The Camino, Burgos

Have arrived in Burgos, only slightly ahead of the weather, and battling very strong headwinds all the way from San Domingo de la Calzada. The wind was so strong that I had to pedal every inch of the way down hills, and going up hill was very much harder. During one stretch I was pedalling so hard that the top gear on the bicycle exploded all over the Camino. In over 40 years of cycling this has never happened to me. In any case, all the lower gears were intact, but with this gear missing, all the upper gears were loose, and only intermittently engaging and causing a terrible crunching sound of the chain as it tried to engage two sprockets at once. With a little bit of ingenuity and tie-straps I was carrying, I managed to fix the drive train so that the lowest 3 gears still worked passably well. In this state I managed to crawl the last 20 kms. into Burgos where I easily found a bicycle store that treated me very well being as I was a peregrino. Pilgrims are treated with the utmost deference in Spain. Though it is becoming a popular thing to do, still well over 80% of the pilgrims are Spanish, so the sight of one who had a Canadian flag on his jacket, but spoke Castilian fluently, doubly surprised them. They also had never seen this type of American bicycle, and quite liked the frame, but were less than impressed with the components, which are mostly Taiwanese or Japanese in any case. They thought my "remedio" was very funny but ingenious, and even took some pictures. "Estos Catalanes", these Catalans, they said laughing at my improvisational fix. Within the hour, while I had lunch, they put on a new cassette, new chain, and tightened every bolt on the poor bicycle that has been getting quite a hard workout the last few days, and was completely covered in mud. They assured me that the new gears, being Italian (the broken ones were Taiwanese) will easily take me to Santiago. For 35 euros, a pat on the back and a hearty "buen camino" I cycled into the center of Burgos to see the cathedral and get my credential stamped. The bicycle feels much stronger now, and the new gears shift very silk smoothly - the difference in the European cut gears is significant. When I get home, I think I shall remove every last piece of Asian accoutrement and outfit the entire bicycle with European equipment.
Luckily all the hotels I stay at have a garage for bicycle tourists, so I don't have to fold it up and take it upstairs every night, which is no big deal, but usually I'm somewhat tired after a day's ride and would prefer to have a hot bath and a meal straight away than fiddle around with folding bicycles. The bicycle is getting a great deal of attention, being rare even in North America , and even more rare here. No one seems to have seen a full sized mountain bike with suspension that folds, much less one with the Hummer logo prominently displayed on it. I've had several people ask me if it was the same company that makes the "fabulous" American vehicles, and I said yes, though that is technically only partly true - it is a Montague bicycle made under license to GM. People here are very fond of cycling, and my iPhone (whose GPS guided me to the bicycle store that fixed the bike) showed 6 bicycle stores on the map of the old section of Burgos alone. It is fortunate that this mishap happened here, because it is unlikely that there will be many more bicycle stores from here to Leon. Having said that, if the wind manages to subside, I will not be putting the tremendous stress on the bicycle that I have been during the last two days, as the last hour of cycling was quite flat. The fellow at the shop assured me that the stages since Logrono are some of the hardest, and from here to Astorga the Camino is mostly flat. If the wind subsides, this will be a very pleasant ride for the next few days.
Last night I stayed at a very funky hotel called "El Chocolatero". When I asked about the provenance of the name, the owner proudly informed me that his family had been in the chocolate business since the 16th century, in fact, almost since the first ships brought back coca from the new world. I told him I was very much a dedicated fan of chocolate, and he said "well, walk this way!" I toured his chocolate facilities, and sampled several varieties, all very excellent and different and sophisticated. Of one particular variety I liked, I asked for a tablet, and he said it was 3 euros. I pulled out three coins and he plunked down a beautifully wrapped brick which weighs in at 1/2 a kilo! And here I am trying to consider every ounce on my bicycle. Between doggy biscuits and great slabs of old style dark chocolate I will be carrying a ton of extra weight. Oh well, nothing for it but to burn off the calories, eat chocolate, feed the doggys, and trundle on. Though we do have many imported chocolates in Canada, anyone who is knowledgeable will tell you straight away that the best is not imported; the demand is just not there. Yes, there are some mass produced Belgian, German and Austrian brands that make it in, but these are not by any stretch of the imagination the best that Europe has to offer, nor are they the hand-made artisan varieties which I love so much. I had a very pleasant chat with the owner of the hotel, who invited me to wine, and incidentally it was quite a pleasure to be out of the Basque area in this respect.

The day before I had visited the famous Bodegas Irache, with their fountain that has taps for wine and for water, so little is wine thought of in Spain. I had a glass or two, well possibly three, well, in any case it was less than a dozen, I think, as I was quite parched and talking with a fellow from Pamplona and we drank some more glasses together talking about the difference between the rough, strident Basque wines and the gentle, delicate Catalan wines. "It is a matter of character", he said. "The Basques are thick skulled, and the Catalans are all brain." Be that as it may, I had my fill of rough Basque wine and hit the Camino again, singing La donna è mobile and any other Verdi aria that came to mind at the top of my lungs, there being no one around for miles. Several kilometers later I passed an 18th century monastery that was locked up and switched to Mozart's Le Nozze de Figaro, and Non Piu Andrai, which seemed somewhat appropriate. Basque wines pack quite a punch as I soon discovered. Nevertheless, with the wild cuisine of the area, the cheeses, the rough bread, etc. it all fits and is appropriate. The saying in Spain is "con pan y vino se hace el Camino", "with wine and bread The Way is made." I have taken this to heart and in this millenarian tradition have stopped at every vineyard along the Camino and tasted the wines. The difference between the wines of every region is so profoundly different that if one didn't know any better, they would say they are each from another country.
Even despite my "indulgences" (rim shot), I seem to be losing weight and have had to punch a couple of new holes in my belt. I guess cycling for anywhere from 6-8 hours a day, mostly uphill or against winds, will burn rather a lot of calories.
After my chat with "The Chocolateer" he stamped my Pilgrim's credential and bade me a good trip. It was only then that on examining the 30 or so stamps in this "spiritual passport" that I realized most of them were not in fact from churches, monasteries or albergues, but rather from vineyards, sidrerias, bodegas and high end hotels. I wonder how that will play out once I arrive at Santiago. Oh dear, I'm being bad...