Day 4 of the Camino

Stage 4 – Castañares to Fromista

I woke up this morning with a fat and sore lower lip. It must have gotten sunburned. At least that is the only thing I could come up with. Since we were getting breakfast a ways down the road, I wanted to eat an apple before leaving the hotel. But there is no way I could get an apple past my lip. The knife Bernie gave me before I left came in real handy. By the time we left my lip was back to a more normal size. (I cut the apple, not my lip.)

We followed the taxi driver’s instructions and rode through Burgos on the bike path along the river. That beats traffic and traffic lights any day. We had several photo stops since the city and the river were beautiful.

At one point Terri Lynn found herself surrounded by a group of pilgrims who were happy to take our picture if we would take theirs.

Sheri, who likes breakfast even more than I do, spotted a bakery just before we left Burgos. We had to wait a bit for the bread but nothing is better than bread fresh from the oven.

From there we advanced at a steady pace. There were some hills but nothing like yesterday. Karen took a spill when she somehow managed to hit my panniers. We were going up hill so we weren’t going that fast but she did chose a spot with quite a bit of gravel so her knee got scrapped up pretty good. Sheri was excited to use her emergency bike kit.

At least Karin picked a beautiful spot for a break.
At another stop we provided some entertainment for these men. It took me a bit to figure out that they were moving a rock pile. Dad would approve. Good land always has rocks.

Once we turned off of N120 we had a steady climb until we got past a little village. There I met a French priest who was out walking. I didn’t want to stop on a climb so I didn’t find out what he was doing there in Spain.

At the top of the climb we came out unto a plateau and it was prairie for as far as we could see. The wheat had been harvested and what struck me were the huge rock piles. Every field has a rock pile but these fields had several and the piles were huge.

There was little traffic today which made for some nice riding. We tried singing as we went but it’s hard to sing when breathing hard. Since we were on the prairie we also had to battle some wind with a 2 km rotation. I am getting better at riding on someone else’s wheel.

As we rolled into Fromista, our final destination, I knew we were in a farming town due to the large grain elevator on the outskirts of town. We arrived in time to get in on the main meal of the day at 4. It was great to get some real food before 9 pm. After we finished eating we found our hotel and I took a nap. I am carting a book around but I have had no time to read it. When I do have time, I’m far too tired.

The church in Fromista

The evening activities began with buying some postcards and a Magnum (ice cream). The next stop was the pharmacy. Karen wanted some help for her knee and I needed help with my lip. The pharmacist spoke some French so I explained the problem. His response was, “Oui, très malade.” (Yes, very sick.) He recommended some 30 SPF Blistex which would protect and aid healing all in one. We stopped in a little shop that sold some touristy things – T-shirts, key chains, mugs, bracelets… We also found a grocery store to stock up on fruit.

You know a town caters to pilgrims when it serves plates of piping hot spaghetti for 3.50 at all hours of the afternoon and evening. It was nice to have an early (by Spanish standards) supper.

The final project before we headed for bed was to fix Karin’s flat tire. That happened just as we were pulling up to the hotel. She had never changed or fixed a flat before so it is nice to learn when you aren’t sitting along the side of the road.

Vital stats for the day:
85.4 kms
16.8 average speed
5:05 riding time
1320 m climbed

The route for the day: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/spain/castaã±ares/597709369