Alison and Alison and the art of re-tyrement

Distance 37 miles

Ascent 298 metres Descent 318 metres

Temperature 15 degrees

It has been a busy day.

On waking I gave Alison the good news that the weather was set to be fine. A pleasant 24 degrees, no wind and a 10 % chance of rain.

Within an hour of leaving Sahagún the skies clouded over and it started to drizzle which soon turned to heavy rain. We arrived soaked to the skin.

It is now 13 degrees. A 20 degree drop in temperature in 2 days. Unbelievable.

This required another trip to a post office. We were able to compare the Spanish and French service. The Spanish system was very impressive. Hoping the key will arrive before the hotel realise it is missing.

On our way to the post office we bumped into Utrecht man. He said he would start to worry about our well being if he didn’t see us. He is staying in León for a couple of days and says he will overtake us before the end of the week. We will see.

More culture this afternoon.

We agree that cycling is easier than being a tourist.

Good night.

Distance 25.8 miles

Ascent 219 metres Descent 216 metres

Temperature 26 degrees

A relaxed start to the day and we left our luxury hotel after 10.00am. Our departure was delayed as we had to do some emergency repair work to hotel furniture.

Overnight a cold bottle of water had left a large watermark on a table in our room. We considered the options and carried the table into the bathroom where we successfully removed the mark with a hairdryer. Phew.

A 10 degree drop in temperature and a short distance had the promise of an easy day.

We have climbed a mountain, cycled miles over the plains but today my legs ached and we felt tired after a few miles.

From the beginning we were cycling into a headwind with gusts of up to 37 mph. It was tortuous. We changed direction and the crosswind tried to take the bikes from underneath us. But Level 10 cyclists are up to the challenge and we stayed upright.

There had to be a positive. Strong winds means no flies.

Now that we are in Spain we have become bicygrinos. To our minds a much happier term than bikegrims.

Another first today. We overtook a fellow bicygrino who had a cycle trailer. Feeling smug we carried on passed him but had to stop at the top of the next hill to recover. He sailed by and we never saw him again.

We hear the Guardia Civil have closed the paths after Pamplona as far as Burgos and turned pilgrims back. There has been an outbreak of fires due to the wind and hot weather. We are very grateful to have passed through these areas already and hope that everyone remains safe.

The Camino is described by the EU as a European Cultural tour so we spent the afternoon immersing ourselves at two exhibitions.

Exercise and culture. No wonder we are exhausted.

Good night.

Distance 28.8 miles

Ascent 228 metres Descent 192 metres

Temperature 34 degrees

We had three thunder storms today and found plenty of wreckage on the road.

The locals rushed for cover whilst we sat under the umbrellas thinking how stoic we were. Then we had the thought that metal seats and lightening are not a good mix. We joined the locals sheltering under the arches of the restaurant.

Only a short mileage today as we decided to treat ourselves. We are staying in a converted monastery.

Not any old monastery but a 4* luxury monastery with air conditioning, fluffy white towels, a restaurant with dinner and breakfast.

Half way through the Camino and a restful day. Visited museums and churches in town and planned our onward route. It is getting busier and finding accommodation will become more of a challenge. We might even book a few days in advance. Goodness we are becoming sensible.

Distance 32.4 miles

Ascent 318 metres Descent 377 metres

Temperature 36 degrees

We rose at 5.00am, had a light breakfast and were on our way. We made our way out of Burgos with dozens of walkers just as the sun was rising. Everyone trying to beat the heat. The further we go along the route the more people we see.

Our theory is that as flies fly at 5mph, if we cycle faster than that we will beat them. Problem is that our average speed on hills is 4mph. We could walk faster. I have a plan.

We arrived at our destination at 10.30 am. A record. We were feeling very pleased with ourselves and enjoying a coffee and doughnut when Utrecht man turned up. ‘You two Brits are everywhere’ was his astonished greeting. Very satisfying.

The main issue was what could we find to do for the rest of the day?

We took the bikes to the local garage and had fun with the power wash. How did we find the Hostal in the first place when we got lost on the way back from the garage?

Had a community dinner with other pilgrims in the Hostal. What’s for dinner in Spain? A Korean meal of course. It was delicious and enjoyed the company of Spanish, French, German, South Korean and Irish walkers. An entertaining evening.

Another early night as we have to finish crossing the Maseta tomorrow. We have arranged a treat for tomorrow evening. Can’t wait.

Buenos noches.

Bonne nuit.

Gute Nachte.

Jal ja.

That should have it covered.

Good night

Distance 58 km

Ascent 568 metres Descent 498 metres

Another early start and a beautiful ride through the Spanish rolling hills.

We handed over complete responsibility to Christophe and arrived in Burgos at 1.45pm. A record.

We are on the 8th floor of the hotel. We have air conditioning. Bliss. This is the first time on holiday (not sure if that is the right word) that we have used the elevator to get to our room. Are we getting soft?

Alison was planning a trip to the supermarket to replace her broken bag (Malcom you were spot on) but there were no shops until we arrived in Burgos. In the meantime we have re-evaluated the packing situation, redistributed the load and she has a nice red bag to use.

Dire warnings from fellow pilgrims about the next two days. We are crossing the Maseta area of Spain. No towns, no trees, no shade and it will be hot. People are said to hallucinate during this section. Don’t worry we have a plan ……….

Good night.

Distance 32.2 miles

Ascent 627 metres Descent 352 metres

Temperature 36 degrees

Not our finest performance today.

We arrived in Santa Domingo de la Calzada at 8.30am. Christophe predicted we would be at Belorado, our final destination at 10.35. We were excited, the Hostal has a pool.

As we left Santa Domingo the guide book was telling us to go in one direction and Christophe was dancing around telling us to go in the opposite direction. We followed the guide book. Big mistake. There are roadworks with a new motorway being built. We cycled down a slip road to the motorway and had to turn round at the last moment. A lot of unhappy vocal motorists and two chastened pilgrims.

Once again we didn’t listen to Christophe and devised our own route. We knew things were going badly wrong when Christophe told us we had 27km to go and an hour earlier it had been only 21km.

It was getting hotter and hotter. A lot of pushing the bikes on rough tracks and stopping to cool down but we made it finally by 4.40pm. Only 6 hours late.

We are contrite and in the future we will listen to Christophe.

Alison doing well and devising all sorts of alternatives from our present kit to do the same job.

We have had a dip in the pool (very refreshing) followed by dinner and drinks on the terrace.

Tomorrow we really will arrive at our destination before the afternoon heat.

Distance 37.6 miles

Ascent 843 metres Descent 805 metres

Arrived in Logrono before the cafes in the main square were open. We tracked one down for breakfast before visiting the Cathedral.

We followed Christophe’s directions and found our way out of the city comfortably. As we left we were taken on a track through a park with a mild upward slope. We made heavy weather of it and we’re overtaken by a runner. Total humiliation.

We had planned the route to avoid the afternoon heat but hadn’t taken into account the road surface today. A lot of rough tracks and vertical slopes that were unrideable and we had to push. Even the young men in Lycra were looking exhausted.

It was mildly satisfying to see the looks on their faces every time we turned up in the same town and on occasion before them.

Our main reason for celebrating tonight is that we have air conditioning in our room. It might not be environmentally friendly but it is so, so good.

An early night again as we aim to beat the 35 degree heat tomorrow. Level 8 cyclists have to look after themselves.

The Hostal owner is getting up especially early to release our bikes and then going back to bed. Dire warnings if we are late. Would he confiscate our bikes? What would we do then?

Have a lie in of course.

Distance 25.7 miles

Ascent 648 metres Descent 552 metres

An early start and we were in Estella by 9.30am today. Had a coffee and chatted with a young couple fron Norway who are walking the way. They said we were crazier than we look. We took that as a compliment but if they could see our delight at tonight’s laundry facility they would be thinking otherwise.

Alison has brought her Spanish dictionary to help with this phase of the journey. It was printed in 1968 and we have been using it to improve our Spanish. Phrases such as ‘how many pesetas?’ and ‘do you take travellers checks?’ appear to be baffling the locals,

Los Arcos is an arid town that has the look of a desert outpost. It looked unpromising at first but has an unexpectedly ornate church and some pretty backstreets.

Staying in a Pensione tonight and great excitement at sharing the facilities with a fellow Bikegrim who has cycled all the way from Utrecht. That’s just three bikegrims (including us) so far.

Tomorrow we get up earlier than today as it is going to be even hotter, so an early night tonight.

Distance 46.6 miles

Ascent 812 metres Descent 1189 metres

Today was all about the weather. Three thunder storms whilst cycling. It is getting hotter with less shade.

We left Hostal Rural Haizea and started climbing immediately. What was going on? Had Christophe made a mistake? We thought it was all downhill today. Sadly not and we spent a fair part of the day going uphill.

We will be rising at 6 am, leaving at 7 am and reducing our daily mileage whilst it is so hot.

The four day old piece of cheese we have been carrying around will be a valuable source of protein so it must be preserved for emergencies regardless of the heat.

That sounds like a plan.

Distance 24.7 miles

Ascent 1030 metres Descent 336 metres

We left at 8am to beat the heat and start the climb. We began climbing out of St Jean Pied de Port and after 2km Christophe was dancing around and becoming agitated. We had gone the wrong way.

We turned around and started the climb in the opposite direction.

How could we have missed the sign at the border?

Who needs a passport anyway?

We climbed, it got hotter. Alison asserted there would be a 1 degree drop in temperature for every 100 metre ascent. Not my experience today.

We enjoyed a drink at our hostel and dinner with walkers from Italy, Switzerland and South Korea.

So much to celebrate. We have cycled from the UK to Spain, we have climbed a mountain col to 1057 metres and Christophe has rewarded us. We are now Level 6 cyclists. Yes two levels in a day.

Can it get any better?