Translator Lives the Life: 1,000K Bike Trip to Spain and Portugal

Miguel R. Armentia is an English to Spanish translator who focuses on various sports- and outdoor-related content. He partners with Adventure Translators to provide clients with translations for the Spanish market. He recently took an epic bike trip. Read on for more and to get inspired!

Question: You went on a 1,000 kilometer bike trip from Spain to Portugal recently. Wow! Can you tell us what inspired you to take such an ambitious trip?

Answer: I have always wanted to take such a trip. I had done some overnights with my bike before, but never a “real” trip like this. Some friends were planning to rent a beach house in Portugal so we could all meet up for a week. The flights were a bit expensive and the trip by car very long and tiring. So I thought to myself, “Why not do it by bike?” I had always wanted to visit Portugal and Extremadura, a Spanish region on the way to my destination.

Two years back, I hosted a traveler who was visiting Europe by bike. He went from Israel to Spain by bike, and biked through many other countries during his travels. I admired his stamina and asked him if he had spent a long time preparing for the trip. He replied, “Not at all, the most difficult thing to do is to take your bike and leave home!” And he was so right…you just have to do it!

Q: What type of bike did you use?
A: I used a mountain bike, a Conor WRC (2008) with disc brakes, Shimano LX and Time pedals. It was a pleasure to ride it and I never had any problems with it. I used tire sealant to avoid flat tires. It meant some extra weight but the sealant really saved my life and we all know flat tires often occur at the worst moment possible.

Q: Was it a solo trip or did you travel with others?
A: It was a solo trip. I was hoping some friends would be able to join me for the last days of the trip, but they could not do it in the end– too bad!

Q: Where did you stay?
A: The main idea for this trip was to have a feeling of freedom, so soon I decided that I would bring my tent with me. I did not intend to camp every day, but wanted the choice. In the end I used the tent five times. I also stayed in hotels or hostels. and some nights I surfed some couches. If you did not understand what I just said, I highly recommend that you visit the website www.couchsurfing.org, a very cool way of traveling and meeting people.

Q:Did you use a map, or go where the road took you?
I used a map, but not a very detailed one; it had a scale of 1:2000000 all of Spain and Portugal. Some friends asked me if I was taking a GPS and my answer was that I had not even considered it! To be truthful, there were times when I wished I had brought one, but I think it is not such a bad idea to get lost from time to time. I was cycling in Europe–not the Sahara or the Himalayas! What was there to be afraid of?

Q: What was your favorite thing about the trip?
A: For sure the most exciting thing of the trip was never knowing exactly where I was going to be the next day.

Q: What was the most challenging thing about the trip?
A: At first I thought the physical aspects would be a real challenge, but surprisingly I very quickly became accustomed to cycling an average of 90 km per day. I think the most challenging thing was discovering the basics necessary for a successful bike trip.

I have created a blog about the trip that you can visit at http://pedalalgarve.blogspot.com. The next idea for the summer is…Iceland by bike!