Allen, Nathan, and the Road to Santiago

We left Rabanal del Camino and continued the final push up to Cruz de Ferro, it was an invigorating climb, but a manageable one given our many days of riding up to this point. Cruz de Ferro was the summit of the 3rd major mountain range, and the place where you officially left both the Meseta, and your inner demons behind.

Many people carried rocks from home and left them on this rock pile at Cruz de Ferro symbolizing the change that was occuring in them as they journeyed along the camino to Santiago. It was another spot for reflection, and the symbolic leaving behind of one's old self in preparation for the arrival in Santiago.

Allen left behind the shell that had been tied to his paniers since St. Jean Pied de Port, and felt as though every fear one may experience in life, including the fear of death, could be transcended. Nathan, left a rock he had carried since the Pyrenees, and had his rear breaks tightenend by yet another Hollander before embarcing on the treacherous descent from Cruz de Ferro, and as a result, was finally able to leave the Pyrenees behind.

The cycling book we carried best describes the way down from Cruz de Ferro..."the road descends almost 1000m in about 12km. It is very steep in places, with blind hairpin bends. Make sure your brakes are in good order and avoid overheating the rims..." Treacherous indeed, yet exhilarating! By the time we reached Ponferrada and the bottom of the descent, our hands and wrists ached from squeezing the brakes so hard, the rims were generating enough heat to burn to the touch and to warm our frozen fingers, and our brakes were little more than stubbs, a troubling thought given that we had many more descents to tackle.