08/31/2023 Bikepacking Spain Day 23 : Pilgrims!

Yesterday was our exit from the Pyrenees. I’m always sad to be out of the real mountains. Luckily, Spain has more mountains, but the Pyrenees are my favorite. Today we suddenly started seeing a lot of pilgrims: People with shells hanging from their backpacks who are walking either part or all of the way to Santiago Compostela on the North West coast of Spain (Like in the movie “the way”). This is when you hear lots of people speaking English, the common language. Everyone has time to talk to you. They aren’t here to set records, but to have an experience. It’s a good vibe. The bikes aren’t totally compatible with the walkers, though, as we pass them on the downhill and they sometimes pass us on the uphills. 🐚

Speaking of downhills, I hurried through a very rugged section of trail in the hopes I would find a bathroom in the town below the hill. My new bike finally got a chance to shine and I discovered how much better it was than the Bronson and the Stumpjumper for loaded descending on steep, loose and rocky terrain. Probably thanks to the short stem and “choppered out” fork - the things that are kind of annoying on flat roads. Janet did remarkably well on the gnar-gnar. I thought it would be a long wait at the bottom after finding a bathroom, but she showed up pretty quickly. 🚲

We set up camp near this tower (probably built for hunters). We climbed and observed from high. We heard Carly Simon music coming from a cellphone - in the pocket of a walker, probably. When the person came into view, it was a rotund, balding man. Expecting someone different, I said to Janet, “Carly Simon isn’t very manly music.” She instantly retorted, “Well, you listen to Moana.” Grr. Touché. No matter what I say, however slightly negative, Janet manages to have these responses per-loaded on the tip of her tongue ready to set me straight! 🎶

Good weather today. Finally!! Time to live it up. We watched the Vuelta; the last two days they were in Andorra. That was only 100 miles as the crow flies from us. They had sunny clear skies both days while we were wet or drenched. Janet said, “Well, it’s better that they aren’t getting wet”. How nice of her to think of them. 😆

Buen camino!!!

Brian L.