We cycled 93 miles in Portugal with our kids – it was more relaxing than a villa

“What were you thinking?” was the general consensus when we told friends and family we were cycling the coast of Portugal for our summer holiday. As we set off from Porto, carrying panniers with all our clothes, in 28°C, the question crossed my mind too. While we like independent travel and enjoy bike rides, I’ve never really done an active holiday before, certainly not with the children. Our family summer holidays have all previously been of the sun lounger, playing cards by the pool variety. But when our friends invited us to join them on their cycling holiday, we were drawn to the challenge. The children are now nine and six and we reckoned they could handle it with plenty of stops for ice cream. They showed enthusiasm, no matter how many times we explained what the holiday would actual