Well, well, well, it would appear you may soon have a stylish new way of riding to the most popular surfspots in Portugal, with the new BMW motorcycle just revealed.
A motorcycle for surfers?
Campervans have been a long-standing way of packing your gear and catching the best swell you can find, with the VW breadfloaf being a true symbol in the surfing universe, but now from Germany comes another attempt at giving you a way to ride to the beach in tremendous style. It"s called the BMW Concept Path 22 and by the admission of the manufacturer, it will attempt to reconnect riders with the roots of surf and motorcycle culture. It"s no wonder it was announced at the Wheels & Waves Festival, taking place in Biarritz, France, and that brings surf and motorcycles together.
The Concept Path 22 is certainly an "out of the box" design, created in partnership with Ornamental Conifer and Mason Dyer, a renowned surfboard shaper. Based on the mighty BMW R NineT, the Concept Path 22 was conceived for off-road rides, but the decoration is more about your lifestyle than it is about mechanical specifications. Its decoration with stylized renderings of seagulls, clouds and waves certainly bring up a surfing lifestyle and you can really see it riding steadily down the road to some of the best surfspots in Portugal. Nevermind it was presented in France: we"re sure Portugal"s surfspots will be attracting a lot of riders this summer.
Materials in the Concept Path 22 are really top notch, with stitched leather seat, stainless-steel tailpipes, and milled aluminium rims, but what really nails it, is the Dyer surfboard carrier fitted to the side.
OK, so the Concept Path 22 is just that: a concept. What it does, though, is open up new possibilities for your ride for the upcoming years!
Best vehicles to visit the surfspots in Portugal
Nobody will deny that surfspots in Portugal are perhaps the best in Europe, because here you can have pretty much everything you need to either surf at ease, or pull your skills to the maximum. We would say Peniche, Ericeira and Lagos are indeed three surfspots in Portugal you can"t miss.
But much like the Concept Path 22 tries to remind us, surf is not just about riding the waves, but also the way you get there, how you enjoy the environment and the community around the best surfspots. You may even be one of those surfers who enjoy the endless hunt for the secret surfspot, even though such a thing is probably a thing of the past, with the ever increasing popularity of the sport.
So, considering many surfers don"t have a budget for a big engine BMW bike, what are the best vehicles to discover the best surfspots in Portugal?
Well, the VW Camper/Transporter/Kombi/Minibus is the obvious choice, isn"t it? Regardless if its the T1, T2 or the T3, these are cheap and will probably have more fuel left after the surf season than you, although the T1 and T2 are getting more valuable by the day as they are chased down by hipsters as if they"re the last rhino in Africa. Not only is the Transporter a surfing symbol around the world (can you say "The Beach Boys"), they are durable and roomy.
The only thing that can come closer to the VW is, of course, the Ford Econoline van. If you"re from the USA, this is probably the #1 van in the surf lore and legend, and if you"re not, you"ll probably recognize as an inspiration for Scooby Doo. Cheap, roomy and with plenty of mileage to go, they may be a top choice for the surfer with a taste for classic cars.
Next comes the Citroën Méhari, a lightweight camel on wheels, and if you can get the 4WD version, you"re set to go: its independent long-travel 2CV suspension goes everywhere, and this is by excellence the beach and sand vehicle of choice. Ask Elvis, right? Citroën was even very clear about the whole thing and adverts always had a surfboard around. The only thing better than a Méhari is a VW Dune Buggy.
For that really great 4WD performance to get to the toughest surfspots in Portugal, then you have to go with the Toyota Hilux pickup or the Land Cruiser. They are built to stand punishment and they will get you out of the sand where other vehicles would shame you. And you know what the Hilux is called in Japan, right? Surf, that"s right.
So here"s our choice if you want to visit Portugal"s surfspots in style and class. We"re sure there are plenty of other choices. Which are yours?
