By bicycle from Travemünde to Sagres via Santiago de Compostela

By bike from Travemünde to Lisbon and on to Andalusia, summer 2022

10 May – 21 July 2022 · Helsinki → Lübeck → Netherlands → Brussels → Paris → Loire → Bordeaux → San Sebastián → Camino de Santiago → Portugal → Algarve → Huelva → Madrid → Girona → Helsinki

Seventy-three days away, 44 of them with rides on a Trek Checkpoint. Strava logged 51 rides and 3,399 km in about 173 hours of riding, with 22,001 m of climbing. That's 39 numbered stages from Lübeck to Huelva, with the longest from Lit-et-Mixe to San Sebastián (148 km) and the most climbing between Becerreá and Melide (1,374 m).

Tuesday 10 May · Helsinki → at sea

Departure day. Six days earlier I'd done my first 50 km test ride with the bags on and felt that tingle of adventure. Now it was real: a 10 km ride across Helsinki with about 15 kg of luggage on the Trek Checkpoint, and onto the ferry to Germany. The bike went in at the bow, guided by a follow-me van. On the way a phone call came asking about a job, and I said I'd be back at work in the autumn. On board I met a man from Tornio who was driving a 1961 Porsche down to a summer job at an Italian steel plant. I was very nervous.

Rides (Strava): Afternoon Ride 10.2 km

Wednesday 11 May · At sea → Travemünde → Lübeck

An idle day on the Baltic, passing Öland in the morning. I walked three or four kilometres around the decks, ate well and called Sirkku twice. We docked in Travemünde in the evening, and at 22:04 I set off on the first real ride of the trip, 18 km in the dark to Lübeck. The navigator confused me, but I found the TOP CityLine Klassik Altstadt Hotel: quiet, with a shared bathroom.

Rides (Strava): Night Ride 0.5 km · Night Ride 18.4 km, 1 h 00 min, 52 m up, 18.5 km/h

Thursday 12 May · Lübeck → Zeven

Six hours of sleep and rain in the night. Then stage 1, and straight into it: 132 km and 544 m of climbing from Lübeck, past Hamburg, to Zeven in Lower Saxony, into a headwind at 19.8 km/h. Almost all of it was on roads I'd never ridden, and it was a bit too much for a first day. I noticed that German petrol stations sell pretzels. At the Hotel Central I had tomato soup and pesto pasta with radlers, and then went to Lidl.

Rides (Strava): Lübeck to Zeven 132.3 km, 6 h 45 min, 544 m up, 19.6 km/h

Friday 13 May · Zeven → Cloppenburg

Zeven turned out to have 14,000 inhabitants and a history going back to 986. Stage 2 took me 116 km west into a headwind of 6–11 m/s, with coffee by the Bremen cathedral and again in Wildeshausen, among pig farms. My Garmin couldn't reroute around closed streets, and an elderly man told me off and said I should use ADFC paper maps. In Cloppenburg I stayed at the Hotel Diekgerdes, a Bike&Bett place, where the receptionist opened the bar for me after my shower. Asparagus and goose for dinner, and a stop at Netto. 279 km of about 3,300 done.

Rides (Strava): Zeven to Cloppenburg 115.5 km, 6 h 03 min, 373 m up, 19.1 km/h

Saturday 14 May · Cloppenburg → Deuringen

I thought of the ride from Gdańsk to Istanbul 32 years earlier with K. Ranto and Petri K, and of Hamburg to Amsterdam in 1992. A man on a tractor offered me a place to stay, Warmshowers style, and I stopped at a Spargel und Erdbeer kiosk in Bawilken. Stage 3 was 114 km south-west, and I crossed into the Netherlands without noticing, except that the cycling infrastructure suddenly got much better. I slept in a truckers' hotel in an industrial area whose restaurant had been going for 200 years. 392 km done. My backside, both knees and lower back were sore, so I decided to take more breaks. I wrote to Wim and Lari.

Rides (Strava): Cloppenburg to Deuringen 113.9 km, 5 h 45 min, 244 m up, 19.8 km/h

Sunday 15 May · Deuringen → Babberich

In the morning I missed Sirkku terribly and thought about taking the train. Sirkku reminded me I had to be in Lisbon on 22 June. So I rode: stage 4, an easy 79 km with a light tailwind through lovely forests, with cows and sheep, at 21.3 km/h. Jubbe met me a few kilometres out of Babberich, and I spent the afternoon in Jubbe's yard with Cor, Monique and Paul, then dinner, with pasta for me. That morning I'd booked ahead for Baarle-Nassau.

Rides (Strava): Deuringen to Babberich 79.1 km, 3 h 43 min, 130 m up, 21.3 km/h

Monday 16 May · Babberich

The first rest day of the trip, and a blackbird concert to wake up to. I planned the route through France and found EuroVelo 3 from Maubeuge. At the De Burg Kulturhus a man gave me coffee for free. The evening before I'd seen a B-52 flying east, and it made me think of the sauna talks with my father.

Tuesday 17 May · Babberich → Baarle-Nassau

Jubbe rode with me to Nijmegen and helped me get my first pilgrim stamp. Niko, who stamped it, told me to think about the past and the future while I rode. No thoughts came. Then the F59 cycle highway at 25–27 km/h, though with few cafés. Stage 5 was 123 km under cloud to Baarle-Nassau, the border town woven through with Belgian enclaves, and Hotel Brasserie Den Engel. The morning routines took me two hours. Up to 28 °C, and I drank 4.5 litres of water. In the evening I booked Brussels.

Rides (Strava): Babberich to Baarle-Nassau 122.5 km, 5 h 46 min, 198 m up, 21.2 km/h

Wednesday 18 May · Baarle-Nassau → Brussels

A tip to self: sunscreen. Stage 6 was 92 km into Belgium in over 30 °C, along canals and through parks, then confusing traffic and steep hills in Brussels. I stayed at Hotel L'auberge du Souverain in the leafy south-east and met my friends Satu and Klaus. Klaus, Finland's ambassador to NATO, had handed over Finland's NATO application that very day. Dinner with Satu and the children, and two short evening rides around Watermael-Boitsfort and Woluwe.

Rides (Strava): Baarle-Nassau to Brussels 92.3 km, 4 h 27 min, 244 m up, 20.7 km/h · Afternoon Ride 4.5 km · Evening Ride 4.1 km

Thursday 19 May · Brussels → Maubeuge

Thunder in the night, and I felt insecure, with the wine still in my legs. I meant to stop at Waterloo but rode past it, feeling weak. The weather turned from 29 °C to 18 °C and rain. First narrow paths, then lovely riverside and old railway paths. I saw maybe ten cyclists all day, and the villages looked empty and poor. Stage 7, 87 km and 548 m, over the French border to Maubeuge, 775 km done. Le Grand Hotel had a terrace, but the town had no grocery shop, so I had a salmon crêpe and a chocolate crêpe with cider. A long call with Sirkku, who had a sore throat. In the evening I booked Mary's Hotel République in Paris.

Rides (Strava): Brussels to Maubeuge 86.9 km, 4 h 44 min, 548 m up, 18.3 km/h

Friday 20 May · Maubeuge → Le Cateau-Cambrésis

Rain and thunder were forecast, and I remembered Kraków to Orava in 1990 and Kufstein in 2010. I rode a brisk 44 km to Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 25.4 km/h for one ten-kilometre stretch, and stopped halfway, cancelling the room I'd booked in Saint-Quentin. Naps, a salmon salad behind the church, a beer at a brewery founded in 2004, and a call with Make. Hotel dinner of trout with asparagus and snails in pastry for about €30. It felt like a Poirot story.

Rides (Strava): Maubeuge to Le Cateau Cambresis 43.8 km, 1 h 58 min, 336 m up, 22.2 km/h

Saturday 21 May · Le Cateau-Cambrésis → Compiègne

I worked out what the trip was costing: hotels €50–100, about €70 on average, and food about €35 a day, roughly the same as Interrail. Stage 9 was 123 km in six hours, 30 km of hills and then 90 km of EuroVelo 3 along a river and a canal, past derelict factories. It was lonely, 17–24 °C. In Compiègne, where the armistice was signed, I wrote a long post on war and peace and Ukraine. Sea perch for dinner. The fifth riding day in a row. In the evening I forwarded my Paris hotel to Sirkku.

Rides (Strava): Le Cateau-Cambrésis to Compiegne 122.8 km, 5 h 56 min, 476 m up, 20.7 km/h

Sunday 22 May · Compiègne → Paris

A hot night, with birds and a rooster. In a morning post I explained how I book hotels on Booking.com, with free cancellation until 17:59. Stage 10 was 105 km and 594 m at 20.1 km/h, fuelled by one and a half raisin loaves and three litres of water. One “4%” hill had a 20% pitch. A bike path took me right to Mary's Hotel République, and the people of Paris looked happy. 1,047 km in ten riding days. The Italian waiter asked, “Are you sure this is enough?” about my half litre of wine. Truffle pasta.

Rides (Strava): Compiègne to Paris 105.0 km, 5 h 14 min, 594 m up, 20.1 km/h

Monday 23 May · Paris

A rest day in Paris. I woke at five and thought about how empty France north of Paris had felt compared with the suburbs, and about populism. I couldn't find brake pads, but got inner tubes and a patch kit. Coffee in the rain at the Place des Vosges, and the Centre Pompidou, which I first visited in August 1987. I listed all my Paris visits, and decided Paris cycling infrastructure was better than Helsinki's. I booked an apartment hotel in Orléans and emailed them that I'd arrive by bike, hopefully before 6 pm unless I had a puncture.

Tuesday 24 May · Paris → Orléans

I left after the bike shop opened at ten. Twenty industrial kilometres, then empty villages and a headwind across the grain fields. Stage 11, 124 km and 754 m, with 25.5 km/h between km 110 and 120. My fitness was rising fast. I could understand the gilets jaunes out here. A bartender in Orléans looked at me and said, “You? You are crazy!”, and gave me nuts. Pizza, and a night at a Séjours & Affaires apartment by the Jeanne d'Arc.

Rides (Strava): Paris to Orléans 124.4 km, 6 h 08 min, 754 m up, 20.3 km/h

Wednesday 25 May · Orléans → Tours

Two weeks from home. At breakfast I met two girls starting a three-month ride to Budapest, and a father who'd ridden Paris–Brest–Paris. Stage 12 was 133 km in 6 h 35 min down the Loire valley on EuroVelo, with tens of other touring cyclists, lunch in Blois, and its castle and a nuclear plant in the same view. In Tours the hotel refused my bike, so I went to another one.

Rides (Strava): Orleans to Tours 132.7 km, 6 h 37 min, 410 m up, 20.1 km/h

Thursday 26 May · Tours → Châtellerault

Ascension Day, and every hotel was full, but I had the ibis in Châtellerault, booked early that morning along with Millac and Angoulême. Stage 13, 87 km south in sunshine. The café I stopped at sold only coffee, alcohol and cigarettes, so lunch was McDonald's and a big shop. A man had a speed wobble on a 10% descent. Dinner was the best so far: fish soup and prawn pasta for €24. I counted 2,100 km left to Lisbon in 28 days, about 75 km a day.

Rides (Strava): Tours to Châtellerault 87.3 km, 4 h 08 min, 416 m up, 21.1 km/h

Friday 27 May · Châtellerault → Millac

A morning post about birds, quoting Marke Ahonen, and some reading about inflation in Hesari. There were job interviews to arrange on Teams. Stage 14 was 81 km and 483 m, with 12 km on a disused railway path, to the village of Millac and Le Chêne Vert, run by Jane and John Needham from the UK. Vegan pasta and strawberry mousse, frogs croaking, and a long call with Make.

Rides (Strava): Châtellerault to Millac 81.2 km, 4 h 14 min, 483 m up, 19.2 km/h

Saturday 28 May · Millac → Angoulême

My best sleep yet. Stage 15 was 93 km and 937 m, the hilliest day so far, rolling with a tailwind at 20.6 km/h. Lonely. One banana, 150 g of bars and 4.5 litres of water. The reception of my booked hotel in Angoulême was closed, so I moved to a hotel by the Palais de Justice in the old town. Fifteen riding days, 1,565 km in 77 h 40 min, and one puncture. Chinese for dinner.

Rides (Strava): Millac to Angoulême 92.6 km, 4 h 30 min, 937 m up, 20.6 km/h

Sunday 29 May · Angoulême

A rest day in Angoulême, among the comic murals; I found Obelix. I called my aunt, and on a video call Sirkku spotted the first palm trees behind me. Thai fried rice and noodles. I booked Bordeaux and Lit-et-Mixe for the next two nights.

Monday 30 May · Angoulême → Bordeaux

I did a Teams job interview sitting at a disused railway station, the most pleasant interview I've ever had, and told them I'd be travelling until late September. Stage 16, 132 km and 923 m, through pines and vineyards and past banana plants, to Bordeaux, where I'd cycled in 2018. B&B Hôtel by Gare Saint-Jean, and dinner on a terrace opposite the station: pollock with vegetables and herring with potatoes. I wrote down my eating strategy: bananas, bars, 40 g of carbs an hour, and lots of water.

Rides (Strava): Angouleme to Bordeaux 132.4 km, 6 h 21 min, 923 m up, 20.9 km/h

Tuesday 31 May · Bordeaux → Lit-et-Mixe

Three weeks on the road, and halfway: 1,825 km in 90 hours. I ignored Komoot and had lunch by the church in Hostens. Then long, lonely, straight roads through the Landes pines at 32 °C into a headwind. Stage 17, 129 km in 6 h 05 min at 21.2 km/h, to Lit-et-Mixe and L'Escasse. The hotel was closed for two hours, so I had a beer and a croissant at the bar next door and called Sirkku. Over 2,110 km in May, probably a record for me. I booked San Sebastián that morning.

Rides (Strava): Bordeaux to Lit-en-Mixe 128.7 km, 6 h 05 min, 383 m up, 21.1 km/h

Wednesday 1 June · Lit-et-Mixe → San Sebastián

The key had been left in my door, and breakfast was a croissant across the street. Then the longest stage of the whole trip: 148 km and 1,042 m in eight hours, into Spain. Forty kilometres of pine forest, an hour riding with a French IT consultant, and a stretch where I pushed the bike through sand. Salad in Biarritz. An old man advised me to take the autostrada, and I answered “forza grande”. Near the end a concrete road went over 20%, and I pushed. Fish and two beers in Donostia–San Sebastián, and a hot room with mosquitoes at Casual de las Olas, two nights at €85.

Rides (Strava): Lit-et-Mixe to Donostia-San Sebastian 148.0 km, 7 h 57 min, 1,042 m up, 18.6 km/h

Thursday 2 June · San Sebastián

A rest day by the sea. Garmin reckoned the 148 km had cost 5,000 kcal and six litres of water, and I listed everything I ate to make up for it. At a bike shop a woman called Elena translated for me and said she'd pray for me. Tamarisk trees on the beach. I wrote about communicating without a common language. I decided to skip Bilbao and go straight to Burgos, knowing I had a two-month Interrail pass in reserve.

Friday 3 June · San Sebastián

An easy 13 km spin around Donostia and a move to Kasa Reina, a small hotel at the edge of the old town. I thought about envy and about my own comfortable style of travel, and decided that adventure is a state of mind. I was proud. Komoot exaggerates hills, I noted. In the Constitution square there were children, dogs and football, and I lent my power bank to a woman. I booked Vitoria for the next night.

Rides (Strava): Cycling in Donostia 13.3 km

Saturday 4 June · San Sebastián → Vitoria-Gasteiz

I was nervous about the mountains, even though I've climbed Ventoux, the Tourmalet and others. Neil Martin said I looked like a shot putter. Iker rode with me for about 20 km, and we took a gentler 8 km climb at 4–7%. A scary 10–12% descent, and a puncture from beer-bottle glass. Stage 19, 117 km and about 1,300 m in 6 h 28 min at 18.2 km/h, via Andoain to Vitoria-Gasteiz and the Duque de Wellington. That afternoon I booked Burgos.

Rides (Strava): Donostia to Vitoria 19.6 km, 1 h 09 min, 189 m up, 17.0 km/h · Donostia to Vitoria 97.6 km, 5 h 21 min, 1,119 m up, 18.3 km/h

Sunday 5 June · Vitoria-Gasteiz → Burgos

The Vitoria hotel had six floors of flats above it. I trimmed the Komoot route to 128 km and 1,000 m. On the way I met Nora, an American walking to Santiago along the yellow arrows, and twice ran into Jacques from Paris. A headwind for the last 15 km. Stage 20 came to 135 km and 1,078 m at 19.2 km/h, up onto the Castilian plateau to Burgos and the Hotel Norte y Londres, two nights. Tortilla and beer.

Rides (Strava): Vitoria-Gasteiz to Burgos 134.8 km, 7 h 01 min, 1,078 m up, 19.2 km/h

Monday 6 June · Burgos

A rest day. My back hurt from looking down at the Garmin, and I promised myself to stretch. Pilgrims compared blisters around the cathedral, I sat in a park by the river and took naps. A pilgrim stamp cost €1.65, and a pigeon tried my toe. About 700 km in the past week. I booked ahead for Carrión de los Condes, León and Ponferrada.

Tuesday 7 June · Burgos → Carrión de los Condes

A morning post about my comfortable, gentlemanly way of travelling, €62 hotels and all. Stage 21 was 85.5 km at 20.2 km/h along the Camino across the meseta, 40 km of it gravel, and I greeted about 300 pilgrims. In one bar the bartender was smoking a joint. Hostal Santiago in Carrión de los Condes. I also booked a flat in Lisbon's Bairro Alto for 22–27 June, for two.

Rides (Strava): Burgos to Carrion de los Condes 85.5 km, 4 h 14 min, 519 m up, 20.2 km/h

Wednesday 8 June · Carrión de los Condes → León

Allergies. One grumpy pilgrim told me, “Do not talk to me about Santiago.” Yellow rescue minibuses patrolled the Camino. A headwind of 5–10 m/s for 92 km, 5 h 13 min, and a strange German man in a van. At Le Petit León the owner freed room 106 from his girlfriend's dogs so my bike could sleep there, all for €45. León's old town was hauntingly beautiful.

Rides (Strava): Carrión de los Condes to Leon 92.3 km, 5 h 14 min, 512 m up, 17.7 km/h

Thursday 9 June · León → Ponferrada

I woke in despair and wrote about it. Then two cheerful e-MTB riders, and the climb to 1,500 m: the last 9.2 km and 400 m in under 50 minutes, passing two Dutchmen. Some ladies with gin and tonics, and an old man warned me about the descent. Stage 23, 106 km and 1,165 m in 5 h 37 min, to Ponferrada in El Bierzo and the Hotel Aroi Bierzo Plaza on the main square, €75. After 29 days I was averaging 87 km a day, 110 km per riding day.

Rides (Strava): Leon to Ponferrada 106.2 km, 5 h 38 min, 1,165 m up, 18.9 km/h

Friday 10 June · Ponferrada

After talking it over with Sirkku I decided to rest for four nights, and cancelled the rooms I'd booked ahead in Sarria and Becerreá. The Trek dealer replaced my rear brake pads. I met an American pilgrim, and a canine one.

Rides (Strava): Morning Ride 1.9 km

Saturday 11 June · Ponferrada

Eight hours of sleep and more, my back healing, resting pulse 51. I bought charging cables and spent an hour in the Basílica de la Encina writing my diary, next to a machine that sells LED candles. Lovely evening light, then a thunderstorm.

Sunday 12 June · Ponferrada

The clock tower, the Templar castle, and risotto marinara at an Italian restaurant. I decided to take the roads rather than the Camino gravel. I met Maud and Vim, travelling on solar-roofed electric recumbents with dogs and a cat on board. I booked Casa Poy in Becerreá and a room in Melide for the next two nights.

Monday 13 June · Ponferrada → Becerreá

Better nervous than chicken, I told myself. The N-VI was closed, so I took the old pilgrim road: six kilometres at 9–13%, and I pushed where it went over 12%. A bar claimed it was 1.5 km to the top; the climb went on well after that. The descent from 1,300 m to 550 m wasn't scary at all. Spanish couples were riding with a service van. Stage 24, 81 km and 1,154 m in 4 h 37 min, in clear 18 °C weather, to Becerreá and Casa Poy, where lunch was three courses for €13.

Rides (Strava): Ponferrada to Becerrea 80.8 km, 4 h 36 min, 1,154 m up, 17.6 km/h

Tuesday 14 June · Becerreá → Melide

A foggy morning with a rooster and sheep. I wrote about my fear of heights: on the road I keep my eyes on the tarmac, and then in the evening it hits me, so that sitting at a café on a flat street I feel I'm about to fall. Still, I've ridden up Ventoux and the Tourmalet, been at 4,200 m on Mauna Kea and slept by Lake Karakul at 3,914 m. Courage is not letting fear make your choices. The receptionist warned me this part of Spain was very hilly, and she was right. Stage 25 had the most climbing of the trip, 91 km and 1,374 m: a 3 km climb from the hotel door, and a Komoot detour through a village with 200 m at 18%, after which I stuck to bigger roads. A dog ran with me for kilometres, cleverly taking shortcuts and waiting for me. In the afternoon my Garmin showed 37–40 °C in the sun, and I poured cold water on my clothes to get up the hills. At the Hotel Restaurante Xaneiro in Melide, the receptionist switched to perfect British English when she heard I was Finnish; she sounded like Miss Marple. Grilled octopus and beer at one of Melide's pulperías. I booked Santiago.

Rides (Strava): Becerreá to Melide 90.8 km, 4 h 57 min, 1,374 m up, 18.4 km/h

Wednesday 15 June · Melide → Santiago de Compostela

I changed plans at breakfast: Santiago had been my goal since Nijmegen, and under 60 km felt nicer than 100. Thirty kilometres out I met again the Spanish pilgrims I'd seen before the climb after Ponferrada. Stage 26, 57 km and 811 m, and I made it to Santiago de Compostela. I cried a lot. The last week and a half had been very hard emotionally, and the support from home had meant everything. 35 days, 2,750 km, 140 hours, 26 riding days. We celebrated with pulpo, potatoes and cheese, and beer, and my forehead finally smoothed out. Hotel Santa Clara. In the evening, music for tired pilgrims in the square. I booked Pontevedra for the next night.

Rides (Strava): Melide to Santiago de Compostela 56.7 km, 3 h 11 min, 811 m up, 17.9 km/h

Thursday 16 June · Santiago de Compostela → Pontevedra

I woke happy and relaxed, which was new: usually that hour before breakfast was when despair and loneliness came. A bike trip needs a destination, otherwise there's no reason to suffer headwinds and steep tracks. Lisbon had been mine, then Santiago became it, and now that I'd reached it I could let go. Stage 27, 60 km south. Komoot put me in a bush facing a half-metre path, so I took the N-550 instead, where even trucks waited behind me rather than pass closer than 1.5 m. Pontevedra has banished cars from its centre, and where they used to be there are now terraces, trees and people. Good lunch menu at the Hotel Restaurante Rúas. I booked Valença, across the river in Portugal.

Rides (Strava): Santiago de Compostela to Pontevedra 60.4 km, 3 h 18 min, 630 m up, 18.4 km/h

Friday 17 June · Pontevedra → Valença

Seven and a half hours of sleep in the cool quiet, exceptional for this trip. I could come back to Pontevedra for a week of writing and reading. Stage 28, an easy 53 km in 2 h 45 min, the N-550 and then the last 15 km on the Camino, over the little bridge where a 13th-century holy man turned back to Tui and died. I'd made it to Portugal under my own power from Travemünde, apart from two short ferries. I booked the train for the next morning; my zest for riding had run out at Santiago, rain was coming, and I'd pushed too hard to get there, 26 riding days at 19.6 km/h. I was lucky to have left on 10 May and not the 17th, or I'd have been in Burgos in 40 °C. I decided I had nothing left to prove: if July got too hot, I'd use the Interrail pass. Hotel Val Flores, and an evening in Valença's old fortress town.

Rides (Strava): Pontevedra to Valencia 53.2 km, 2 h 46 min, 560 m up, 19.2 km/h

Saturday 18 June · Valença → Aveiro → Figueira da Foz

The 6:50 InterCity to Aveiro, with tickets for me and the bike bought in the railway app. I was as stressed about it as I'd have been as a young man, maybe more. Then stage 29, 77 km down the coast on EuroVelo 1 towards Figueira da Foz. It started lovely, with wonderful birds and beaches, but the 25 km forest road I'd been looking forward to had been clear-cut and the asphalt broken. I dodged potholes into the wind for 15 km, then moved onto a bigger road that felt like a motorway, and saw the bridge I'd have to cross the next day. That scared me more, and I decided to go on by train. Small setbacks felt huge; I needed rest. Hotel Aliança in Figueira da Foz.

Rides (Strava): Aveiro to Figueira da Foz 76.9 km, 3 h 46 min, 246 m up, 20.4 km/h

Sunday 19 June · Figueira da Foz → Lisbon → Bucelas

I woke at five, Spanish time. Two trains, via Alfarelos, took me and the bike to Lisbon, and I told myself to stop worrying: I had time, money, health and Sirkku's support. On the train I booked Sleep In Bucelas, a small hotel 18 km north of Lisbon in the wine country, and rode there in the afternoon at 24 °C, walking down one very steep hill. Lovely hotel, perfect local food and delicious wine. Three nights of doing nothing.

Rides (Strava): Morning Ride 1.7 km · Lisbon to Bucelas 18.1 km, 1 h 13 min, 211 m up, 14.9 km/h

Monday 20 June · Bucelas

Resting pulse 43. Freddie, my travelling teddy, kept the statistics: the 30th hotel, 41 days from Helsinki, 2,961 km in 151 hours over 30 riding days in seven countries, three ferries and two trains. I walked to a café for breakfast, read for hours in the village park, had lunch and several naps. It felt strange to stay put and know I wouldn't cycle much for two weeks. Sirkku booked us a table for Thursday evening at A Nini, a fado place popular with locals.

Tuesday 21 June · Bucelas

Two cheeses, one for breakfast and one for lunch, and the chef's own marmalade. Like a summer cottage in Finland. I wrote about how, all the way from Travemünde, drivers had waited patiently behind me on the climbs, sometimes for a kilometre, and never once honked. In the afternoon I climbed the hill to the old towers the Portuguese and British built against Napoleon, and looked down on wind turbines and an EU-funded motorway.

Wednesday 22 June · Bucelas → Lisbon

Rested and with my energy back. Looking back, the trip had been almost trouble free: a sore back, no sunburn, an hour of rain while riding, three rear punctures. I wrote about how much happier I am the more time I spend outdoors. Stage 31, 27 km back into Lisbon and to the Airbnb flat in the Bairro Alto, booked for two, five nights. Sirkku arrived in the evening.

Rides (Strava): Bucelas to Lisbon 27.1 km, 1 h 38 min, 247 m up, 16.5 km/h

Thursday 23 June · Lisbon

Pigeons cooing, ambulances, planes taking off. We'd had dinner after eleven the night before. I'd been to Lisbon on Interrail in 1987 and for work in 1998, and remembered its smell. We walked about 12 km up and down the hills, to the oldest bookshop in the world, open since 1732,, where we bought books, and past the oldest café. Sirkku shook hands with Pessoa's statue. In the evening, fado at A Nini, by public transport as Sirkku had said.

Friday 24 June · Lisbon

Midsummer Eve, and our 14th wedding anniversary. We married at the Helsinki district court after eleven and a half years together; our honeymoon was a work trip to London for an SAP course, then Arki in Greece. I listed the midsummers I'd spent abroad: Kraków in 1990 on the way to Istanbul, Hangzhou in 2003 and 2004, Boston in 2005, Tallinn in 2013, below the Tourmalet in 2015, Lake Como in 2017. A short 8 km ride around the hills, a duck shop, and the Casa Fernando Pessoa, where I learned about his heteronyms. Anniversary dinner at Lisbon's oldest restaurant. 3,000 km in 40 days had given me back my waist, beer, ice cream and 200 bananas notwithstanding.

Rides (Strava): Lisbon Road Cycling 8.4 km

Saturday 25 June · Lisbon

A cool 19 °C morning. We spent the day at the botanical garden, where I'd last been in January 1998: huge ficus trees, parrots, and a bald cypress with knees that look like little gnomes. I told our Porto host we'd arrive at 5 pm on Monday.

Sunday 26 June · Lisbon

A quiet Sunday morning. We'd seen the water museum in the 1866 reservoir under a park, the monument raised in 2017, squares and parks. Today we walked through the centre to Alfama and up to the Castelo de São Jorge, a mere 80 m climb for a fit cyclist; I was more interested in the peacocks. By the Miradouro de Santa Luzia stood an ombú with a girth of about 14 metres. Lisbon is a lovely city, and I thought I could come back in winter. Our last day in the Bairro Alto flat.

Monday 27 June · Lisbon → Porto

Two nights in a row of over eight hours' sleep, for the first time since leaving. Three hours by train to Porto and the Porto Belo Clérigos apartment for four nights, near the best bookshop and the oldest café. My zest for cycling was coming back; I caught myself planning routes along the south coast and via Gibraltar towards Girona. In the evening we walked by the Douro and ate at a local bar by the university.

Tuesday 28 – Thursday 30 June · Porto

From our terrace, with a bit of climbing and stretching, I could photograph the Torre dos Clérigos, but I skipped climbing it because of my fear of heights. We took the metro towards the fishing harbour for fresh seafood, saw the breakwater and lighthouse at the mouth of the Douro and rode the old trams. On Wednesday the botanical garden and the plane trees in the park by the university, and in the evening a fado concert near our flat, with Pedro Ferreira singing with skill and feeling, and port wine. On Thursday a hipster café, a long walk, naps, and the azulejo tiles of Santo Ildefonso and São Bento station. Lovely lunches, fantastic vinho verde, local restaurants, and one day a beach where Sirkku swam and I sat with my hat on.

Friday 1 July · Porto → Lisbon

Leaving Porto, one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. Back by train to Lisbon and the SK Lisboa Villa Hostel near the airport, booked back in May. Lunch of octopus, spinach and potatoes with white wine from Bucelas. The plan from here: ride on Sunday towards Cabo de São Vicente, then east, and be in Belleville in Paris on the afternoon of 16 August.

Saturday 2 July · Lisbon

Swallows in the courtyards, the airport roaring. It was lovely to have help with the laundry; for the first 40 days I'd washed everything by hand. I collected the bike from Lisbon Bike Shop, a Trek-certified workshop, and it was like new: washed, wheels trued, a new Ultegra chain, gears adjusted, brakes bled, headset greased, frame polished, all for €97. I rode the 6 km back to the hostel.

Rides (Strava): From Lisbon bike shop to hotel 6.4 km

Sunday 3 July · Lisbon → Setúbal

Sirkku flew home. I walked her to the airport, three kilometres each way in the small hours, and was back at five but couldn't sleep again. Breakfast at a Pão & Canela café. Then the second half of the ride began: stage 34, 54 km through the old town to the ferry and south over the Tagus to Setúbal, sunny 22 °C turning to fog and 19 °C. Luna Esperança Centro Hotel, booked at breakfast. Lonely, excited and somewhat worried, I reminded myself to stay outdoors among people and not to mistake hunger for loneliness. Setúbal was a quiet mini-Lisbon with a harbour smelling of fried fish. An evening in the park with a book, Chinese for dinner, funny Areena videos. Later I booked Vila Nova de Milfontes.

Rides (Strava): Lisbon to Setubal 53.9 km, 2 h 42 min, 356 m up, 20.0 km/h

Monday 4 July · Setúbal → Vila Nova de Milfontes

I realised what had been causing my strange feelings: too much focus on the destination, always planning tomorrow instead of being where I was. A €6 ferry, with my bike the only one on board. Then stage 35, 110 km in under five hours, the first 70 km under 20 °C in fog and cloud, then sunshine and 26 °C. Many ten-kilometre stretches at 24 km/h, and 53 km/h downhill. Pines, the sea and storks. At 100 km a fast dachshund rushed out and bit my shoe, without making a hole. Lunch of fish, peas and egg and potato. Casazul was a lovely small hotel with birds and kind staff, and I rode into the village for dinner by the Mira estuary. A long video call with Sirkku. In the evening I booked Sagres.

Rides (Strava): Setubal to Vila Nova de Milfontes 110.2 km, 4 h 54 min, 573 m up, 22.5 km/h · Night Ride 5.0 km

Tuesday 5 July · Vila Nova de Milfontes → Lagos → Sagres

I woke at six, as on any riding day. A big day: stage 36, 92 km and 830 m to Lagos, and then another 33 km out to Sagres at the south-western tip of Europe, where I'd been on a moped on Interrail in 1987 with K. Ranto and Petri. Apartamentos Atalaia. I rode too long and too fast again, a spoke broke, and the worry about the coming days' hotels and the route to Girona piled up. That night I panicked and couldn't sleep.

Rides (Strava): Vila Nova de Milfontes to Lagos 91.7 km, 4 h 05 min, 830 m up, 22.4 km/h · Lagos to Sagres 32.6 km, 1 h 34 min, 311 m up, 20.7 km/h

Wednesday 6 July · Sagres → Lagos → Vila Real de Santo António

Sleepless, I left Sagres early for Lagos station, 34 km at an easy pace, and arrived 30 minutes before a direct regional train to Vila Real de Santo António on the Spanish border. The bike came too. I booked Villa Marquez there that morning, and in the afternoon Lepe, Huelva and Madrid. With the help of a French cyclist I never got to know, and of Sirkku, my journey on to Girona was arranged. I rested and listened to meditation videos.

Rides (Strava): Sagres to Lagos 33.9 km, 1 h 49 min, 282 m up, 18.6 km/h

Thursday 7 July · Vila Real de Santo António

Eight hours of sleep without waking once, pulse back near normal at 54. Physical strain and stress had been quite a combination. My conclusion: I'd been racing against a younger version of myself, and treating touring like road riding from home, when touring brings its own stress day after day. From now on: ride slower, take longer breaks, and plan regular rest days. A rest day on the Guadiana, doing laundry. I booked an Airbnb room in Girona for two weeks from 17 July.

Friday 8 July · Vila Real de Santo António → Lepe

Early in the morning I bought a flight home for 30 July, breaking the flying strike I'd kept since November 2018. Then stage 38, over the river into Spain and 26 km to Lepe in 25 °C sunshine. Hotel Braseria La Barca.

Rides (Strava): Vila Real de Santo António to Lepe 26.4 km, 1 h 28 min, 145 m up, 18.0 km/h

Saturday 9 July · Lepe → Huelva

I left early to beat the heat. Stage 39, the last proper stage: 27 km to Huelva and the Costa de la Luz hotel for two nights. The public thermometer said 33 °C, and I could see I'd no longer be able to ride here. I walked the pedestrian centre, then a shower, laundry and the Tour de France on Eurosport. Peter Selin's calm voice sent me to sleep, and Sirkku's text woke me just in time to see Wout van Aert win the stage.

Rides (Strava): Lepe to Huelva 27.3 km, 1 h 22 min, 145 m up, 20.0 km/h

Sunday 10 July · Huelva

The heat spoiled my sleep, but siesta made up for it. A stroll before it got hot, lunch at one, then rest. A day of replanning: I changed the Madrid dates, cancelled a student residence in Girona and booked The Bloom by Pillow there instead.

Monday 11 July · Huelva → Madrid

The train journey via Seville and Madrid to Girona began. On the train to Seville I met two German bike tourers going home via Morocco and a ferry to Montpellier. Then eight hours to Madrid through bleak country, 43 °C outside according to the screen, cool inside, masks on everyone. At 20:23 a 7 km ride uphill to the Hotel 4C Puerta Europa, 35–37 °C, in a bike lane in the middle of a multilane road. Then dinner and a couple of beers, with no hurry anywhere.

Rides (Strava): Madrid To hotel 7.3 km

Tuesday 12 July · Madrid

The Prado at eleven, endless art and good air conditioning. With Sirkku's tip I found my own portrait there, took a selfie, and was told off. I remembered nothing of my visit 35 years earlier and wondered whether I'd remember this one. In the afternoon the Tour de France and reading, at 37 °C. I moved my flight home forward and approved Sirkku's choice of the Nu Wave Hotel in Berlin for later in the summer.

Wednesday 13 July · Madrid → Girona

Security at Chamartín let my Leatherman through and didn't scan the bike after all. The train left on time, and I locked the bike to the luggage rack and slept. Nine hours forty to Barcelona, a change, and an hour forty to Girona and The Bloom by Pillow. It felt like coming home, to a city where nothing needed working out. In my favourite bar the beer was good and I had nowhere to be. The trip had been wonderful and instructive, but the last week had been the hardest of my life. Many of my old favourites were still going: El Pati, Terra, Bistrot, B-12. No rides on Strava from here on.

Thursday 14 – Saturday 16 July · Girona

By the Onyar the old lady I remembered from 2016 was still drying her laundry and tending her plants on her balcony. Resting took practice: three hours on a riverside bench with a book, newspapers, the Tour, a nap, many calls with Sirkku, and Café Royal, where the waitress already knew me. On Friday I went to Barcelona for lunch at Bar Masia, a favourite since before 2017, and found a new book on Crass, the band my friends introduced me to in 1981 and that shaped how I see the world. Calls with Jubbe and my aunt. The kiosk kept a New York Times for me until 10:30 on Saturday, and that day, by happy chance, I met my old friend Joseph, who first guided me around the Girona countryside in October 2013. Too hot to ride together, 36 °C.

Sunday 17 July · Girona

I moved into the Airbnb room on Carrer de la Barca in the Barri Vell. In Barcelona I spent time at the museum of contemporary art, with a good survey from 1929 to now, and saw Yellow Submarine for the first time.

Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 July · Girona

Morning photos of Girona's riverside houses, whose colours an architect chose from a palette. Monday afternoon in Barcelona's Gràcia, 27 °C against Girona's 34, with a beer and black rice. On Tuesday I wrote about a novel I'd finished on 1970s New York, then spent the hot afternoon on the sofa with the Tour, chatted at the kiosk and had a dark vermouth. On Wednesday the Catalan national art museum, with its 11th-century frescoes, and Girona at sunset.

Thursday 21 July · Barcelona → Helsinki

Home on Finnair AY1654 from Barcelona to Helsinki. A surprise: I was back, and so happy. It had been an epic journey, and I was proud of myself and grateful for all the support from friends and especially Sirkku. The next morning I was riding around Helsinki again.