I slept okay in my little “capsule” and woke up feeling rested. The forecast looked good, and the distance for the day was about the same as yesterday—minus the minor detail of crossing the Pyrenees.
Leaving Pamplona, I followed the GPX track from the Cicerone guide, which kindly led me straight onto a highway. I thought, “Oh well, the next exit is just a couple of kilometers away,” and kept pedaling like it was totally normal. A few concerned citizens honked as they passed me. I eventually got off the highway and figured that was the end of it.
About half an hour later, a police car came from the opposite direction, slowed down, and waved me over. One of the officers asked if I’d been cycling on the highway. I politely declined to self-incriminate, and after a moment of awkward silence, they let me go. I guess one particularly concerned citizen had taken the time to report me—and maybe the police had some downtime from catching real criminals.
After that, the road was quiet, except when passing through a few towns. There were a couple of steep climbs, and the rest was rolling hills. I thought my legs were doing fine, but even the smallest hump gave me trouble. The final 10 kilometers were into a headwind, just to keep things spicy. I rolled into the hostel completely wiped. The ride ended up taking longer than I’d expected.
I’m staying in a small village with no particular points of interest, so I spent the rest of the day indoors, resting. Tomorrow’s another relatively short day… but at this point, I take nothing for granted.
Today in numbers:
72 km – distance cycled
1090 — Estella-Lizarra fas founded
15€ — price of pilgrim passport, bought online