There are days when things don't go according to plan and sometimes things turn out completely differently than you'd hoped. So far there have been stages with breakdowns, with headwinds, through less attractive landscapes or days where you just struggle through. But one stage that I was really looking forward to turned into an absolute test of willpower.
Burgos - Palencia (96 km)
I really enjoyed the day off in Burgos. I stayed in a great Airbnb with 3 students and was able to work in peace during the day. Burgos in the early evening was also very beautiful. Everything is very much influenced by the pilgrims of the Camino Frances, probably the most famous Way of St. James.
In the city you didn't really notice it, but the weather forecast had said that the wind would pick up in the next few days. And there he was again, Franz the daredevil. On my day off he had already fought his way up to me again and so we met in the morning on the cathedral square.
However, the old hand in the cycling business decides to spend the following rainy day in the city. I, on the other hand, have a certain time limit and set off.
The drizzle stops in Burgos, but right outside the city gates I am hit by the first strong gusts of wind from the left. Oh dear. And it's not just the wind that's bothering me, the pilgrims also like to punish themselves on the very rocky ground. Hordes of hikers also head here to Santiago to earn their Compostella.
In the past, I would have liked to have driven via Santiago and then headed south in Portugal, but unfortunately my schedule doesn't allow that and today I only regret it half as much, because along the Camino Frances you can hardly make any progress faster than an average of 14 km/h or 60-70 pilgrims/h.
During a break in the ruins of a church, I meet a very nice gentleman from Lyon, a retired software engineer. He tells me in very good English that he cycles to Morocco every year. This year he even wants to go to Senegal. You meet so many interesting people that you would like to have a longer conversation with, but I still have to get to Palencia today.
And shortly after that we head south and are facing a headwind. Another 50 kilometers and the wind is blowing from the front at 60-70 km/h. I can only remember fragments of the route to the finish. It wasn't pretty and I had to keep getting off the bike and pushing it.
Today I was the tree!
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