Biking Buddies

There are plenty of fitness activities on offer from Fairways, and as members Carol Carne and Judith Karr will tell you, cycling is one of them, either with organised groups or do-it-yourself.

Here is Carol and Judith’s story.

About eight years ago, we gave up golf in the Algarve and took up cycling instead. We cycle 40k at least three times a week at Fairways, as well as at home. We have cycled with other members too, some we know from the UK, others we’ve met in Portugal. We don’t go more often than three times a week, as we feel we need to spend time with our husbands!

We often cycle somewhere nice for lunch where they join us, either on foot or by car. At Praia de Faro we like to stop at Salmare. It serves delicious snacks and salads, and we can watch the kite-surfers swirling over the sea. It’s quite relaxing. In the other direction, we love to go to Julia’s in Praia do Garrão, just before Vale do Lobo. The new boardwalks through the Ria Formosa Nature reserve linking Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Lago to Faro make it really easy to cycle along the coast. We can make it to Faro by bike quicker than anyone driving a car from Fairways! We use Google Maps and other apps, such as Strava, for directions, but also get recommendations of trails from other members. Sometimes we get ‘misplaced’ – but getting lost is part of the fun. For safety, we use an app called Life 360. This allows us to be located by tracking our phones, which is very handy if we