Category: Bike Touring
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8 days in Madrid, Valencia and Segovia
It’s been a super busy eight days, which is what happens when we travel with people who are on a schedule! Many things happen quickly so more can be packed in! In these 8 days, we met up with a friend from Boulder on his first trip to Europe at 69 years of age, and…
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Into Segovia on the last day of cycling for 10 days
Today is our last day of cycling for about 10 days. After we cycle into Seville, we’ll take the train to Madrid, and then meet up with Chris’ sister Katherine and brother-in-law Andrew there, plus have a day with John, an old friend from Boulder that happens to passing through Madrid while we are there…
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To the lovely town of Sepúlveda
We left our Dutch centric campsite as we rolled out of Peñafiel with a stop at the castle that towers over the town. It’s an impressive structure that has a commanding view of the landscape below. It’s also houses the wine museum! But we arrived before the museum and the castle opened and so we…
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A day in Burgos, and two days south towards Madrid
We spent a couple nights in Burgos, right at the foot of the cathedral, and never quite escaped its view. The old quarter of Burgos is lovely, and crowded with people, bars, restaurants and stores, deservedly so. In addition to wandering the streets and drinking in the plazas, we needed to go to the train…
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Najera to Burgos: the heat begins to break!
These two days marked the beginning of the end of the current heat wave affecting Spain. We have one more day of heat and then more normal temperatures as we head into Burgos. Burgos also marks the place that we’ll stop going west with the Camino and begin heading south towards Madrid. It’s been fun…
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Another day following the Camino: Los Arcos to Najera
Once we left Pamplona, we knew the forecast for the next 3 days was hot, in escalating temperatures until Friday, so we planned our cycling accordingly, with distances and elevation gain decreasing in proportion to the escalating temperatures. So with high temps forecast for 102, 105 and 105 degrees, we planned 48, 37 and 27…
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Out of Pamplona, on the Camino de Santiago
We left our apartment in Pamplona at 7:30AM, in the cooler hours of the morning. The sunrise was lovely over the square. We crossed over the first of many scallop shell icons of the Camino leaving Pamplona, only a few yards from our hotel. Our exit out of Pamplona was pretty easy, and we found…
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A day in Pamplona
Pamplona is most famous for the Running of the Bulls, a spectacle that ends badly for the bulls and sometimes even for some of the hundreds of people who run with them. It’s also a major religious site along the Camino de Santiago, where there are no fewer than 9 churches and the cathedral, which…
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Into Pamplona, over the Pyrenees!
One thing that was amazing when we crossed from France to Spain was how quickly the culture changed. Within a mile, many people didn’t speak any French at all, and the food and drink choices had all changed. One of the most dramatic food changes occurs at breakfast. French breakfasts are all basically empty calories:…
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¡Un gran día! First day cycling in Spain!
We stayed a couple nights in Irun, got some rest, did a little bit of sightseeing and ate well. One of Irun’s main attractions is that it’s a popular starting point for hiking the Camino de Santiago, but otherwise seems like a pretty ordinary place. We did find a restaurant for lunch that was recommended…