Mountain Biking with Emily

April 28, 2007

My friend Emily is visiting from State College along with her husband and two kids. It has been nice to have a close friend here to witness this incredible life and to share with bits of Portugal that we really love. Their arrival was refreshing for us all as it is nice to see familiar faces and hear about the life we left behind for 6 months.

In the eight days we have been together we have had some really special experiences including three beautiful days in Porto, long leisurely meals in beachside cafes, farm life at Quinta da Mata, a day at a lake in a national park and a day visiting Duarte’s uncle’s olive farm. Every day we have been able to separate ourselves from our kids for a short time to exercise and this separation has been nearly guilt-free as the kids are excited to play together. Emily and I had a memorable mountain bike ride one evening. As I think back to it, I realize that our two-hour ride was the perfect sampling of the life we are exposed to everyday here.

Emily and I hopped on our bikes around 6:00pm one evening. From the village where we live, we quickly started up a steep Roman road towards a network of trails which would ultimately lead to a castle overlooking the valley. The terrain was tricky and not easy to navigate as there were large rocks impeding our ascent up the steep passage. We both struggled up the uneven rocks and wondered how a Roman was able to travel on such difficult roads. At the top of the road Emily asked if I ever got lost on these back roads and I answered that I hadn’t yet – but we might today. A few more minutes of riding on the hard packed forest road we passed a shepherd and his large herd of sheep heading towards the village for the evening. In the small village, we saw kids playing soccer in the center where three roads merge. Another man was riding on his primitive wooded cart that was being pulled by a burro. Everyone we passed stopped what they were doing to watch us and all of them called out a jovial “Boa Tarde!” which means good evening. The village had a few long narrow gutters that crossed the road and were wet with the runoff from cleaning out the stable on one side of the street. I hopped over the urine and manure filled run-off knowingly. Emily rode right through it. Her legs were splattered with the murky liquid. We carried on.

It is common to see dogs running loose in Portugal. In fact, most dogs live outside all of the time. They like to chase cars and bark a lot and therefore they are sometimes intimidating to pass on a bicycle. I warned Emily in advance about these dogs and explained that the best technique for encouraging them to relax was to whistle to them. Emily replied nervously that she didn’t know how to whistle. Well, okay then…"stick with me". We did pass a few dogs along the way and they did run along with us for a little bit – and we faired just fine without whistling.

The ride up to the castle was a steady climb up. Remembering that Emily takes a spin class in State College – I called out to her the typical spin class jargon with encouragement to get to the top. She said “I don’t need to think about spin class while I’m here. This is where I want to be while I’m taking that class.” She was right. We were enjoying a beautiful ride out of doors, with amazing scenery, and fresh air. We arrived to the castle around 7:00pm. It was a bit windy at the top of the mountain. The vast valley spread out beneath us. It was a view well worth our effort. The time was getting late, so we decided to turn back. As soon as we turned our bikes in the direction of home the rain started. We were wearing only one layer – so we needed to get down quickly as the cool night air and the moisture from the rain were making us cold. Passing through the village once more we came upon a cow walking on its own down the street. I told Emily that I wasn’t sure of the etiquette to pass a cow and she said that she didn’t believe that there was etiquette to pass a cow. We passed cautiously. Emily noted the large horns atop of its head. I noted her udders - which in my mind meant a more docile animal. We were successful getting past the cow… hence, cow etiquette.

There were still some men wandering around the village as we passed through the second time. One of the men called out to us. I paused a little bit trying to make sense of what I thought I understood and I finally told Emily that I thought he said that we looked good from behind. I wasn’t totally sure of my translation and I told her that as well. Emily’s reply was perfect…”Well, I’m definitely not sure.” I think that pretty much sums up everything I translate over here.

The trip back home wasn’t as clear as it had been on the ride up. Roads were splitting off to the right here and there and I wasn’t sure which road would be the right one. I finally chose what I believed would lead us back to Quinta da Mata. We pedaled for a while and were both inspired by the beautiful mountain landscape bright with patterns of purple and yellow and white as the flowers were in full bloom. The air felt cool and fresh and the scent of the rain and the pines were soothing. Though it was getting late and admittedly we were a little bit lost, we took a moment to hop off of our bikes and smell the lavender that was growing alongside of the road. Throughout the ride down we had been talking about the lives we live in State College and being philosophical about how life could be lived more simply. And then…it seemed that it all made sense and for the moment all was right in our lives…we were enjoying a good adventure, sharing thoughts about life, seeing new places and stopping to smell the lavender. I guess sometimes it is as simple as taking a moment to slow down and enjoy the good things in life that are right in front of us.

Continuing towards home, we made a few more turns along the mountain road before I decided that we were not going in the right direction and called Duarte to come find us. Though Emily and I would have both enjoyed more time to explore on the bikes, it was late and we were cold and wet. Somehow, to our amazement, Duarte was able to deduce where we were by my descriptions of the vistas I could see from where we were riding. We rode down the steep slick trail until we came upon a major road where we briefly waited for Duarte to pick us up. We had made it! In two quick hours we saw and experienced many wonderful things within the back roads of Portugal. It was a great ride with a great friend. Such experiences become the memories that make the life we have lived so beautiful.