65. Santiago de Compostela to Portomarin 

How about a triple-tonner to start! (Just!)

Hahaha!!! Not intended at all! But these things happen.

And this after Shennae arrived in Collioure fresh from Belize with a lurgy….chesty cough…and too little sleep. What a star to have battled on! (..a bit grumpy…but not surprising really!)

The day started badly. A deflationary problem! My back tyre was well and truly flat. Alas! For the last six weeks of riding we have had a painfully slow leak from the rear tyre of the Merida! That seems to have been fixed…with the problem simply shifting to the Lapierre!

Having said that…this was no slow-burning issue. It was unridable. So I pumped the tyre up again….ready for our 2km ride to the bike shop. …and twenty minutes later…it was unridable once again! Re-inflated…we raced to the bike shop!!

Felt a bit too like the day prior to the start of the trip back in April! A stressful start!

It is strange really…for one might think that after so many stages of epic bike riding that one would not stress. But…every start is as stressful as the very first ride! For you know what can go wrong! And a leaking tubeless tyre is one of the most frustrating!! 

We had planned for an early start…always good!…but our bike shop did not open until 9.15 (& even then especially early just for us!)? They did their magic (well changed the valve)…and it did last all day…just!!..but it still meant 5at we did not leave until after ten! 

A lovely ride…mostly off road.

Often joining the camino route..

And otherwise just following farm tracks etc.

And here, our track was interrupted by a new motorway!! Thankfully not open yet!!

It turned into a long and big day..so were both suitably knackered by the time we arrived at Portomarin.

A pleasant wee town….very much focused on the camino and its peregrinos!

But beers were cold….and food good!

Great accommodation….

….except for the fact that the one bedroom apartment…with sofa bed….was actually just a studio unit, with the ‘bedroom’ partitioned off with a screen! Not a great start…but Shennae is well-prepared…with ace ear-plugs!!