Ticket to Ride - Madeira!

With Christmas over now and that long slog through the cold weather of January we had planned some winter sun on the Portuguese Island of Madeira for a week long break away with family. I had been suffering with a bad dose of the flu and still feeling quite ill so didn’t think I’d be hiking any Levada trails this time or even out riding motorcycles, but as the week progressed in the milder climate I started to feel a little better and while out walking with Hayley I came across a few bike rental shops and the thought of escaping for the day started to cross my mind. A few years ago while on the island, I hooked up with a guy named Steve who runs Madeira Motorcycle Tours and had a lot of fun back then but this time didn’t really fancy a guided tour as such, preferring to do my own thing with a solo ride instead.   

By Saturday morning I was soon chatting to Diogo of Vive Madeira Vive Madeira Motorcycle Rental based opposite our hotel and had my eye on a couple of his bikes. I did think of taking the Tenere 700 out for the day but found it quite top heavy. Another option was the Suzuki VStrom 800 DE in bright yellow that looked quite nice but I really did fancy a go on the new F800 GS, and did the deal for 85 euro days rental including insurance and extras with a full tank of fuel (to be brimmed on return). The rental included top box, smart phone holder, helmet gloves and jacket, so that was that, I was soon off out for a ride a quick visit to the hotel to grab a jumper, some water and download the MRA route planning software on to my phone I had soon plotted a few waypoints to take me up in to the mountains over ‘Monte’ and beyond. 

It took me a while to navigate my way out of the capital Funchal but after a while recognised those famous tobogganists ahead and took care to avoid colliding with them as I pointed the GS along that extremely steep and straight road up the mountain on the outskirts of the city before taking a left at the top across the switchbacks up higher in to the forested section. Some excellent twisties up there and my congested ears started popping with altitude and almost immediately I started to feel a little better with the warm sun on my back as I started to get used to the smooth F800 engine. Quite a bit different to the boxer this in line twin having a nice growl about it, but the biggest shock to me was suspension and regular telescopic forks. I’d been so used to the telelever suspension it took a while to get used to fork dive again, especially as I braked hard to take some of the snake like bends. The roads around the island are mostly smooth tarmac with very few pot holes but in many parts steep gradients and tight bends that had me shifting my hips to flick the smaller GS through those chicane like sections.   

After Monte my route took me up the R103 towards the small village of Ribeiro Frio and kept winding through some amazing forested scenery with wonderful views down and across the valley. I stopped for a short break at the viewpoint Miradouro do Cabouca and decided to head on toward Santana overlooking the North East coastline and gradually descended down to the town after a long straight section. There are some of the traditional ‘A’ framed straw roofed houses painted bright red and blue as you pass through, but I just kept on going and decided to ride on along the coastal road R211 to Sao Vicente. Here I got a little lost and headed back up the mountain again in a kind of loop around, but didn’t mind because the roads and scenery were amazing.

At one point I came across an old single track tunnel and had to wait at lights for oncoming vehicles to come past. Madeira has a network of many tunnels some as old as the Levada irrigation system, and some quite long to serve a modern road system. Eventually I found my way riding into the pretty fishing village of Seixal then turned around to head along the coastal road again with a huge cliff edge on one side and the sea on the other. This part of the island is ideal for surfers and the sea was crashing over the road forcing me to anticipate the surf as I passed the narrowest stretch to avoid getting drenched. 

After Sao Vicente I stopped briefly to plot some waypoints to avoid the main VE4 road across the interior. I wanted to ride the mountain section inland from Sao Vicente but ended up riding along the long 3km tunnel before realising my error so turned off up toward the mountain near Gingas. I spotted signs for a restaurant / cafe and eventually found it halfway up a long mountain road. The owner and his wife welcomed me in and served me a nice coffee with cream as I listened to the sound of dogs barking at each other across the valley. 

While riding I came across a few dogs that shot out of side entrances or farm tracks to chase me as I passed by, quite alarming at times so I had to take care and get ready to avoid them taking a chunk out of my trouser leg! By now I was feeling quite cool, riding the mountains the temperature gauge showing around 14 degrees up high. I took the R228 as it climbed up then started a descent down through along the Estrada Regional 228 and passed the Valley View Hotel situated in a great  location as its name suggests a stunning view. I stopped at a Miradour for  a few minutes to take in the view of the lush green mountainside and terraced farmland. Madeira really is a pretty island, crammed with vegetation growing on the fertile volcanic soil. 

By now it was past 5pm so I took a nice steady ride back toward Sao Martinho to drop the GS off as agreed after a brief fuel stop. Great days ride and Diogo and his colleague Pedro were waiting to check the bike back in was keen to find out where I had ridden. I signed my name on the ‘testimonial’ wall and said farewell. Highly recommend Vive Madeira motorcycle rental, great service and good advice. Hopefully I’ll rent a bike from them again some day soon!