The power of the bicycle came to my aid once again in Sao Miguel. Cabin fever levels had reached an all time high. I’d been both adamant and vocal about “doing my own thing” once we reached the Azores, and plans had changed – we were spending a maximum of 2 weeks on Sao Miguel alone, rather than the original 6 weeks of cruising through the islands. Unfortunately the bus routes weren’t as frequent and widespread as expected, and the usual transport issue ensued given my lack of driving license. To be honest, just seeing the picture postcard parts of the island wasn’t what I was looking for anyway. It felt as though Cape Verde had all but passed me by, and I wanted to actually be in a position to say I had done a bit of travelling in the Azores. Enter the bicycle.
While pondering the situation over another lonely beachfront beer, warmshowers popped into my head. (For the un-initiated, Warmshowers is the bicycle tourist’s equivalent to couchsurfing). Within an hour I had a reply from Sergio, a fellow bike user in Ponta Delgada, who happened to have just opened a business renting out fully equipped touring bikes. Even better – he invited me to dinner that evening, with a Portuguese ironman athlete, and a pair of couchsurfing university researchers – one Greek and another German. Dinner turned into beers. Beers unfortunately took a turn for the worst and I was coaxed into dancing. At 3am I was ambling back down the marina, an hour I hadn’t seen outside of watch keeping hours at sea, since… January? It felt good.
What felt so right the night before, felt equally as wrong the following morning. I shook the cobwebs off and made my way to Sergio’s to collect the bike. I was presented with a proper touring bike with racks, waterproof Ortlieb panniers, a tent, groundmat, stove, pots and pans, tube repair kit and bike tools; the works. Just before departure he asked me “Is there ANYTHING else I can give you?”. If I had floated the idea of a Rolex or a Russian bride I’m sure he’d have made a plan.

Sergio’s business is more of a labour of love, but the endeavour of renting out touring bikes and all the related gear is the first of its kind that either of us have heard about. Transporting a bike to another country involves taking it apart, finding a suitable box, packing everything tightly, assembling it again in the destination airport, and doing it all again on the way back. This is all without even considering the value of readily available local knowledge and routes, and the “rescue service” that Sergo and his colleagues offer. I’d love to see touring bikes available to rent in more countries – it’s definitely something I’d pay good money for.

As for my trip? I’m not sure that climbing 800m and covering 35km overall on a hangover and legs that haven’t seen a bike for 3 years was the optimal first step. But it has been incredibly good to get back to the simple life where the only peaks and troughs are defined by your orientation on a hill, and the question of where your’e going to sleep that night. Sergio had sorted the 2nd one out for me in advance anyway. Sao Miguel is a seriously beautiful island. I’ve been debating whether “a prettier version of Ireland” is a fair comment, but as I haven’t seen enough of Ireland to accurately make that comment – I’ll save myself the pain and speculation. There are definitely many similarities though.

I saw beautiful lakes, coastal landscapes, spent 2 hours admiring rural folks’ skills at both bullfighting and chain smoking cigarettes with no hands. On the 3rd day of cycling, I again climbed 800m into a cloud in the sky and hadn’t even a glimpse of the view of Lago di Fogo or the coastline that Sergio and Google told me to expect, but I was still a happy camper.

Since I logged onto warmshowers a few days ago I’ve had more meaningful connection with locals than several months past put together. People really are the most important element of a lot of travel, and once again the bicycle has helped connect me to them.

If you’re interested in trying out bike touring, renting the gear is the way to go, and Sao Miguel would be a great place to start. Check out Sergio’s website – http://www.greenbiker.pt or let me know if you want any further information!