Did anyone face any consequence for anything ? I try to only read Heather Cox Richardson, but I do belong to Democrats abroad Portugal. Keep on truckin
I miss our daily biking in Copenhagen, although at times it could feel like a race. I often laughed at the similarities between cyclist and driver behavior. Some people obey the rules and are conscientious, others stare at their cell phones, or ride side by side, or ignore traffic signals. I did see way more “wrong way” cyclists…including one going the wrong way on an icy day in a one way lane—she made the mistake of thinking the correct flow of traffic would make way for her and skidded into a power pole.
I have been calling senators and reps weekly. It is interesting to see or hear how the various reps manage their incoming calls. Our veteran Senator’s staff runs smoothly. Our freshman Senator still doesn’t have her website set up, and her voicemail is constantly full/line is busy. I hope our democracy survives this.
We we there in Silves during the first stage of the bicycle 🚲 race eating at a restaurant on their route and when we started hearing sirens 🚨, we ran out and approximately 20 riders passed us at break neck speed, then we waited and waited and for the remaining and none came. We were so puzzled and then found out later the others had been mis directed, oy!
Mark has never had to face the music for what he did or tried to do. None of them have really. It is totally out of control here. We had planned to move in 2027 to Portugal, but may pull in our timeline. I wanted to let my 16 year old finish high school here and then go to college in Dublin. But actions in the US may speed up that process. We will be back in Portugal (Central and North) this June for another vacation/exploration of possible areas to move too and we intend to have our ducks in a row - if we find a home that we like we will try to buy it and move that $$ from our 401k (that we will suspect will be negatively impacted by the actions of the orange occupant) and sink it into a real assets that we can use in the future. Best of luck to you on the pink lady
Living in the countryside of central Portugal where traffic is not an issue, but hills are, our e-bikes are fantastic! We ride almost daily spring to fall. Because of having two guest apartments we own 6 e-bikes. Our friends who visit and stay with us love our rides into town (5minutes) and leisurely rides through the local villages. When you and Denice come, you can experience for yourselves! Fica bem!
Reading your article about the cycle race I could not miss recounting my experience. We were living in France in the early 80's (I had just got a job with an American semiconductor startup company and they needed an on-site engineer in Nice - what a drag hey!). Anyway, my wife had sent me to do some shopping and I was trying to exit the condo when I was stopped by the police. My French was 'not great' but he told me the road was closed because of the Tour de France and the peloton was due soon. I told him that I had never seen it and he put his arm round my shoulder and pulled me up to his vantage point. It was then that another car pulled up behind mine and honked loudly. The policeman blew his whistle and the car honked loudly again. At this point the policeman blew again - louder - and gave the driver 'la figue'; that universal gesture made by slapping the inside of the elbow while shooting the fist into the air. At this point the other driver walked up to us, enquiring about the delay. The policeman explained about the race and the driver said 'Merde!' and offered his cigarettes around and we three temporary friends watched the peloton whizz past.
Thanks Knud...I have taken many a wrong exit on a roundabout. However, I would have thought the organizers would have done a better job of defining the route.
In some ways that defines the European experience. "We know the way so the cyclists will too". All it needed was a barrier or marshall at the roundabout but the poor peloton just automatically followed the motorbikes because they always do. Rather amusing for us watchers.
Mark Meadows unfortunately did not go to jail. But he wasn't alleged to have voted twice, he was alleged to have voted using an address that he had never actually lived at.
Great pix, nice post, but for your accident (my sympathies). I’ve never had so much fun on a bicycle as I did it Portugal. I was only a casual bike rider in the US, but an e-bike in Portugal gave me wings for thousands of kilometers. I used it to explore outlying villages from Coimbra, but functionally it was a workhouse getting groceries 3-4 times weekly, going to ATMs, post office and pharmacy. I would like to give a strong opinion about “fat tire” e-bikes (like the RADPower). I’ve had several kinds of E-Bikes and the tires make all the difference . It maybe counterintuitive, but the Fat Tire bikes are NOT more stable. They handle funny, are much less nimble, and IMHO, less stable, particularly at speed. Pictures help understand this better; if anyone’s interested contact me.
Ah, Nancy....I too retired my bike. In Cascais, I got knocked down 2 times by latex-clad bikers who misjudged their angles and ran into me; sudden braking for tourists on bike trails along the coast sent me over the handlebars or skidding to the ground. Unnerved, I just couldn't climb aboard my gorgeous new Dutch bike another time. I understand. But I'm here to thank you for the nod to DAPT--and to make our voices heard in the US.
We had a distorted view of Cascais in that we lived there during Covid and the summer immediately following. There were often days when I had the bike path to Oitavus Dunes all to myself. When we returned the next summer we immediately noticed the difference.
Did anyone face any consequence for anything ? I try to only read Heather Cox Richardson, but I do belong to Democrats abroad Portugal. Keep on truckin
I miss our daily biking in Copenhagen, although at times it could feel like a race. I often laughed at the similarities between cyclist and driver behavior. Some people obey the rules and are conscientious, others stare at their cell phones, or ride side by side, or ignore traffic signals. I did see way more “wrong way” cyclists…including one going the wrong way on an icy day in a one way lane—she made the mistake of thinking the correct flow of traffic would make way for her and skidded into a power pole.
I have been calling senators and reps weekly. It is interesting to see or hear how the various reps manage their incoming calls. Our veteran Senator’s staff runs smoothly. Our freshman Senator still doesn’t have her website set up, and her voicemail is constantly full/line is busy. I hope our democracy survives this.
Re: Cycling tour video- Woah- step aside or get run over!!
We we there in Silves during the first stage of the bicycle 🚲 race eating at a restaurant on their route and when we started hearing sirens 🚨, we ran out and approximately 20 riders passed us at break neck speed, then we waited and waited and for the remaining and none came. We were so puzzled and then found out later the others had been mis directed, oy!
Surprised that that happened. There were 10+ GNR on motorcycles leading the pack. Some speeding with sirens blaring!
Mark has never had to face the music for what he did or tried to do. None of them have really. It is totally out of control here. We had planned to move in 2027 to Portugal, but may pull in our timeline. I wanted to let my 16 year old finish high school here and then go to college in Dublin. But actions in the US may speed up that process. We will be back in Portugal (Central and North) this June for another vacation/exploration of possible areas to move too and we intend to have our ducks in a row - if we find a home that we like we will try to buy it and move that $$ from our 401k (that we will suspect will be negatively impacted by the actions of the orange occupant) and sink it into a real assets that we can use in the future. Best of luck to you on the pink lady
Nice article on bikes Nancy.
Living in the countryside of central Portugal where traffic is not an issue, but hills are, our e-bikes are fantastic! We ride almost daily spring to fall. Because of having two guest apartments we own 6 e-bikes. Our friends who visit and stay with us love our rides into town (5minutes) and leisurely rides through the local villages. When you and Denice come, you can experience for yourselves! Fica bem!
We have got to make plans!
Them boys ride fast!
And on cobblestones...
Reading your article about the cycle race I could not miss recounting my experience. We were living in France in the early 80's (I had just got a job with an American semiconductor startup company and they needed an on-site engineer in Nice - what a drag hey!). Anyway, my wife had sent me to do some shopping and I was trying to exit the condo when I was stopped by the police. My French was 'not great' but he told me the road was closed because of the Tour de France and the peloton was due soon. I told him that I had never seen it and he put his arm round my shoulder and pulled me up to his vantage point. It was then that another car pulled up behind mine and honked loudly. The policeman blew his whistle and the car honked loudly again. At this point the policeman blew again - louder - and gave the driver 'la figue'; that universal gesture made by slapping the inside of the elbow while shooting the fist into the air. At this point the other driver walked up to us, enquiring about the delay. The policeman explained about the race and the driver said 'Merde!' and offered his cigarettes around and we three temporary friends watched the peloton whizz past.
David, what a great story. I didn't mention this in the post but this tour is a qualifier for the Tour de France.
The first stage was cancelled as half of the riders took a wrong exit on a roundabout. Big disaster for the organizers. Foi uma verdadeira vergonha.
Final stage was won by the Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, who also ended up as the overall winner.
Thanks Knud...I have taken many a wrong exit on a roundabout. However, I would have thought the organizers would have done a better job of defining the route.
In some ways that defines the European experience. "We know the way so the cyclists will too". All it needed was a barrier or marshall at the roundabout but the poor peloton just automatically followed the motorbikes because they always do. Rather amusing for us watchers.
Mark Meadows unfortunately did not go to jail. But he wasn't alleged to have voted twice, he was alleged to have voted using an address that he had never actually lived at.
Rose, please note I updated my footnote…take a look.
OMG, how incredibly sweet of you! Thanks Nancy!!!
I wrote and rewrote that line aeveral times because i knew he voted ata non-address but thought he also voted at his real address. My bad.
Not your bad at all. It's a pretty obscure point and I only knew it because I'm an insane obsessive political junkie.
Great pix, nice post, but for your accident (my sympathies). I’ve never had so much fun on a bicycle as I did it Portugal. I was only a casual bike rider in the US, but an e-bike in Portugal gave me wings for thousands of kilometers. I used it to explore outlying villages from Coimbra, but functionally it was a workhouse getting groceries 3-4 times weekly, going to ATMs, post office and pharmacy. I would like to give a strong opinion about “fat tire” e-bikes (like the RADPower). I’ve had several kinds of E-Bikes and the tires make all the difference . It maybe counterintuitive, but the Fat Tire bikes are NOT more stable. They handle funny, are much less nimble, and IMHO, less stable, particularly at speed. Pictures help understand this better; if anyone’s interested contact me.
My new “pink lady” has thinner tires than the RAD and I have not noticed a difference on cobblestones or uneven surfaces.
Ah, Nancy....I too retired my bike. In Cascais, I got knocked down 2 times by latex-clad bikers who misjudged their angles and ran into me; sudden braking for tourists on bike trails along the coast sent me over the handlebars or skidding to the ground. Unnerved, I just couldn't climb aboard my gorgeous new Dutch bike another time. I understand. But I'm here to thank you for the nod to DAPT--and to make our voices heard in the US.
We had a distorted view of Cascais in that we lived there during Covid and the summer immediately following. There were often days when I had the bike path to Oitavus Dunes all to myself. When we returned the next summer we immediately noticed the difference.
Hi Nancy, Do you have the address for the bike repaire man, please?
His address is 45 Rua Conselheiro Frederico Ramirez (8900-257). His coffee breaks are typically Sagres breaks so I suggest a morning viait.
My partner has an e-bike and a normal one and he uses the regular one in VRSA because it is easier and lighter.
Another item for the garage we don't have yet! Have not told D, but seriously considering it.