May 18, 2023. Burgos rest day.

After breakfasts we climbed up (and down) to the ruins of the Burgos Castle.

Here’s the view of Burgos from up there.

If you zoom in on the horizon you can see lots of windmills on the ridge.

Amazing bronze relief map of the sites we could see.

Then it was off to explore the Cathedral.

This place is massive and what impressed me most were the ceilings in the various alcoves. They remind me of looking through a kaleidoscope.

After we left the cathedral we checked out a place that was known for it’s hot chocolate.

Intense hot dark chocolate with churros.

Next we spent a few hours in the Museum of Human Evolution. Quite an impressive place and very interesting.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped to visit with one of the pilgrims.

Then back to the hotel for naps, then Happy Hour at 6pm and out for tapas with friends for dinner.

And back on the road tomorrow.

May 17, 2023. Lerma to Burgos. Distance: 53 Elevation: 3,157

I must say we were all sweating today’s ride. Yesterday we had an incredibly strong head wind and today it was expected to be even stronger. As we left the hotel at 9am the wind was blowing 16mph and was expected to increase every hour until it reached 20 mph by noon where it was to stay at 20 most of the afternoon. The weather report said winds 20-30mph with gusts over 40. Yikes!

Lucky for us it turned out to be a beautiful day – in spite of the wind. Beautiful countryside. We climbed up and over a mountain pass where there were trees to block the wind. We stopped around 10:30 in a small town for a coffee and snack along with a few of our comrades.

Throughout Spain there are many pilgrimage trails, the most well known is the Camino de Santiago across Northern Spain. We have seen pilgrims walking along footpaths as we bike by. Most pilgrims walk but others ride mountain bikes or go on horseback – thus the horse parked outside the cafe.

Once we left the cafe we cycled along this beautiful river walk to reconnect with our route

which then took us up onto a wide open plain where the wind was howling. With a 20mph headwind it is very slow going.

Along the way we met up with El Cid.

The wind must blow a lot in this area as there were rows of windmills along every ridge. And boy were they turning.

As we climbed up the next ridge

We came very close to some of the windmills.

Finally we crossed the river and entered the arch of Burgos.

Even though we were a mere 2 kilometers from the hotel we stopped in the town square to join some of our fellow riders for lunch.

I had to take a picture of my endive salad ’cause it was so pretty and picture perfect.

Once settled in we wandered the town where we walked by the great Cathedral of Burgos – which we’ll explore tomorrow.

Stay tuned…