Galicia - Cantabria - Asturias - Basque Country
(Spain)

In August 2022, I cycled from Santiago de Compostela to Bilbao. The total days of riding were 7, plus the day of arrival in Santiago and a couple of days spent in Bilbao at the end.

First positive remark, weather conditions were great; in August that part of Europe is hot, but not stupidly hot like all the Mediterranean area that is impractical for bike packing in July and August, at least. If you are unlucky, wind will make 1% inclines feel like 6%, but you will not melt to the ground.

Now one of the best things... I was really impressed by the quality of the roads and the respect of drivers for cyclists. The road was always wide, the tarmac was good and the drivers always respected a safety distance when overtaking. The last part might sound obvious to many, but as an Italian guy, I was expecting a situation similar to what I had at home. Happy to be wrong, and kudos to Spain!

For this trip, I decided not to sleep in campsites, but in hostels or Airbnbs. They can be found for cheap; I reserved them all a couple of weeks before starting the trip, but maybe I could have done it while doing the trip. In the bigger cities, hostels can be found pretty easily.

Few stats from the trip:

861 km
10442 m ↗
41 h
7 days

The bike setup

I did this bike trip with my beloved Cannondale Caad 3. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture... Sorry, I am not a social media guy, not yet. The bike ran the original Campagnolo Veloce 9 speed, the crankset was a 50-34 compact Miche, and the cassette was a 11-34 Sram, that could work the rear derailleur using a rear-mech hanger extender. The wheelset was a set Vision Team 30, with 25 mm tires. I installed a cheapo flared handlebar from Decathlon. One might argue that it was not the most comfortable or suitable setup for bikepacking, but hey, for a broke PhD student, it did the job.

I haveTopeak bags: a 15 L saddle bag, 6 L top tube bag, 12 L handlebar bag, plus a 1 L bag on the top of the top tube and another bag next to the stem from decathlon. Great bags for bikepacking, but looking back I have no idea how I could use all that space... Probably I simply didn't.

And yeah, back then I did not have a Garmin computer and used the watch, which by the way works just great.

Day 1 / Santiago de Compostela - Muxia (127 km)

First the ride was from Santiago de Compostela to Muxia, passing by Cabo Finisterre

Day 2 / Muxia - A Coruna (96 km)

Great vibes in Coruna, too bad I was there only for the night.

Day 3 / A Coruna - Foz (136 km)

Great ride. The ride is mostly through natural parks and protected areas, with no traffic, and no people around. I could tell when I entered a local bar that they were not used to seeing tourists or foreigners.

Day 4 / Foz - Cudillero (127 km)

Nice ride, ending in a wonderful place, Cudillero. What a nice small town, lying on the rocks in front of the sea. Quite a lively town. The day ended with a plate of pulpo and asturian cider; what do you call a great day?

Day 5 / Cudillero - L'infiestu (92 km)

Day 6 / L'infiestu - Santander (160 km)

Tough beautiful ride along the Parcque de Picos de Europa; for a moment I considered turning towards the Angliru, then came to my senses again. Beautiful scenery. Santander looked like a nice lively city.