April 23 – 29, 2023

Sunday, April 23 (Day 33). Deep in the woods a few miles outside Covarrubias, we expected only the sounds of silence.  We were not expecting an all-night concert (literally ALL night) from the direction of town. My beloved not only slept through it all, she added her very wind instrument melodies to the music. Fortunately, we only had a short twenty-five miles to Burgos, so a lack of sleep wasn’t an issue.

In the past we’ve had massively stressful rides entering larger U.S. cities. What a delight to enter Burgos on a dedicated bike path that took us into the heart of the city.

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And what a heart Burgos has. It is a modern city that seamlessly embraces its past. Modern apartments overlook charming old promenades. Winding side streets branch off  boulevards full of traffic. Modern shops exist in the shadow of an 800 year old Gothic cathedral and other historic buildings. It works. We walked to stretch our legs and get our bearings. We then took shelter from the cold wind and rain.

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Monday, April 24 ( Day 34). As the city was waking, we set off  in different directions to explore. Sharon wandered neighborhoods. I ran along the Rio Arlanzon, then climbed to the Burgos castle. This medieval fortification was updated by Napolean and was the site of an important battle between his forces and England’s Wellington.

Several highlights today. Top of the list, meeting Tim and Milo, kindred spirits from South Africa and Germany. In the past five years, they’ve traveled the globe by foot and bicycle. Like other world travelers we’ve met, they have an exuberant curiosity and infectious enthusiasm. What a joy to share stories, beer, and laughter for an all too brief time.

We left to tour and marvel at the Burgos Cathedral. Soaring gothic cathedrals are designed, in part, to humble worshippers in the presence of a very large God. It is also meant to draw one’s attention heavenward. This space would certainly have done that. We listened to the audio tour describing details of its construction from the 1200’s onward. You quickly run short of superlatives. It is a visual feast. At the same time, one gets a sense that the design and construction were meant to glorify the patrons, politicians, and church leaders as much as – if not more so – than God.

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Tuesday, April 25 (Day 35). One hundred years ago, folks in Santander pushed hard for a rail line from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The history is a little murky, but I gather that the rail line did not do all that well. It does, however, do very well as a bike route through a beautiful and varied countryside. The old Santander-Mediterraneo rail line unexpectedly gave us one of our most pleasant days of biking yet. Thirty-five downhill, wind-assisted miles to a quiet spot in the woods.

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Wednesday, April 26 (Day 36). Last summer we Binni in Turkey. Binni is a young German cyclist who, a year later, is still traveling the world. He recently posted a picture from his tent with the following caption, “What a gift to have a different living room view every day. What a gift to have this wonderful world as a living room!” Well said Binni! We couldn’t agree more. And as Sharon just pointed out, it is available to anyone.

After breakfast in our outdoor kitchen, we packed our home and moved it another forty miles down the road, with only one small hiccup. Just before parting ways with our rail line, we had to carry our bikes and gear across an unfinished bridge. A small price to pay for such a wonderful route.

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Madrid and the interior of Spain rest on a high plateau. We ended our day on the edge of that plateau where the land tumbles down to the sea. In one of our more interesting campsites, we pitched up on an abandoned stretch of highway no longer in use after a tunnel was constructed. It was made even better by a visit from Chris, our future Warmshower host in Bilbao. Turned out he was passing nearby, so he stopped to chat…and share a cold beer no less.

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Thursday, April 27 (Day 37). By themselves, the numbers don’t mean much. Two thousand five hundred feet of descent and five hundred feet of climbing over twenty-five miles. I think you’ll get a better sense of our day from the following video, and a few pics. What you won’t see in the video is me grinning from ear to ear.

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Aside from the fetching countryside, all day long we passed groups of cyclists making the climb up to the top of the pass. That’s a fifty mile roundtrip from Bilbao. The interesting thing was that all were men – not a single woman passed by. Almost all were our age or older. And almost all were incredibly fit. Very impressive.

Based on a suggestion from Chris, on our way into town we stopped by a polideportiva – basically a local municipal gym. To the young lady at the desk I explained that we were bicycle touring, and needed – she interrupted “a ducha?” Hmmm. How did she know I was going to say shower? Pyschic? Or was it really that obvious? She then allowed us the use of the facilities at no cost. Later we found an attractive park to relax for a bit.  As Chris said later, “So you landed on your feet in Bilbao.“

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As a Warmshower host, Chris graciously offered us the use of his downtown office as our home for a few nights.  He uses what is basically a conference room to teach English as a Second Language to both kids and adults. It is the perfect location to explore Bilbao.

And explore we did. On our own we wandered along the Bilbao river that for centuries received ships from all over the known world. We strolled past the world famous Guggenheim art museum. Later with Chris we sampled the Bilbao night life, which included sampling squid in ink sauce (tasty!!) as well as a local cod dish. Good times.

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Friday, April 28 (Day 38). This was one of our active “rest” days. We both logged many miles wandering the city separately. I spent a few hours in the maritime museum. The history of this city is a maritime history. It exists because its location allowed the transfer of goods between inland Spain and the world via ocean going vessels. The museum also touched on the remarkable transition from an industrial downtown to a thriving downtown filled with art and life.

A highlight of the day was meeting with one of Chris’s adult class of English learners. We shared a bit of our story and gave them an opportunity to practice their English asking questions. Thanks again Chris for the opportunities and insights into life in Spain and the Basque region.

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Saturday, April 29 (Day 39). As a fan of the Tour de France dating back to the days of Greg Lemond, this was a special day for me. It would have been enough simply enjoy the spectacular and rugged Basque coastline. But this year the Tour starts in Bilbao. This gave us the unique opportunity to spend almost the entire day riding a portion of the Stage 1 route.

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With 4,000 feet of climbing, rain, stops to take in all the activity and views from Bilbao to Mundaka, it was a long, grueling day – and we enjoyed every minute! I guess that kind of describes this past week, and maybe defines bike touring. So often the best bits come as the result of some hard work. Having said that, sometimes the good bits just drop into our lap. One thing is certain, none of it happens unless you’re putting yourself out there. So, kids, get out there and enjoy! Until next week…STC!