Text and photos by Adrien Beroud
A BikingMan is a meeting. A meeting with landscapes. A meeting with others. A meeting with oneself.
The BikingMan Portugal is a 1000-kilometer loop with 12,000 meters of positive elevation starting from Faro, crossing the Alentejo and the Algarve. All done autonomously, without assistance, and within a maximum time of 120 hours.
For this adventure, I was navigating the unknown waters of ultra-distance. Would my body withstand the load? Had I chosen my equipment wisely? These questions haunted me. One thing was certain, I had made the right choice of bike with an Anticosti from the Quebec brand Panorama. Certainly heavier than my carbon road bike, but just as responsive and much more comfortable.
On May 2, 2022, at 5:00 in the morning, I set off on my first ultra-distance event alongside about 110 participants. The goal: approximately 200 kilometers per day, maybe 250, to finish this loop in 4 or 5 days. So, we all took to the road to ride through the hills and plains of the Alentejo. While the leaders rode at a brisk pace, I took my time to find my rhythm and admire the landscape. A headwind strong enough to knock over cattle wore down the body; it was a constant struggle against this element. The straight lines followed one another, and the kilometers slowly passed by. The route was dotted with magnificent fortified towns and villages, such as Mértola, Serpa, or Monsaraz, which would be my stopping point for the night, located 290 kilometers from the starting point, well beyond my initial goal.
After a good night's rest, I hit the road again at 5:00 in the morning, heading to checkpoint number 1 in Vila Viçosa, which I reached after 2 hours of biking. My legs felt good, and I arrived at a much flatter and more advantageous portion for me. So, I racked up the kilometers on my Anticosti, which smoothed every roughness of the road, like a metronome heading towards the coast and the Algarve. At kilometer 400, the first pains in the buttocks occurred, a mistake in the choice of saddle or shorts? I don't know, but these pains came too early, and I knew I would have to grit my teeth until the end. Despite this, I continued and finished this second day without trouble after pedaling a little more than 280 kilometers.
On May 2, 2022, at 5:00 in the morning, I took off for my first ultradistance event alongside about 110 participants. The goal: around 200 kilometers per day, maybe 250, to finish this loop in 4 or 5 days. Thus, we all hit the road to cycle through the hills and plains of the Alentejo. While the front runners sped off, I took my time to find my rhythm and admire the landscape. A headwind strong enough to knock the horns off bulls wore us down; it was a constant struggle against this element. The straight lines followed one another, and the kilometers slowly ticked by. The route was dotted with magnificent fortified towns and villages, such as Mértola, Serpa, or Monsaraz, which would be my stopping point for the night, located 290 kilometers from the start, well beyond my initial objective.
After a restorative night's sleep, I hit the road again at 5:00 am the next day, heading for checkpoint number 1 in Vila Viçosa, which I reached after 2 hours of cycling. My legs felt good, and I arrived at a much flatter section that was more to my advantage. So, I racked up the kilometers on my Anticosti, which smoothed every rough patch of the road, like a metronome heading for the coast and the Algarve. At kilometer 400, the first pains in my buttocks appeared, a mistake in the choice of saddle or shorts? I don't know, but these pains came much too early, and I knew I would have to grit my teeth until the end. Despite everything, I continued and finished this second day without problems after pedaling a little more than 280 kilometers.
The next day, my buttocks, raw, were painful. I set off at 4:00 am towards checkpoint number 2 in Sagres. As the sun rose, I discovered the superb Algarve coast. Then, after passing through a Gravel section, I arrived at CP2 in the middle of the day. My morale was good. I chatted with the organizers, who greeted us with a smile despite the fatigue, then mounted my Anticosti again to tackle the end-of-course difficulties. I found myself on beautiful little roads winding through the hills. Yet, I couldn't fully enjoy it, I was in a long climb between Romeiras and Marmelete with slopes of more than 10%, my legs burned, and my buttocks were nothing but a painful giant carpaccio. I tackled the difficulties until Monchique before letting myself descend to my stop for the night, a pleasant guesthouse located in Santa-Clara-a-Velha.
Last day. I hit the road at 4:00 am, with about 190 kilometers left to do. I knew I would arrive in Faro during the day, well ahead of my predictions. Yet, I was not in high spirits. I pedaled alone, in the night, tears flooding my face. I thought about my sister-in-law who had passed away the previous week, about my family, and about the funeral that would take place during the day. My body was in Portugal, but my mind was elsewhere. I dragged my misery for several kilometers, then somehow, maybe the call of Faro, my body and mind became one again, and I started to speed up, the pain and sadness had disappeared. I did the last 100 kilometers at a brisk pace. I crossed the finish line 79 hours and 57 minutes after starting. A flood of emotions overwhelmed me, the floodgates opened, I collapsed into the arms of David and Laurence, two competitors I had befriended before the start and who were waiting for me on the line, and I cried all the tears of my body, happy to have finished this amazing adventure.
After a restorative night's sleep, I hit the road again at 5:00 am the next day, heading for checkpoint number 1 in Vila Viçosa, which I reached after 2 hours of cycling. My legs felt good, and I arrived at a much flatter section that was more to my advantage. So, I racked up the kilometers on my Anticosti, which smoothed every rough patch of the road, like a metronome heading for the coast and the Algarve. At kilometer 400, the first pains in my buttocks appeared, a mistake in the choice of saddle or shorts? I don't know, but these pains came much too early, and I knew I would have to grit my teeth until the end. Despite everything, I continued and finished this second day without problems after pedaling a little more than 280 kilometers.
The next day, my buttocks, raw, were painful. I set off at 4:00 am towards checkpoint number 2 in Sagres. As the sun rose, I discovered the superb Algarve coast. Then, after passing through a Gravel section, I arrived at CP2 in the middle of the day. My morale was good. I chatted with the organizers, who greeted us with a smile despite the fatigue, then mounted my Anticosti again to tackle the end-of-course difficulties. I found myself on beautiful little roads winding through the hills. Yet, I couldn't fully enjoy it, I was in a long climb between Romeiras and Marmelete with slopes of more than 10%, my legs burned, and my buttocks were nothing but a painful giant carpaccio. I tackled the difficulties until Monchique before letting myself descend to my stop for the night, a pleasant guesthouse located in Santa-Clara-a-Velha.
Last day. I hit the road at 4:00 am, with about 190 kilometers left to do. I knew I would arrive in Faro during the day, well ahead of my predictions. Yet, I was not in high spirits. I pedaled alone, in the night, tears flooding my face. I thought about my sister-in-law who had passed away the previous week, about my family, and about the funeral that would take place during the day. My body was in Portugal, but my mind was elsewhere. I dragged my misery for several kilometers, then somehow, maybe the call of Faro, my body and mind became one again, and I started to speed up, the pain and sadness had disappeared. I did the last 100 kilometers at a brisk pace. I crossed the finish line 79 hours and 57 minutes after starting. A flood of emotions overwhelmed me, the floodgates opened, I collapsed into the arms of David and Laurence, two competitors I had befriended before the start and who were waiting for me on the line, and I cried all the tears of my body, happy to have finished this amazing adventure.
