Day 24 Estella to Pamplona

Day 24. Estella to Pamplona. 52.22kms cycled. 3.52 hours cycling. 51.12 km/h max speed. 13.47km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and hazy with a fierce north east headwind.


Well, I am finally in Pamplona writing this from the balcony of a lovely hostel (2 star) in the old city overlooking part of the course for the annual running of the bulls festival.
  From first impressions Pamplona is a lovely old city with plenty to see and do … and that’s my agenda for tomorrow.
  But boy, was it an ordeal to get here. I knew I was in trouble when I woke to a fierce wind blowing, and you guessed it, it was coming straight from the direction I was heading.
  The wind hadn’t beaten me in Portugal and there was no way it was going to beat me in Spain, I reasoned. How wrong was I !!!!
  As the morning wore on the wind got stronger and stronger; the cycling tougher and tougher, to the point where it was almost dangerous to continue.
  I was constantly being buffeted about by the wind, so much so that I had to be extremely careful going downhill to make sure that rogue blasts of wind from the side didn’t blow me over.
  Into the bargain the country leading into Pamplona is extremely hilly, with the going as a result tough indeed.
  So much so, that I have to admit that one particularly long and steep hill in combination with the wind right in my face finally did defeat me.
  I had been quite proud of the fact that I hadn’t had to push the bike at any stage of the trip up to now. Well, the only way I was ever going to get up that bloody hill, I’m afraid, was to push. And I can tell you it was the longest 3.1km (yes I clocked every step) I have ever walked in my life.
  Even pushing the bike I had to stop on numerous occasions as the wind howled around me. After finally making it to the top, I then had to basically crawl down the other side at about 15km/h, as the wind was too strong to safely cycle any faster.
  Anyway, after much effort I finally made it to the outskirts of Pamplona only to be channelled onto another major freeway where cyclists aren’t allowed. For the life of me I couldn’t find an alternative, so like the previous day in Logrono I just went on it anyway and hoped no-one would stop me along the way.
Bad idea!!!!!!!!!!! Within 2 or 3 kms a Guarda Civil car (the police) pulled up alongside and made it clear they wanted me to stop.
  Mental images of me being locked up in a Spanish cell flashed through my mind, but fortunately the two police officers couldn’t be more accommodating.
  Obviously I wasn’t the first cyclist to have the same problem, so they indicated for me to follow them to the next exit.
  So picture this. Here I am on my bike trailing a police car with its lights flashing down the service lane of a major freeway. I don’t know whether I felt like an idiot or someone important.
  Finally at the exit they explained in broken English and pointed to where I should go and promptly went on their way.
  The remainder of the trip into Pamplona was fortunately uneventful, although I must admit I was mighty pleased to finally find the old city and secure a room for the night.
  To say I had had enough of the wind, hills and the police for one day is an understatement of monumental proportions!!

captions: Pics 1&2 Pilgrims everywhere. Pic 3: Half way up the dreaded hill along with the wind that defeated me. Pic 4: Alovely old bride in one of the many towns I passed through