About 1200 registered, divided by 622 teams, of which close to a hundred are Spaniards: these are the record numbers of the 16th Portugal de Lés-a-Lés, which left this morning (from 6:00 am) from Lagoa, heading for the city of Vila Nova de Gaia, with a stop in Peniche.
Yesterday, Saturday, the 622 teams, on bikes for all tastes (and bags), arrived in Lagoa, where a prologue took place that took bikers from all over the country and even from abroad (with the Spaniards at the head) to know the beaches and other corners of Lagos.
Hundreds of motorcycles gathered in the square next to the Municipal Auditorium, where the checks and the stand were mounted, a place that attracted curiosity throughout the day.
The Portuguese Motorcycling Federation considers that this 2014 edition of Portugal de Lés-a-Lés reflects «consolidated success in the panorama of national and Iberian motorbike tourism (…), an adhesion that confirms the enthusiasm surrounding this adventure».
The departure of the huge caravan from the Algarve city, bringing hundreds of people to hotels and local and regional restaurants, was achieved thanks to the successful application of Moto Clube de Lagoa.
«We had the arrival of Lés-a-Lés here three years ago and it went very well. This time we applied to organize the match and we were successful," said a member of Moto Clube de Lagoa to Sul Informação.
This year, the route of what is the most important motorcycle tourism event in the country, takes the caravan on a unique crossing, with a route outlined along the Atlantic Ocean, giving a marine aroma to the connection between the Algarve Lagoa and the Douro city of Gaia, with stop in Peniche, land of great traditions linked to the sea.
The tour will visit more than two dozen municipalities that have never seen the Lés-a-Lés, exploring the Portuguese coast for the first time, showing many lesser-known beaches, in a very promising itinerary that will not escape the tradition of replicating the road connections of the past. a century, opting for national and municipal roads and even some stretches of dirt, to the detriment of motorways, Main or Complementary Itineraries, in the discovery of the richness of a historical, scenic and heritage Portugal unknown to many.
Today, in the first of two stages, the bikers leave Lagoa, going up the curves of the Monchique mountains, then following the road to São Teotónio (Odemira) and continuing along the coast, first from Alentejo, then from the region north of Lisbon, until Peniche.
«I still don't know this road to Monchique and then to São Teotónio, but some friends from Faro I'm told it's very pretty and has some nice curves», commented a biker from Barcelos, to his colleague.
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