Charging Ahead: How an E-bike Made My Portugal Vacation Amazing

Travel + Leisure

15-06-2025

'Have you guys heard of JOMO? It's the joy of missing out!' It was a reminder from guide Lander Crissman about the laid-back mindset we should be keeping on our e-biking adventure in southwestern Portugal organized by the outfitter Backroads. On this trip, there would be no time for work anxieties or type-A chasing of personal bests.
Instead, our six-person group, along with two guides, would be spending six leisurely days biking through cork and olive groves, doing a touch of hiking, trying our hand at surfing, and kayaking the famous sea caves of the Algarve. We'd be staying at two beyond-luxurious hotels—each with a deluxe spa—and covering between 3½ and 27 miles a day. If that sounds like minimal mileage for a cycling tour, it is: Backroads calls this multisport itinerary a Dolce Tempo, or 'sweet time,' departure. We'd also get a boost in the form of custom-built pedal-assist e-bikes. From Left: The author on her e-bike adventure in Portugal; kayaking the sea caves of the Algarve.
Kathy Roberson; Backroads
I'm something of an overplanner when it comes to travel, so I was glad to leave all the decisions and logistics to the pros. What's more, the trip would be something of a callback to my younger days, when I took an annual bike trip for seven years straight. The desire not to be left behind was good motivation to hit the gym consistently throughout the year.
But my idea of a workout is a low-impact yoga or Pilates class or, more often, pedaling an exercise bike while watching TV. With that kind of fitness routine, I'd always wind up underprepared (and the terrain would always have more hills than I'd thought). I'd find myself trailing behind, legs burning, feeling lonely and discouraged. I'd repeat a favorite saying of my yoga teacher: 'The body wants to move.' Well, it didn't. When, I would ask myself, would that support van be coming along?
The physical stress of these trips was often accompanied by some social awkwardness, too. Most participants would be there with a partner, friend, or family member; I was always on my own. I would push myself to be more outgoing, but I found it hard to insert myself, particularly because I was usually the only person interested in taking it easy. One year, while cycling the Eastern Shore of Maryland—what must be some of the flattest terrain in the U.S.—I was not so much exhausted by the mileage as the monotony of the days. After pedaling for hours, I'd have only the time to shower, wash my sweaty outfit in the sink, and eat dinner before going to bed. My next group trips were out of the saddle: one was camping and kayaking in British Columbia; the other a week of rafting and hiking around Costa Rica.
Still, there's a deep sigh of contentment and the sense of a completely empty mind that I can only find while on a bike. So I took another look at cycling trips, hoping to find a new (and flat) destination in which to pedal. Instead, I was encouraged to learn that e-bikes are commonly offered these days, particularly in Europe and the U.S., usually at no extra charge.
Andy Levine, founder of the tour operator DuVine, says that e-bike demand has steadily grown, and that the technology has revolutionized cycling vacations. 'The fact is that e-bikes act as an equalizer,' Levine tells me. 'They make it easier to tackle climbs, ride longer distances, or simply keep pace with the group—especially if your heart is set on a tour with more advanced terrain.'
On my Portugal trip, the bikes were perhaps too effective: at the close of each day's ride, I would find myself thinking, 'Is that it?' My outfit was never sweaty enough to need washing out. One day, we finished our activities at 3:30 p.m., with dinner 'at your leisure.' Both of our hotels, Praia do Canal Nature Retreat and Quinta da Comporta, were gloriously isolated from civilization. But that meant there was nowhere to go nearby. I hit the steam room to soothe my muscles, but the only thing that hurt was my backside.
It turns out that JOMO isn't for me—though I'm still happy about this e-bike thing. Next year I'll book a more intense itinerary in some hilly place that I can brag about having 'biked across.' (I found that my pedal-assist bike could turn a hill into such an insignificant obstacle that it felt almost immoral.) Though I'm not single, I'll opt for a 'solos' departure, so I'll have an easier time mixing in with the group. And I might even go so far as to bring my own more comfortable bike seat.
ALTITUDE SEEKERS
E-bikes are a welcome boost on this six-day Butterfield & Robinson trip on which travelers ascend to 4,777 feet by way of Col du Pillon, in the Swiss Alps, and visit two cheese capitals: Gruyères and Emmental.
CYCLE SAFARI
Guests of andBeyond in the Phinda Private Game Reserve, in South Africa, can e-bike through the Sand Forest with a guide, spotting interesting birds like the Lebombo wattle.
THE MICHELIN STARS
In 2026, travelers can join Basque chef Mikel Olaizola on a DuVine tour of northern Spain's culinary hot spots, including pintxo bars and restaurants such as Akelaŕe, which has three Michelin stars, in San Sebastián.
WHEELING THROUGH WINE COUNTRY
On a Backroads trip in northern California, cyclists start near San Francisco, ride along the Russian River, and stop at tasting rooms in Napa and Sonoma counties.— Parker Wright
A version of this story first appeared in the July 2025 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline 'Charging Ahead.'