Peripatetic in Porto

Portugal appears to have 2 types of road: motorway and crap. That's probably being a bit harsh, but today was a challenge. As the weather forecast indicated the rain was heading east, I batted my eyelashes to visit the dealer in Porto. This would have us heading west from Vila Real. To start with, all was okay, although Lynn was complaining about fast roads. And then we hit, in the middle of the mountains, the passing shower we'd hoped to miss. It decided to wash our bikes for us, and its parent cloud wanted to investigate what the rain was up to. In other words, the mountain road was soaked, slow and misty as hell. Thank heavens for hi-vis and Portugal's law about daytime running lights on dual carriageways. It makes it much safer when you hit a sudden curious cloud. When it's clear, that road must be breathtaking. And I know: hi-vis isn't cool. But I'd rather be seen than look good for an ambulance. The run to Porto was pretty good, once we got through the rain. Once we hit the outskirts of the edge of Porto, on the other hand, we hit traffic and potholes and seriously shoddy suspension-slaughtering surfaces. And one ways and detours and cobbled brick vertiginous corkscrews through vineyards. Apt, but far from fun. The dealer was very friendly, but disappointingly small, although that may have been because most of his stock was all packed up for cascais. He did recommend a place for lunch, just down the road, with Harley riding owners, so we tried that. It was cheap and cheerfully traditional, although I did manage to order a very tasty veggie soup. We skipped dessert but were given complimentary tawny port (the owner felt we had to have port in Porto) which went straight to my head. We tried to find the coast road after that, but after an hour of struggling to get out of Porto and onto a decent road, we decided the bikes deserved a break from bouncing while fully loaded and motorway'd our way to Coimbra. Tomorrow some mountain and national park roads, I think. After I check my tires.