RABANAL DEL CAMINO to VILLAFRANCA DEL BIERZO   <MAP>

I was a little nervous about the climb, as a cyclist had told me that it was the toughest of the Camino. While indisputedly demanding, it turned out to be less difficult than I had been led to believe. Nevertheless, I was really happy I had changed my rear cassette in Leon.

After stopping at Foncebadon (an abandoned mining town) for a coffee, we arrived at the Cruz and added our stones to the cairn. I saw stones from all over the world in the pile - most people write where they're from on their rocks. There were about 10 pink-painted rocks from Bergamo, Italy, and the French cyclists I had last seen in Puente la Reina had nailed a cardboard sign with their touring group's logo on it to the wooden pole. Along with numerous, and more traditionally religious ex-votos, I saw a plastic Elvis Presley doll attached to the pole. Ivan built a cairn with our names on it, and Oscar created an elaborate arch of stones.

There's another climb before you get to descend. At the start of the downhill run, we stopped at Manjarin, site of a famous Refugio run by the self-proclaimed last Knight Templar. It's a ramshackle clump of buildings with geese and ducks running around. If you spend the night, you do so in a barn, which is probably a good way to have a sense of what it was like for pilgrims centuries ago.

Then there's an exhilarating 18km descent. Fast and fun. If you get too exhilarated, remember that going through Acebedo, a tiny town with cobbled streets, you'll see a memorial in honor of a German cyclist who was killed by a car.

More downhill riding into Molinaseca. Then on to Ponferrada, where we stopped for lunch. Ivan and Nuria were planning to take the walkers' path again, so we split up.

I ran into them in Cacabelos, where I had stopped for a Sello. Even though Cacabelos is a very small town, I mistook a home for the elderly for the Refugio. The home does not have sellos for pilgrims, by the way.

On the way out of town, going uphill, Ivan got a bee sting on his leg. I stopped to see if he was alright. This violated a rule that I made up on this trip, which is: Never stop to rest until you've made it to the top of the hill. It's too hard to get going again. I would violate my own rule the next day at O Cebreiro.

Nuria continued to ride, and to catch up, Ivan and I grabbed the back of a tractor that happened to be going by. We waved as we passed her.

It's pretty steady up and down all the way to Villafranca del Bierzo, my destination for the day. (Bierzo is the name of the region I'm currently in). There's a famous Refugio in Villafranca del Bierzo, the Fenix, so-called because it is being rebuilt after having burned to the ground.

Nuria, Ivan, Oscar, and Luisa went on to the next town. We made arrangements to meet there before we tackled O Cebreiro, the most notorious climb on the Camino.

Villafranca is a lovely town, and the Parador where I'm staying, while modern, is very nice. They let me lock up my bike in one of their garages. I met a very nice Canadian who was riding from Leon to Santiago. He had arranged for a service to carry his luggage from one stage to the next. When he arrived at his day's destination, his luggage would be waiting for him at his hotel.

That evening, there was a short fireworks show. If you do stay in Paradors while you're traveling along the Camino, you should know that they don't serve breakfast until 8:00, which makes it difficult to get a very early start. On the plus side, however, breakfasts at Paradors are an enormous and varied buffet, and are perfect for loading your body up for a long day's ride.

I had a very good dinner, but slept fitfully. I was worried, I think, about the next day's ride.

6:05 total time. 3:26 on bike. 59.3 km.