Total distance: 103.1 km. Total climb: 1,335 m.

A hot, tiring ride from Puente La Reina. Highway construction at the beginning of the planned route forces us to take a detour on secondary roads, adding 15 km and bringing the total distance to about 100 km. Leg 1 (38 km) through farmland to medieval Estella, which has two large churches and specimens of medieval civic architecture. By the time I finish looking at the landmarks everyone else has moved on. John-Giebler, serving as sweep today, accompanies me on leg 2. At the Monasteria de Iraché we take a quick walk through the cloister, which have unusually high ceilings, and peek into the large Romanesque church. The real curiosity here, however, is the fountain outside. Two taps emerge from a stone wall; one dispenses water and one flows with wine. Although drinking wine while bicycling on a hot afternoon does not sound wise to me, John-Giebler suggests putting a small quantity of wine in a water bottle and diluting it with three or four parts of water. “Just to provide a few extra calories for the climb ahead,” he explains. He shares his crackers and cheese with me, and we set out.

Here we diverge from the Camino de Santiago to detour for the night into the Rioja region, renowned for its wines. The 34 km leg to the officially designated lunch stop at Santa Cruz de Campeza takes us through flat, arid land. A moderate downgrade to the edge of the Rio Ega provides a refreshing breeze, but then the climb resumes.

At Santa Cruz de Campeza we pause in the shade of a plane tree to sip limonada. Just as it seems to me that a late afternoon breeze is picking up we set off for the steepest part of the climb, from about 600 m to 1000 m in elevation. Indeed there is a slight wind, but more important, the sun’s advanced position allows the trees to cast enough shade onto the road for us to profit. Still, the climb is so hard that I feel heat building up on the top of my head. To cool off I try dribbling a bit of cool water from one of my bottles (not the one containing diluted wine) through the vents on my helmet. The first sensation I notice is of warm water trickling past my ears; either my helmet or my cranium must have warmed it. As the air flows, though, evaporation cools my head.

The climb ends at a set of huge modern windmills (like the ones at home near Livermore), lined up along the ridge to take advantage of strong prevailing winds. Here John-Giebler and I take advantage of the potential energy we stored during the climb. We enjoy about 15 km of downgrade. Paradoxically, this is one ride that seems to me to have more downhill than uphill. A downhill speed of 50 – 65 kph gives me just enough momentum to sustain my motion through the occasional brief upgrade. On the final stretch entering La Guardia I happen upon a few serious Spanish cyclists in full outfit. I join them for a final dash into town.

After a feast of a dinner at the cellar and restaurant of Mayor de Migueloa, I am more exhausted than I have been in a long time.