As I left town my route appeared to join a motorway heading north - I dithered on the slip road and consulted my maps .... There appeared to be no other road out of town heading north so as the motorway had only about 5 cars a minute on it. There was a small road running parallel but it was blocked off as the new motorway looked like it had just been built, So I mad a mad dash along the hard shoulder for 2 miles separated from the little road by a substantial fence, after 2 miles I hauled my bike over the fence and at the next junction it promptly stopped and I cycled into Vila Nove de Santo Andre another 2 miles on the motorway.
North of town the road went to single carriageway and the ride up through Melides was much less stressful - At Comporta I passed fields of Black Ibis and the Setubal estuary came into view. I cycled along the Troia Peninsular for 8 miles which seemed to go on forever as I was chasing a ferry which only sails once every hour - I made it with just enough time to work out how to buy a ticket.
From Setubal it was uphill all the way to Palmela and then a very messy pick my way through Coina, Amora and Corroios to Almeda at which point I diverted up a steep cobbly backstreet which lead up to the Statue of Christo Rei. The viewpoint at the statue afforded great views of the 25th April Suspension Bridge and across the Tagus to Lisbon. I cycled down to the ferry at Calcihas and it was across the Tagus to Cais do Sodre in no time. My Hotel was less than a mile away in the Chiado district and after a great meal I spent 2 hours in the hotel room trying to fix niggles on the brakes and rear derailleur which just wouldnt change smoothly.