Earlier this year Tom from The Woods Cyclery took his Big Bro on a bikepacking trip through Madeira – a Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean – known for its rugged, volcanic mountain landscape.
Tom took his camera along for the ride and had this to say about his experience:
“So we decided on Madeira for a winter trip after reading about the sleepy Portuguese culture, amazing food, diverse flora and fauna and massive mountains! Coming across a video of Josh Brycland driving an old red sports car up them and ripping his mountain bike down them didn’t hurt either…
Without much more consideration we booked the flights.
Turns out Madeira is a challenging place to ride a bike! there is almost no flat ground at all, bar the plateau which forms the top of the island.
Took the Brother Big Bro, set up with big tyres hoping for some xc trails, some enduro (I like a challenge) and some bike packing. We found it all, and the bike ate it up, my wrists did take a beating down a black DH run though.
The landscape is mind blowing, it’s like the alps have just risen from the sea, and the food was even better than we’d heard..
I’d recommend a trip, but bring your climbing legs!”
Tom’s rig – Restrap saddle and handlebar bags, Blackburn Design Outpost frame bag and those bulbous 2.4″ WTB Trail Boss tyres giving this bike such a good style:
