Day 23 Najera to Estella

Day 23. Najera to Estella. 77.95 kms cycled. 5.16 hours cycling. 55.98 km/h max speed. 14.76 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny, with a north east head wind in the afternoon.

Well, today was day of numbers. How many pilgrims could I count who were walking to Santiago; how many could I count who were cycling; how many stopped me to tell me I was going the wrong way; how many hills could there possibly be in one day’s cycling; how many people would I have to ask to be able to find my way out of Logrono and finally how many flat tyres am I going to have?
I gave up counting at 200 the number of pilgrims walking and at about 120 the number cycling. For the day I would estimate I saw 500 to 600 altogether, and all with a determined I will make it or else look on their face.
I wonder if that is how I looked to them? I somehow think not. More to the point at least 10 groups urgently waved me down and basically wanted to know if I was lost or crazy. Santiago was the other way, where the hell do you think you are going, was the basic theme of what they were asking.
When I told them that I was quite alright and was heading to Pamplona, they all smiled and wished me all the best for my travels. A nicer group of people you could ever meet.
Some I saw were definitely doing it tough. One lady obviously had bad foot blisters and was trying to battle on with no shoes … I somehow think her pilgrimage was destined to finish early. Another man was wearing no shirt and was as badly sunburnt as I have seen anyone … I somehow think his next couple of days are going to be very painful (yes it was a beautiful sunny day). Others were obviously very unfit for such a demanding trek … I am sure they are not going to complete the 800 kilometres needed to reach their goal.
One German couple I shared a shelter with for about 10 minutes said they took 2 weeks off work every year to complete another section of the trail. They estimated they still had a few years of walking to go.
As it turned out the numbers game became too difficult to keep up, but it did keep me occupied for quite some time in the morning. The afternoon was basically spent dealing with countless hills and a persistent north east wind that was right in my face.
At this time of the year there are meant to be consistent westerly winds, where the hell are they!!!
Within sight of Estella, my destination for the day, I suffered my 5th flat for the trip which was annoying, but at least it enabled me to work out why they have been happening so frequently.
Before leaving Australia I put puncture liners inside the tyres, but it turns out they have sharp edges and over time have been cutting into the tubes. This explains why the tubes were being cut, not punctured.
Anyway I threw the back one away and will do the same when the front punctures again.
Fortunately I chanced upon a proper bicycle shop in Longrono and was able to purchase 4 of the right size tubes, so I was right for spares when it happened.
That reminds me, Logrono was definitely the low spot of the day. I initially thought about bypassing it, but it was going to add an extra 20 or so km onto my trip so decided to take the easy way out. Bad mistake.
It is a big, confusing town with freeways everywhere and a nightmare to negotiate on a bicycle. Anyhow, hopelessly lost I asked 10 different people for directions to the road to Pamplona and all basically pointed me in different directions. Boy I hate big cities!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the end I found myself on a major freeway where bicycles are not permitted, but I just hoped the police didn’t come along and stayed on it for about 10 km until I could find an exit and the road I was meant to be on.
Enough of my ramblings for today, there weren’t many picture opportunities along the way, so just one picture for the blog today.

caption: About the only sight that really cuaght my attention. I will try to get some pics of some pilgrims tomorrow.