Twenty five years later, mountain bikes, with their fat tires, multiple gearing and sturdy construction have added a new dimension to recreational and sporting activities everywhere. Here in the Algarve, this September, the first ever mountain bike "Tour of the Algarve" attracted 121 competitors for a four-day race along trails and back roads from Silves to Tavira. While in Loulé Concelho up to 140 people gather once a month with their mountain bikes to ride the local trails together.
In 1990 Loulé began developing an extensive network of mountain bike trails. Today there are 18 marked routes, each between 20 and 30 kilometers long. Anyone walking in the country areas will have seen the large red disc painted on rocks and walls with the letters BTT in white. These indicate that the road or pathway is part of one of the Bicicleta Todo Terreno routes.
Senhor Arménio Fernandes of the Loulé Câmara's Divisâo de Desporta explained that there were two kinds of trails. Most are clearly marked for easy route finding with two small red and white circles of paint indicating any changes in direction. Others are orientation routes and can only be followed with a map and map reading skills. Maps are being prepared for public use and will soon be available.
The routes are all circuits, beginning and ending in a small town or village for easy access by car. Most are in the hills between Boliqueime and Loulé. Others are in the serras between Alte and Barranco de Velho while two are in the north of the concelho in the Serra do Malho. They are adventurous routes, taking riders along narrow tracks and donkey trails, fording rivers and only very rarely crossing or following main roads. They provide the mountain biker with a wonderful way to see the Algarve countryside. Bikers pass through some wilder and more inaccessible areas where the rare fellow traveller will be on foot or in a donkey cart.
The Loulé Câmara is justly proud of their mountain biking facilities which provide local enthusiasts as well as visitors with a wonderful way to exercise and see the countryside. The introduction of the first mountain bike race in the Algarve this year has given the sport an extra boost. The future is bright for mountain biking in Portugal.