THE PILGRIMAGE - DAY 15

20 May
Cycling today for Paul and Ben was one long steady climb and, having achieved 36.87 miles, they have come to roost for the night in Belorado (lovely name for a small town - conjures up thoughts of Western movies). They were mighty relieved to feel a drop in the air temperature and the addition of wind (curry, again) helped to cool down our sweaty pedallers. The initial stage of the journey was 3 - 4 km of tranquil and peaceful cycling until the route came to an abrupt halt and they were given no alternative but to cycle the next 2 km along the Pilgrims' footpath, which was shingle all the way and a great rattling experience.
Having overcome that cycling hurdle, they proceeded down an extremely busy main road on which the cycle path was 2 - 3 ft maximum. The traffic was heavy and constant, leaving Ben and Paul with nothing but praise for the extremely courteous and friendly lorry drivers. The drivers 'pipped', waved and shouted words of encouragement through their windows to the pedallers which took the sting out of two hazards:- a. when another lorry approached from the opposite direction, causing the nearside ones to veer within inches of Ben and Paul and b. when a chain of lorries drove past them, causing air movement which had the 'knock on' effect of sucking the pedallers towards the lorries. Their concentration prevailed and Belorado was approached with a degree of relief.
During the course of the day, two snow-capped mountain ranges have been in the distance and there has been a significant increase in the volume of Pilgrims - in particular, the walking variety.
Today they have climbed to 760 metres. This will rise to over 1100 metres tomorrow and they will remain cycling at that level for quite some time.
It will be back to the heavy breathing, boys.
Hasta luego, otra vez -

Jenny