Camino de Santiago by bike from Nájera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

The second La Rioja stage of the Camino Francés on a gravel bike: short and very rewarding. You leave Nájera, at the foot of its red cliffs and the monastery of Santa María la Real, and climb along a track through pine woods and vineyards to Azofra. From there the way opens into a long dirt straight between cereal fields, passes the old jurisdictional pillar (rollo) and reaches Cirueña, next to the golf course. The last stretch descends gently to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, where you finish in front of the cathedral, the one with the rooster and the hen. The surface is mostly wide, compacted track with no technical sections; in the rain it gets muddy around the farmland. There's water and bars in Azofra, Cirueña and Santo Domingo. You share the way with pilgrims: slow down, call out when overtaking and always give way. The best seasons are spring and autumn; in summer, set off early, because there's hardly any shade between Azofra and Cirueña. It's a one-way route: plan your return by bus or by road.

Track based on an in-house design over OpenStreetMap (ODbL).