Day 14, Friday 6 September 2013
Distance to Santiago: 471,1 km
We were on the road early and we aimed to catch up the 30 km that we did not complete the previous day. The morning was cool after the rain and it was partly overcast. Castrojeriz is the next town, 2 km for San Anton.
But not too far on the road, Marinda had a flat tyre. We had to walk with the bikes to Castrojeriz. At the entrance to the town was a coffee bar where we stopped and Marinda googled how to fix a flat tyre. One of the pilgrims from Israel offered to help and gave Marinda a crash course in changing a tube. A few French bikers also assisted and soon we were on the road again.
But not for long, a few metres further the tyre was flat again. We stopped at the next coffee bar, did the same drill, changed the tube, used the cheap provided pump to pump the tyre. Again a few metres further it was flat again.
A few French bikers assisted again and after thorough inspection of the tyre, a hole was discovered. We had to locate a bike shop to buy a new tyre. To make a long story short, the assistance from the bike rental company was not good. We got a new tyre, and the local people and pilgrims who caught up with us who stayed in San Anton, all very eager to help us fix the bike. We were finally on the road at 12:30. Now even more behind schedule. Just outside Castrojeriz, just when we thought everything was fine, we had the cherry on the cake. ‘n Moerse berg met ‘n moers helling. A hell of a mountain. We had to walk the bikes uphill at the hottest part of the day, no wind, no shade, only the sun and heat. I thought I am going to faint. Dit was dit, I could not handle this torture anymore and decided to quit. Reaching the top the view was amazing, a big reward. But every steep uphill had a downhill and this one was frightening steep.
But, after all the troubles we had earlier the day and that we lost 4 hours while trying to repair the bike, the road was enjoyable and rewarding. We reached the Canal de Castilla that flows all the way to Fromista along a peaceful tree-lined path.
We cycled to Fromista, 30,4 km for the day and op moedverloor se vlakte disappointed because of being behind schedule. We booked in at the Albergue Municipal, €7 per person for the night.
