On July 2nd 2022 we got married! We decided to celebrate in the only way we knew: to go bike touring. We debated a couple of different routes, mostly based on the places we enjoyed most on our previous 2020 Europe Bike Tour: Italy or Spain. We decided that we didn’t give Spain a proper chance last time around as we only spent 2 days there so that would be our destination!
Our route this time will start in Barcelona, with a slightly different route than our previous tour up to the French border. We’ll then cross over to the Atlantic and head back in to Spain. Our route will then take us West through Northern Spain as we make our way to Santiago de Compostela and then take a turn South through Portugal to Lisbon – the end of the trip!
Total distance covered
Day 1 – Buenos Dias Barcelona August 21, 2022 - 27.0km Distance 244m Elevation We arrived in Barcelona at 4pm, after nearly a full day of transport. Everything went pretty...
Day 2 – Smooth Sailing to Girona August 22, 2022 - 102.2km Distance 576m Elevation Today started with a 7am jetlagged wake up after a nice (though warm) sleep in a...
Day 3 – Made it to the Mediterranean August 23, 2022 - 88.8km Distance 846m Elevation We woke up before marc and his family at 7am and set off by 8:15am (skipping...
Day 4 – A Hilly Introduction to the Pyranees August 24, 2022 - 121.6km Distance 1,775m Elevation We woke up to our 6:30am alarm , excited to get an early start to the...
Day 5 – Reroute to Flatter Lands August 25, 2022 - 82.6km Distance 1,000m Elevation Viki struggled a lot with the hills yesterday. Since it’s only going to get hiller, we...
Day 6 – A Day Toulouse our Elevation August 26, 2022 - 121.0km Distance 624m Elevation We awoke after a slightly windy night, again sleeping without the fly. It was very nice,...
Day 7 – Not a Pastry in Sight August 27, 2022 - 106.7km Distance 916m Elevation The alarm went off at 6:30am and Viki just declared “nope”, rolled over, and went back...
Day 8 – Pau Pau August 28, 2022 - 95.6km Distance 554m Elevation We finally had a chilly night last night! It dipped to 14 degrees and we were...
Day 9 – Jacket on or off? August 29, 2022 - 106.0km Distance 492m Elevation We woke up to a view of ominous looking storm clouds and lightning off in the...
Day 10 – We Reached the Atlantic August 30, 2022 - 70.5km Distance 766m Elevation Luckily it didn’t rain last night, despite the earlier thunderstorms. The sounds of leaves rustling woke...
Day 11 – It Rains in Spain August 31, 2022 - 66.5km Distance 685m Elevation Since it’s 130km to Bilbao, we’ve decided to split it into two shorter days and we’ll...
Day 12 – Lawless in Bilbao September 1, 2022 - 64.2km Distance 530m Elevation We awoke after having a pretty good sleep. We were sleeping without the tent just on...
Day 13 – Rest Day in Bilbao September 2, 2022 - 0km Distance 0m Elevation Rest day! We got up in time to maximize our breakfast intake period and stayed at...
Day 14 – Viki Gets a Boost September 3, 2022 - 123.5km Distance 1,582m Elevation After a full rest day yesterday, we had a great start to the day leaving Bilbao....
Day 15 – Climbing in Picos de Europa September 4, 2022 - 97.1km Distance 1,615m Elevation It was nice having the unexpected bed for Viki and ground for me last night! We...
Day 16 – Rest Day in Picos September 5, 2022 - 0km Distance 0m Elevation Another day off today! We’re in a small town called Benia de Onis at the base...
Day 17 – Goodbye to the Asturian Mountains September 6, 2022 - 116.5km Distance 796m Elevation It was nice to again wake up in a hotel bed and start the day with...
Day 18 – Crossing Paths With Other Peregrinos September 7, 2022 - 93.8km Distance 1,306m Elevation (“Peregrino” is Spanish for “pilgrim”). Lights went out last night in the pilgrim dorms at 10pm...
Day 19 – Vegging out in the Hotel September 8, 2022 - 0km Distance 0m Elevation Today was a complete rest day. We had the hotel breakfast (€9 per person) and sneaked...
Day 20 – We’re Sleeping With The President September 9, 2022 - 103.4km Distance 1,443m Elevation Back on the bikes today! We had muesli in our room and left by 8:15am. After...
Day 21 – Camino Complete September 10, 2022 - 106.6km Distance 1,170m Elevation It was another chilly morning! Maybe 9 degrees, based on the garmin. Our fingers were frozen,...
Day 22 – Heading South September 11, 2022 - 78.7km Distance 614m Elevation We both slept well in our private rooms. I was nervous about Viki barring entry to...
Day 23 – A Five Star Morning September 12, 2022 - 56.5km Distance 583m Elevation It was wonderful waking up in a huge bed and seeing sunrise across the water (and...
Day 24 – We Made it to Portugal September 13, 2022 - 104.5km Distance 700m Elevation We had a nice long sleep last night, from around 9pm till 6:50am, just interrupted by...
Day 25 – Tourists in Porto September 14, 2022 - 52.3km Distance 355m Elevation It was another loud night of snorers at the albergue last night. We need to find...
Day 26 – A Five Star Detour to the Douro September 15, 2022 - 56.9km Distance 619m Elevation We had a nice sleep in the small hotel room last night. Waking up was made...
Day 27 – Leaving Dreamland September 16, 2022 - 54.1km Distance 876m Elevation We woke up to our incredible view out over the Douro River and, to get the...
Day 28 – Flats in the Flats September 17, 2022 - 99.4km Distance 523m Elevation It was another foggy and slightly chilly morning – foggy to the extent that condensation would...
Day 29 – Big Push September 18, 2022 - 138.6km Distance 910m Elevation We had planned to skip our rest day in Porto in order to have shorter days...
Day 30 – From Base Layers to Bath Robes September 19, 2022 - 68.1km Distance 770m Elevation It was tough waking up with our 5:50am alarm clock today. We were both still quite...
Day 31 – Rest Day in Cascais September 20, 2022 - 0km Distance 0m Elevation Easy day today. We went for breakfast at 7am and 10:15am (getting a small scolding the...
Day 32 – Trip Complete September 21, 2022 - 29.1km Distance 121m Elevation We awoke from our last nice hotel stay and enjoyed our final fancy hotel breakfast of...
Day 33 to 35 – Lisbon Sightseeing September 22, 2022 - 0km Distance 0m Elevation These last few days were pretty relaxed. Day 33 we went to Lidl for milk and...