Everyone can easily identify Porto Santo's long beach, so it's also easy to imagine a coastal road just begging for a bike ride alongside the golden sand! It's time to tell you about that summer afternoon when we decided to go for a bike ride from the centre of Porto Santo to Calheta beach and back, with snacks in between.
Wanting to do something different every day, we had already passed by a few bike rental shops in Porto Santo and had it in our mind that we would venture out with the kids on a bike ride as soon as possible. When the time came, there were tons of options! It was difficult to choose between traditional city bikes, mountain bikes and electric bikes, as there was something for all tastes and wallets. We chose to rent two city bikes with the possibility of attaching chairs to take the kids behind us. We considered renting four bikes, but with 3 and 5 year olds we'd be very limited in the distance we could travel and where we could go to... The two bikes proved to be a good choice, because the kids loved going faster with us, they could play with each other (or at least get into scuffles), while enjoying the view.
Our goal was to get to the end of the road, at Calheta beach, with a spectacular view over Ilhéu da Cal. An ambitious idea, taking the kids with us, but we hit the road, determined to achieve our goal for that sunny afternoon in Porto Santo.
The fact that in this part of the island there is almost no slope worked in our favour, so cycling is quite easy in terms of effort. Another great advantage of cycling in Porto Santo, and one that made all the difference, is the existence of a bike path alongside the road, making cycling much safer and chilled.
- Dad, let's overtake the girls! - Francisco said every time we rode behind them, in keeping with the family's competitive spirit. Sometimes I took the lead, sometimes Margarida did, but the unobstructed view of the crystal-clear water of the sea and the golden sand of the beach to our left was constant.
- We're almost there, let's go, darling - I kept saying, to motivate Margarida to pedal faster. But she went on enjoying the scenery at her own pace and didn't mind us! We can't blame her for not wanting to race us, can we?
As we get closer to Calheta, there's a slight descent, and it's already possible to cycle without pedalling. Of course, we immediately think about the climb we'll have to overcome on the way back! But each thing in its own time. So there we were, speeding down the road, already very close to our goal. With the viewpoint car park in sight, I immediately started telling Margarida - put the brakes on, the road will end there at the bottom of the descent - so we managed to get there in one piece and with the kids awake (they often fall asleep on these activities that involve travelling) and happy.
We 'parked' the bikes and went to enjoy the spectacular view from the viewpoint at Ponta da Calheta. We stayed there for a few minutes, gazing at Ilhéu da Cal, just in front of us, and playing with our little bikers, who were still frantic from the adventure. As we looked back, we saw some people sitting on the terrace of the “O Calhetas” bar, eating some snacks.
We didn't even have to ask, we looked at each other and immediately sat down to order the traditional limpets, two cold beers and ice creams for the kids. The reward we got when we reached our destination couldn't have been more gratifying: an incredible landscape and some 'Madeiran-style' snacks to go with it. However, cycling is like climbing a mountain: we're happy to reach our destination, but when we do we're actually halfway there, because we still have to go back to where we started.
With pleased bellies, we hit the road (or bike path) again, ready to deal with that initial climb. Francisco and I went faster, with him setting the pace and me pedalling. The girls took a little longer, but they didn't give up, of course! Once we passed that part of the route, we were back on levelled ground and pedalling at a normal pace towards the centre, at the bike rental shops in Porto Santo.
After returning the bikes and the helmets, there was still time to go play in the seafront playground, and then for a dive in the old pier with the local kids! We were coming to the end of another day of our holidays in paradise.
