​  As a tourist I visited many cities in Europe and in some I opted for a bicycle tour on the first day of my stay. This is such a wonderful way to have a solid overview of more than just the historic centre and escape the busy tourist attractions during the day. It is also a way to share an active day or half-day with your partner, family or friends, especially those who are not into running - or not willing to take you up on that 7AM sunrise running tour you had in mind...!

In the next lines I will pinpoint a few reasons why a bicycle tour + (maybe) a running tour + the city of Porto are actually the perfect combination!

 
 In the past I had to deal with some nagging injuries, brought on by running, which kept me away from doing it for weeks...   They were overuse injuries from repeating the same movement, done over and over again, maybe with a slightly off-balance gait... and then maybe also the result of previous injuries that were not given enough healing time.

​While I am not saying that you should stop running I am saying that, for me, my body has welcomed the change in movement and also the strength gains that I have been making since I began to train differently and gave Crossfit a try on a weekly basis. The strength that I have gained is having a noticeable impact on my running as well because my legs are feeling much stronger with each stride.

​Sometimes we just need to mix things up and try new things to refresh how we feel.

Crossfit Durius has since become my second favorite place to work up a sweat -  the first being... my office, the streets of Porto!

  
​  That item was on the list for a long, long time...! It took me 3 years, many excited reports of visiting runners who had done it and one kind invitation to make up my mind and do it. All I can say I am really glad I did it!

  Read on for some (fun) facts about the construction of this bridge and its project's designer, Edgar Cardoso, an inventive engineer way ahead of his time...!  Bonus: a short video of the experience, the highest point of my week :)