Algarve Trail Riding Tours

We’ve travelled from Alentejo to the Algarve and the charming little town of Aljezur, with roots dating back to the Moorish era. Over the next two days, we’ll be riding with Algarve Trail Riding Tours, with Anton as our guide.

If you ask Anton, Algarve Trail Riding Tours is the culmination of a lifelong passion for motocross, trail and off-road riding — a boundless enthusiasm of the kind you simply can’t buy.

Anton’s first connection to the area dates back to 2000, when he came here to surf near Lagos. What began as a two-week holiday ended with him buying a house near Aljezur and setting off on the journey that has brought him to where he is today.

Anton’s philosophy is simple: get out and ride great roads and trails in small groups — no more than five riders. With exceptional local knowledge, he can tailor each tour to suit the group, and it’s precisely this remarkable ability to navigate the Algarve’s maze of trails and backroads that allows him to deliver a truly immersive experience.

Billy the Goat and Speedy Working Motorcycles

When we arrive at Anton’s on Tuesday morning, three motorcycles are waiting outside the small garage. An AJP PR5 250cc and two SWM RS300s. We’re free to choose which bikes to take for the day’s ride, and out of curiosity — since neither of us is familiar with these brands — we go for one of each.

The AJP PR5 250cc is built here in Portugal. Its founder, António J. Pinto, was a seven-time national enduro champion. AJP bikes are lightweight and very strong in the lower gears, while at higher speeds they feel more like a conventional enduro machine. This makes them well suited to tackling tough technical sections in a more trials-like manner, earning them the nickname “the Goat” for their impressive climbing ability.

The goat that lives in Anton’s garage is called Billy — simply because male goats in English are known as Billy or Buck.

All production was moved to Mattighofen, and none of the existing models made the transition. Left behind at the factory in Varese were the entire workforce, along with their knowledge, spare parts and tooling.

The situation led engineer Ampelio Macchi, who had previously worked with Cagiva, Aprilia and Husqvarna, to decide that the expertise and skill of the Italian workforce should not go to waste. Macchi founded a new company to restart production at the facility and chose to revive the SWM brand, which had ceased production in 1984.

SWM — Speedy Working Motorcycles — is an Italian marque that, during the 1970s and 1980s, was a major player in both trial and enduro.

Monchique — lunch at altitude

Curious both about how the bikes would feel and which route Anton had planned for us, we set off. Anton turns off across the lawn outside the house and onto a narrow trail surrounded by eucalyptus trees. He quite literally has off-road paradise right on his doorstep.

I start out on the Goat, while Jens rides the SWM, though we’ll swap bikes during the day. Anton is on a KTM EXC 500.

As we’ve already experienced over the past few days, hills are a constant feature here in south-west Portugal, and Aljezur is no exception. The day’s route begins on a narrow trail that quickly turns uphill. It’s typical of the terrain here — you creep around a corner and are suddenly faced with a climb.

The Goat makes its way up the hill with ease. It’s not especially fast, but it feels incredibly strong. Anton leads us along a route through the eucalyptus forest up towards Monchique, the highest village in the Algarve, sitting at 485 metres above sea level. On a clear day, you can just make out both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean on the horizon — today we only caught a glimpse of the Atlantic.

We stop here for lunch before heading back towards Aljezur, this time on more open and faster gravel roads compared to the morning’s shaded trails.

Impressive local knowledge

Our second day with Anton — and our final riding day this time in Portugal — begins much like the previous one, with bright sunshine and a temperature of around 17 degrees.

Today, we both ride the SWM RS300, while the Goat gets a well-earned rest. The SWM feels easy to handle and performs brilliantly on the varied terrain here. Just like yesterday, the route begins straight from Anton’s lawn and into the scrubland. But if I’m not mistaken, this time we turn right instead of left after the first hundred metres.

Anton’s local knowledge is remarkable. He can reroute on the fly as effortlessly as the trails themselves change direction, adjusting both the route and the level of difficulty to suit the experience of the group.

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