Day 6: Entering the Meseta (Burgos to Carrión de los Condes)
Distance: 57.2 mi / 92km
Climbing: 2,277 ft / 684m
Shadows are tall, especially when riding west early in the morning and heading downhill.
The Meseta section of the Camino runs from Burgos to Astorga, often taking 9-10 days to walk. This section represents the mental challenge of the camino, when the walking is easy- just monotonous with long hours under the hot sun. It crosses the flat part of northern Spain, with many ‘mesas’ passing through fields and areas of very interesting cultural significance (if you take the time to look).
Sunflowers just past their prime, ready for hungry peregrinos.
Gentle inclines to enter the Meseta.
Thankfully on a bike, this shortens to three days of mostly flat riding. One down and two more to go. If the route is hilly, I usually try to cover about two walking days worth of distance, but on these flatter sections, it’s easy to cover at least three. Leaving Burgos, there were some gentle grades which were fun to push through, knowing that the path was smooth enough to keep moving and make good time.
Biking through the Convent of San Anton.
Meeting two Spanish cycling friends again at a cafe in Castrojeriz. Glad to enjoy some shade in the middle of the day.
After Castrojeriz, there is a more serious mesa, involving a 12% grade and a 18% down (this side is paved). The incline was called Castrillo de Matajudios, which as more recently been renamed to the less controversial Castrillos Mota de Judios (see Guardian article). There is an option to ride around this hill to the renamed town with the same name.
Way up the incline after Castrojeriz. See the steep dirt path along the hillside. Turn right on the road to ride around the mesa.
18% down the incline, paved. It’s not too long and easy to walk if you don’t want to ride. Be careful if it’s raining.
The way from Frómista to Carrion along the road. I ended up just riding on the pavement as there was no traffic and it felt good to make up some time on a longer day. It also gives the walking pilgrims some space. I’ve noticed that on the Meseta sections, many walking pilgrims have headphones on and are not able to hear my warning bell, even after ringing it a few times right behind them. Be careful if you can’t hear while walking- would be worse when crossing a busy road.
Rabbit Camino art trail marker?
From there, it was easy riding to Carrión de los Condes, a town with three parochial albergues and many nuns. The main albergue, Santia Maria, has famous singing nuns. Unfortunately they were full when I arrived, so I headed up to another farther up the hill and found a great value of private room/bath with dinner and breakfast for 28 euros). The dinner was fresh produce and eggs from their gardens, and I enjoyed the conversation with pilgrims from Madrid and the west coast of France. Between the crossover of three languages, we were able to translate and communicated. The albergue in the convent (Nuestra Señora de Belén) seems to not be well known or advertised.
This is an example of an albergue that advertises ‘enclosed bicycle storage’ and sort of has it. My bike ended up locked to a window gate in a tunnel under the main stairway into the convent. The bike is well hidden from the street, but is accessible during the day without having to enter a locked door. I felt ok about it, but thought it’s worth noting. The main albergue, Santa Maria, also has a place to store bikes.
“Enclosed Bike Storage” in the tunnel
Road cycling pilgrim setup in Carrión de los Condes
