Chapter 1 :: 2009 to 2014
For those who don't know me, I'm João. The passioned rider and organizer behind Horizon Adventures. Back in 2008 there was a trip to Morocco that changed my life !
It was my first off-road experience outside Portugal and the first time I was riding dirt bikes on a big group where everyone was following a sat-nav on dirt tracks, mountain trails and dunes!
It was a lifetime adventure ! From that moment I knew I wanted to bring this kind of events to Portugal. I started a collaboration with the organizing company that lasted for 10 years. At the same time I started the prepararion of the very first event that was held in Portugal in June 2009. Back then, it was a small group, gathering experience; exploring the very first tracks; booking hotels and restaurants months in advance without knowing how many guests would join; learning how to record and edit what is known today as a GPX file ...
One event after the other the number of participants was bigger and bigger. All the events were "Bring your own bike" events. Everyone who joined was coming back on the next event, bringing a friend or two ... and the newbies on each event were repeaters on the next one, bringing more friends.
The concept was fine-tuned during 15 editions of our oldest event - TransAlenTTejo - held from 2009 to 2014 (we still run it today). At this time it was a side job, fueled by the same passion we feel today.
Chapter 2 :: 2015 to 2025
The experience and enthusiasm of the first 6 years was relevant enough to drive us to the next level - start a proper company; buy a fleet of new motorbikes; have a small team fully dedicated; and offer the best off-road experience one could expect while visiting Portugal. Idea to market took rughly 12 months. Buying the motorbikes, renting a workshop to service the bikes, buying tools, buying a van to support the tours, designing our first website (that this one replaced at the end of this chapter), and much more ... with all the unexpected things that happen to anyone starting a company from scratch. It's a life lesson ...
This chapter marks the full dedication from not only myself but also from Pedro, my business partner during these 11 years. Pedro was a masterpiece from the very begining with his passion for motorbikes, strong experience in all maters related with forest, good knowledge of mechanics and the most important, his amazing emphaty with our guests! So many new friendships still last today after very happy moments while riding dirt bikes in Portugal and Morocco.
During this phase we survived the worst period of the company. From 2020 to 2022 Covid hit everyone, and the travel bans where dramatic to our activity. We've reduced fixed costs to the bear minimum ... and still our revenue decreased below that break-event mark point. Tough days and sleepless nights ... anyway we're still here ! Alive and kicking !! We had some bad surprises coming from places we wouln't expect ... and we had genuine non-requested help we'll never forget - customers sending deposits for tours in the future without knowing when they could do it : "Please accept this as a deposit for a tour in the future. You'll need it. We don't know when it's going to be possible to do it ... but we want you guys to be there when this pandemic goes away" - We're greatfull for eternity. Regular guests yearly from 2015 to 2019 ... they already made it back to Portugal in 2023, 2024, 2025 ... and are booked for October 2026 :-)
Chapter 3 :: 2026 to ...
We survived to Covid ... but it left its marks ... while we were strugeling with the pandemic, Pedro decided to pursuit a carrer in the Forest coming back to his professional path. From then on, the team was short of Pedro most valuable skills on tour. We extended the team and the business after covid kept growing in 2023, 2024 and 2025, while Pedro was more and more busy with his responsabilities in his "new" full time job.
It was time to follow different routes and we agreed to part ways in good collaboration. Pedro will always be a valuable part of the history we buid togheter and he's more than welcome on any event he's keen to join.
Besides the team structure, what can you expect from us from right now and for the upcoming years:
- This new website, modern design, clean structure, easy to navigate.
- New destinations, new tours, new partnerships every year.
- Continuos renewal of the motorbike fleet (on average 4 new bikes every year)
- A new van to support the tours, carry the tools, spare parts and your luggage during the daily stages.
- A new base to start most of our tours.
- The same passion.
WHAT'S THE NEXT ADVENTURE ON YOUR HORIZON ?
Counting on you to write Chapter 3 history with us.
It just started ! Keep it locked :-)
