent 20 minutes? Of course the lake is just an excuse, and it's all about the journey. The lake was pretty, but I chose it randomly because I've never been there and it was far away enough. I traveled as light as possible to make the ride as enjoyable as possible. For me journeys like this are all about exposing myself to unexpected and unpredictable scenarios. Our lives nowadays are amazingly comfortable, once you grow up they also become somewhat predictable and full of routine. I love my family more than anything but rides like this are a mental reset for me that allow me to be just me for some time. A kid that like to explore and see unfamiliar sights. When you're alone you have to solve problems alone. Make decisions and face immediate consequences. I long for this kind of human experience from time to time. There's no optimization, no programming, no agenda, no schedule, no watching of countless reviews before you make a purchase. Instead there's a start, a goal and an unknown road in-between. 00:00 Trailer 00:28 What I’m bringing 01:52 The Plan 03:35 On Road To Seia (Covilha) 05:40 Road Closure, Finding Detours 08:05 Traveling Through Serra da Estrela, Portugal’s Tallest Mountain 11:25 Trying and Failing to Make it to the Hotel Before Nightfall 16:41 Day 2, Finding Gas and Buying Tights in Alentejo 20:34 Crashing and Fixing the Bike 25:45 Recovery in Alter do Chao + Cattle Shock Fences 29:24 Getting to the Goal 30:49 Riding Through a Military Base + Thoughts #2x2 #adventureride #pr7