So while it was only a short one, a terrific and varied tour. The mountainous terrain loomed larger here than any of my previous trips, even working through the Alps in Austria. This had the happy result of making pretty much the whole route incredibly scenic - it certainly made for some hard days though, even though I rarely felt destroyed at the end of them as has sometimes been the case in the past.

Let's take a look at some comparative numbers. I've got all sorts of statistics now, garnered from my Garmin watch - some of them quite surprising. But first the standard ones:

Total kilometres ridden: 745km
Total hours in the saddle: 63
Full touring days: 10
Mean kilometres/day: 74.5km
Mean speed: 11.2 kph (7 mph)
Mean hours/day riding: 6hr 9m
Mean hours/day total: 7hr 15m

Well, part of this isn't surprising - it was a short tour, with lots of short days as I climbed significant passes, sometimes offroad - so it's not a major shock that it's considerably under 1000km total. 

What is surprising is just how much longer days I worked in the saddle this tour compared to Austria (over 6 hours in the saddle per day, or 7 total compared to under 5 in Austria!) - and how ... bloody ... slow ... I was. 7mph really is an astonishingly low average speed, even considering long periods of climbing at 4mph and off-road stretches. I'm surprised I stayed upright. This is frankly a continuation of the trend where I seem to get slower and slower every year: five years ago in Sweden I averaged over 18kph! My main reassurance is surely it's just not possible for me to get any slower now. I'm genuinely going to think about whether I can lighten my load a bit.

Meters climbed total: 12,279m
Meters climbed/day: 1,197m
Total descent: 11,995m
Biggest continuous climb: The San Glorio pass, 1,324m over 26 km (5.8%)
Steepest grade: Certainly >25% climbing up to the dam beyond Tudanca

This is the flipside: these numbers are huge, really big compared to Austria and the Black Forest and actually bigger per day than the Czech Republic. Differing from all of them is most of this height was gained by long, steep and relentless pass climbing. I was really happy with how I got through these, and didn't feel destroyed by them by any means. But here's the real kicker:

Biggest climbing day: To Santiago! (1,740m)

What?! Yep, that last leisurely day, starting at dawn and pedaling serenely into Santiago and then to the airport, I actually racked up most meters of all. This just goes to prove something I've observed again and again: you will gain far more elevation riding rolling terrain than big mountains. Moreover, it is much easier. 

Here we have some interesting (and/or disgusting) "physiological" metrics:

Calorie burn/day: 2,027 kcal
Total Calories burnt: 20,768 kcal
Weight lost: 5.0 kg
Average riding heartrate: 129 bpm
Total sweat loss: 36.4 liters (eugh. Thanks for that, Garmin) 
Body fails: All minor injuries. Sprained ankle from falling off, scratched up arms from climbing a water vat. Slight sneezing cold.

I'm really amazed and pleased looking at my heart rate and hence exertion levels. Through whole intense touring days, my heart barely raised above "mild exercise" levels (the highest rate in intense exercise is about 180bpm for me). I could have been sitting on the sofa. So basically my cardiovascular system was just pottering along, even if my muscles were straining their utmost. 

This is good news as it suggests that I'm still pretty damn fit, and (i) might well explain why I was so bloody slow and (ii) why I felt pretty good even at the end of the day. The Garmin was suggesting even at the end of long rides "meh, is what you're doing really exercise?" - I beg to differ!

The calorie burn is certainly pretty big, but I suspect is a pretty significant underestimate (the Garmin has no idea I'm trying to lug 20kg of stuff over these mountain passes, it just looks at my heart rate, speed, elevation etc). Certainly to lose 5kg of weight suggests something more like 35 thousand calories burnt. While I probably starved myself a little too - I was too busy replacing those 36 liters of water I sweated out - I suspect I burnt a bit more too.

Incidentally, I find the (disgusting) "sweat" metric uncannily accurate based upon how much water I needed to drink. It takes ambient temperature into account - some days I really did drink 5+ liters.

Punctures: Zero! (the record continues - for the 5th international tour!!!).
Mechanical faults (that made me stop to repair): Not one, again. I barely even inflated the tyres. I dropped the chain a couple of times, had to tighted bar bag and kickstand.
Losses: Trouser clip, bottle, butter knife, bike shorts, phone 
Gains: None

I've mentioned this before, but I really was amazed at the Shift's performance. It's almost comical how little I have to maintain it. Also, whoever designed those Marathon tyres deserves a medal.

I really did very poorly on aggregate on losing stuff this tour. I didn't even find any baseball caps by the side of the road this time. Saying that, I don't recall seeing any Spaniards wearing baseball caps, so maybe that's why.

Falling off: Yeah, I fell off "properly" for the first time in ages (albeit at about 2mph) on the very rocky off-road section up on the moorland above Tudanca, and (it transpires) sprained my ankle pretty thoroughly. It actually never hurt that much or stopped me riding (or even walking), but it bruised spectacularly it's been incredibly bulbous ever since. I've been soaking it in ice last night. No real worries as there's no mechanical difficulties.
Car trouble: Wow, the Spanish are great drivers and really care about cyclists. If anything, I'd occasionally get a bit frustrated when they would spend ages overtaking, but I can't fault their care and - maybe surprising to me - how well they followed the rules about leaving a 1.5m gap, not overtaking on blind bends etc. Nobody cut me up/did something dodgy because they didn't see me/honked me (other than in greeting).
Bad road: None where I felt in danger. Mostly the National N roads were just fine, and had a big shoulder so it was pretty much like having your own lane. Some of the nasty climbs e.g. on the coast actually had a coned off should, specially for cyclists. The minor roads were largely empty and I could ride all over them. The "B" type roads were probably the dodgiest, having no shoulder and occasionally being busy e.g. around A Coruna. But the conscientious driving made this fine.
Navigation errors: Combining the paper map with the watch-based GPS is a recipe for navigational nirvana. Only once, when trying to exit the industrial estate in Santander, did I genuinely become lost. Moreover, I wasn't just following an algorithmic voice in my ear, or on rails - it really felt like I was in the driving seat, and I could just glance at the GPS when unsure. The Garmin also was great for that "last mile" navigation, of taking me to the hotel or campsite. All offline, no phones required!

Number of nights camped: 6
Nights in pilgrims albergues: 1
Nights in hotels: 3
Nights in fancy Paradors: 2
Average campsite price: 12€
Wild camps: 1
Temperature range: From 8°C at 800m in Tudanca, to 30°C above Foz
Rainy days: 1!

Just a great range of accommodation, all of it really good value and interesting. I really love to mix it up, camping a lot of the time and the campsites were great. Having said that having the flexibility to wild camp in remote areas was a boon, and staying at the Paradors and pilgrims' hostels was a great experience (in very different ways).

My tent performed like a champ again - I've barely mentioned it based on how little trouble it gave me. My recombined pole was fine, and the couple of small holes I sealed are actually tougher now than the rest of the tent. I just don't worry about normal intensity rain in that tent - I know I'll stay perfectly dry.