BICIGRINA

 "Bicigrina?  What's that?", I hear you say.

A bicigrina is a female pilgrim on a bike.  As of now, that's me, virtually.  It's a hot summer, and I can't handle walking in the heat. I have a lot of kilometres to make up and it seemed like getting on the bike, an approved method for the Compostela, was a better bet if I actually want to complete my makeup camino. 

I would like to say this right up front.  I don't even like bikes.  My expansive rear end requires a tractor seat.  Even with a thick gel pad over the standard seat on my now ancient mountain bike (sic), my seat bones hurt.   My hands go numb fairly rapidly, and I'm in danger of cutting off the circulation to my groin. 

 And then there are the gear changes.  I'm crap at changing gears.  I have small hands, so it's awkward at any time, and I keep forgetting which way is up so I sometimes find myself near the crest of a very tiring hill suddenly without any gears at all, necessitating a clumsy dismount at best.  This foible of mine is what keeps me from taking up scuba diving, or driving a stickshift or a motorcycle, or skydiving.  I just don't play well with technology.

However....

It is mighty handy to do in an hour and a half what would take a full day on foot.  I am eating up the virtual kilometres; and after this morning's 14.29 km ride I finally made it to Virtual Leon.  At the time, I was sorry to have missed Mansilla de las Mulas because I was taken by the romance of graceful squares and medieval walls mentioned in my guidebook: I had planned to stop there overnight, but when I saw the big box stores on the outskirts of the town, I changed my mind.  I had never planned to walk the stretch from Mansilla to Leon anyway, since I'd heard it was both suburban (and thus pavement, which I don't enjoy walking on) and dangerous, as the route lies alongside a major road.  Back in real life, since I as already in a taxi, I decided to go straight to Leon.  

And here I am.  Sore butt, tired legs, sweaty, but feeling accomplished.  I didn't have to get off the bike once today, despite big hills (sic) on my route.  I'm getting stronger every day.  Did I tell you about my plan to ride from one end of the Hebrides to the other on my bike?  You know what they say: even the longest journey starts with a single step!  Ultreia!