We started out the morning at Hotel Jacobeo with breakfast and started out (after a nighttime of rain and streets very wet at about 9am. We had about a 10 mile climb which we knew would be followed by about 20 miles of downhill.

On the way, we saw that chapel in the side of the mountain. A little further along we stopped at the El Pájero to get a stamp.

In Bergos, we stopped at the Cathedral of Santa Maria. The cathedral looked huge and they have a museum. Unfortunately, even with our shortened itinerary, we didn’t have time to go inside. The path through Bergos, though, had a lot of trees making a very nice ride through the city.

We arrived in Olmillos de Sasamón at about 4:30pm and stayed in the Hotel Santa Coloma del Camino. We were the only two guests that night.

Given my arm/shoulder situation and some concern about it after a couple of days, we decided that discretion is the better part of valor. I contact the hotel in León and arranged for a ride for us from Olmillos de Sasamón to León. I should have time to get my arm/shoulder checked, and Pete can give that leg a rest. We still plan to spend two nights in León, then make 5 days of riding out of the four we had planned.

While this is a little disappointing to both of us, we also need to consider our health and make sure we don’t cause any downstream issues.

I fell in Nájera, on the same arm as before. Pretty painful. We debated if I should go for the local clinic and take a bus, or continue riding. We opted to continue.

When we arrived in Grañón, Pete’s leg started giving him trouble. We just missed a bus for Belorado, and decided to make friends Giovanna from California) and call a taxi. After about 10 calls, it was clear that wasn’t going to happen. We had a bite to eat and decided to wait for the last bus, which never arrived.

With the only option to pedal the last bit to Belorado, off we went. We arrived very much in the dark at about 9pm local time. The really good news is a) by God’s grace, we arrived safely; and, b) the hotel had a bar.

We did decide to move some miles from Thursday to Friday. It will be cooler, but likely not rainy.

That, and the ride today was supposed to be 10 miles longer than yesterday with almost the same ascent. And rainy weather to boot. So, not as many stops and not as many pics today. Even so, the area was beautiful, and I did include a few pics.

The morning went well enough, though our pace was certainly slowed by the pain in our legs from all the climbing from the previous day. We stopped around noon at the Camino del Perdon, a watering hole in Uterga frequented by pilgrims. This allowed us to drink, lunch, and stay out of the rain for about an hour.

At about 47 miles (the goal was 60, so about 2/3 of the way), things got nasty. Thunder, and the weather app reported lightening. And we had a little rain. We pulled off in Sansol to asses the situation, and decided to take cover at an aubergue. When it started coming down in buckets with lots of thunder, and ugly looking weather radar, we spoke to the owner and were able to get a (very large) cab to take us and the bikes into Logroño. On the way, we ran into lots of weather, and were happy we made the decision.

We had made a reservation at the Hostel La Numanista, and it turned out to be great place. My ride buddy and I got a private room with three beds (only needed two) and a private shower, a welcome change from the previous night.

We looked at plans for the next two days, decided to shorten Thursday and made reservations for both days. We will add the rest of the Thursday ride to Friday to more even them out.

It’s fair to say even with the shortened ride it was a very full day.

About that last pic… It turns out there are many water fountains along the way. The water is fine, usually cold, and free. It means you don’t have to buy it and you don’t have to carry a lot of it. How great is that!

On the way we saw all the signs one might see on the way to Spain, especially along the pilgrim route. Technically, we are taking the French Way, the most popular pilgrim route.

At the topmost point of the Pyrenees, we met an Australian that kindly took or pic in front of the church located there - Church of San Salvador de Ibañeta. Down in Roncesvalles, we stopped to get pilgrim stamps, then visited the Church of Our Lady of Roncesvalles. Very pretty.

We refilled our water bottles a couple of times and the many fountains (water spigots) along the way and ended up on Pamplona. We are spending the night just across the street from the cathedral (maybe some pics tomorrow).

This was a tough ride. We were on the road from 8:00am until 5:00pm. Yes, with stops, but was still a tough ride.

Back at the hostel, we put air in the tires, made a few other minor adjustments, and went for a quick ride to make sure we were good to go. We made adjustments to seat height, and feel we did as much as we could. (They are rentals, as I told my wife.)

Finally, we packed most of our stuff into the painters and the small front bag the rental company provided. Looks like it will all fit. Tomorrow morning is breakfast and fifty miles (more or less) toward Santiago de Compostela!

Lots of pics of the town, including the fort which defended the low pass through the Pyrenees. We also managed to enjoy the lunch of champions - ice cream cones!

We were hopeful our bikes would arrive today, and they did! We were also able to make Mass in the evening (a combination of French and Basque). After the end of Mass, the priest asked all the pilgrims to come to altar for a special blessing.