looking for someone to show Sintra trails

mindaugask

New Member
Olá a todos,

Me and my girlfriend have moved to live in Monte Estoril a month ago. We are avid mountain bikers and know there are great trails in Sintra natural park. However, going there alone it is quite scary, so we are looking for some fellow mtb'ers, who would be willing to show us around.

As for our skills, I ride mtb bike for two years, so I would rate myself as an advanced beginner, and my girlfriend rides for around 1 year, she is a beginner. We don't have much experience riding in medium-difficult difficulty trails.

I don't have a car, so the best starting point for me would be in Monte Estoril or Guincho, or in fact any point that can be reached by bike.

Also, if somebody could share a route (in Endomondo or Wikiloc) of from easy to medium difficulty it would be a great help.

Looking forward to meet local mtb'ers!

Mindaugas
 

miguelcarromeu

Active Member
At weekends it would be very easy to find someone that fits your profile, riding in Sintra. You can easily find them on a Saturday or Sunday (more riders) on the Mula dam or the Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon).

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zHtclsntY7ys.k0ng4d6mSmws

The blue dot is the Mula dam and the pink/red dot is the Lagoa Azul.

Bare in mind that the medium/difficult trails you speak, might be really difficult. Sintra has some hardcore trails so try to choose wisely your riding partners. You have some Sintra videos in my Youtube channel if you care to see.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcCgRldouMe01prNO6K92JQ

Best regards and nice rides
 
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mindaugask

New Member
Great, thanks, that would be a good starting point. Just will have to figure out how to get there from Monte Estoril :)
 

miguelcarromeu

Active Member
By bike or by car?

By car you can use that same link I left you there and add your starting point ;)

By bike it's also "doable" and I know you will probably have a couple of options. Dunno it though.
 

mindaugask

New Member
By bike.

Sure, I believe it is doable, however I am not used to such complicated network of narrow streets full of intesive traffic. I guess will have to get used to this over time :)
 

miguelcarromeu

Active Member
It's a bit far although the major problem is traffic intensity. There should be several shortcuts though. I know some riders I ride with come from that area and they navigate through alleys and short trails between properties. Try looking at GPSies.
 

mindaugask

New Member
Olá,

Are there any riders going to Sintra natural park trails via Cascais or Estoril who I could join with this weekend (late afternoon on Saturday or Sunday any time)? Also I could join if anyone rides late at night.

By the way, I am wondering if dogs are a problem in this Cascais-Sintra park area? A few days ago in the evening I was riding to Guincho direction and somewhere in half way between Guia and Guincho I saw a bunch of large dogs, maybe 10 or 15, hanging out on a hill on the right side of ciclovia. Should I be scared and avoid riding when there are nobody around or there are no crazy dogs attacking people around here? :)
 

gcaetano

Member
Olá mindaugask,

During weekends there are a lot of people enjoying Sintra trails. So it isn't very difficult to catch somebodys wheel and discovery some of best spots in Serra de Sintra.

Me and my group usually meet in one of the spots that miguelcarromeu mentioned, Blue Lagoon (Lagoa Azul). Plenty of people start their rides on the Lagoon, because there is room for parking, it's in the bottom of the ridge (climbing is always a good way to start a ride!), and it's a place easily acessible from the main roads.

I would be glad to show you around, the problem is that we begin our ride in Queluz and Cacém, and that is a bit far from Cascais or Monte do Estoril... I would say the best way to get there is trough Cascais, heading to Estoril motorsports circuit and from there to the Blue Lagoon. It's probably the easiest path, around 10 km - check it on google maps https://www.google.pt/maps/dir/Casc...478987eb9f16!2m2!1d-9.397401!2d38.7680202!3e2. On Saturdays and Sundays morning there aren't plenty of cars, but it's important to be cautious on the road. On the way home I would follow Guincho direction (it's a big descent from Malveira da Serra!) and then head over to Cascais.
If you wanna ride with us just send me a private message. If you're familiar with Strava, here's our usual route through Sintra so that you can check our pace: http://www.strava.com/activities/124934919


As for the dogs, usually there aren't big issues... We have a saying in portuguese language that is something like "Dogs bark and the train passes". Nevertheless I would be careful with any dog and avoid big packs if possible, especially if alone or in a countryside area. I can't remember any case of big attack, but some riders have been bitten... But hey, that happens everywhere. ;)
 

mindaugask

New Member
Olá Caetano, great, I will definitely join you, and thanks a lot for the information!

Last weekend I went alone to ride in Sintra, but spent a lot of time navigating roads :) Still I reached the Mula dam and followed from there an easy trail using Endomondo.

Talk to you soon in private message.
 

nuno_85

New Member
Hy mindaugask,

Other option for a nice ride is Monsanto. If you want to try it some day just send pm. Sintra although been there few times, i'm not qualified to show you around lol.
 

mindaugask

New Member
Hi and thank you for the trail!

If you will be planing to ride here on some weekend, drop me a line and will gladly join you.
 
Hello mindaugask I've an excellent suggestion to you.

There's a group that every sunday, 09.00 a.m. (and some other days too, and nights also) goes to ride Sintra trails. They know very well Sintra.
You can find them at Facebook and search for the group "Pedalar em Sintra" and specially one of their riders, Orlando Silvério.

I've ride with them once and I guarantee You'll hardly find someone else that knows Sintra trails so well and they don't leave anyone behind - never. Above all they're very friendly and have a strong MTB spirit.

The only catch is that they don't start from Sintra. They start from Mem Martins, but that's only 4-5km from Sintra.

I strongly recommend it!

About Monsanto... it's nice but it's just like a small Sintra. Good for Lisbon riders like me.

Good rides, have Fun!
 

mindaugask

New Member
Hi Rui,

Thank you a lot for your suggestion. I will join the group and use an opportunity riding with them.

I went to Monsanto and really liked it. I was quite interesting also to ride in the middle of the city :)

Thanks again and good luck to you!
 
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