“How could I forget to mention, the bicycle is a good invention” (Red Hot Chili Peppers 2006)
The good news is that we covered a lot of ground today by pivoting to bicycle riding for a while. The bad news is if I had filled my water bottle with milk before leaving Burgos it would have been butter a long time ago. The road was long and rough but we did cover 70 km (43ish miles). 6 miles were added to find a hotel today as everything seems to be sold out along the trail! I did NOT appreciate the 6 extra miles of jarring but it is nice to be in a small Spanish town off the Camino. It feels perhaps a little more “authentic”. Tomorrow (if we get out of bed) is a similar day counting the 6 miles we need to ride BACK to get on the Camino again.
The area between Burgos and Leon is about 180 km long and is called the Meseta. It is part of a high central plateau/plain and according to the guidebooks is a flat, open area. According to me the guidebooks are half right; it is open. Parts of the trip today even felt a little like being in SD, west of the Missouri. The parts with 12-18% grades felt more like Sisyphus, except we were pushing those bicycles laden with our gear instead a rock.
We were (for the first time) officially lost a little today. A very kind cyclist out exercising noticed us and circled back to make sure we got out okay. He smiled and spoke very specific Spanish and pointed directions. We didn’t understand much of anything he said except something about 3 km. At 3 km there is a sign on a traffic circle that says “Camino” and points right. When you take the “Camino” however, it leads you to a circular drive in a campground. Here yet another kind (English speaking) Spanish woman told us to go back to the main road. I punched in walking directions on my phone to the next town and after a couple miles we recognized the familiar signs for the Camino (I think Camille has written about them previously?). It felt REALLY good to be back on the trail. We had some minor issues in Burgos yesterday when the (gasp!) cell service went down. So, keeping us on track today were people, signs and cellular technology.
I was thankful for wheels, and spun along for some miles grateful for the amazing efficiency of a bicycle. I was mindful of my bad attitude toward the cheery cyclist whizzing by us a few days so I tried to tone down my “Buen Camino” and pass people very slowly. We even got a couple Peregrinos “whoop-whooping” us and cheering us on (unless that was a curse in their language?) It felt like a gift, an encouragement from other travelers tired on the road but willing to offer a boost to a couple weary cyclists. We’ll take it.
Buen Camino
