Using Alinker on Camino Frances

[Lalawawa]

Has anyone got any experience using an Alinker to help them walk?

 

[SabsP]

Has anyone got any experience using an Alinker to help them walk?

Hi and welcome here on this forum.

I did a search for the Alinker because I was not familiar with it.

The Alinker - A radically different walking bike - Alinker shop (US)

The Alinker is a radically different walking bike that keeps you active, mobile and engaged socially. Together we move differently.

www.thealinker.com

 

[Tincatinker]

Has anyone got any experience using an Alinker to help them walk?

It strikes me that the Alinker would be totally impractical on most Caminos. Or are you asking if anyone has ever used one? In which case you should refer to the website linked by @SabineP above.

 

[Lalawawa]

It strikes me that the Alinker would be totally impractical on most Caminos. Or are you asking if anyone has ever used one? In which case you should refer to the website linked by @SabineP above.

Yes, I'm very familiar with the website. I'm asking if anyone has done any part of the Camino with this walk assist device.

 

[Tincatinker]

Much of the Camino paths are a combination of muddy farm track, asphalt minor roads, rocky paths, grass track & cobblestone. A much more challenging environment than any portrayed in the promotional videos. There are some serious elevations and steep descents.

It would be surprise if anyone had any experience of using such a novel and newly promoted device on Camino. The final 100km from Sarria, Lugo or Tui might be doable with adequate support but I remain with my view that the design is impractical for a Camino.

 

[trecile]

I agree with @Tincatinker - it would be very difficult to use the Alinker on the Camino.

 

[David Tallan]

Much of the Camino paths are a combination of muddy farm track, asphalt minor roads, rocky paths, grass track & cobblestone. A much more challenging environment than any portrayed in the promotional videos. There are some serious elevations and steep descents.

It would be surprise if anyone had any experience of using such a novel and newly promoted device on Camino. The final 100km from Sarria, Lugo or Tui might be doable with adequate support but I remain with my view that the design is impractical for a Camino.

To be fair, these same environments are also a similar challenge to those in wheelchairs, and we know that people have done Caminos in wheelchairs. It may be impractical to do so, but with determination (and perhaps some assistance) it can be done.

That said, there are many more people with wheelchairs than there are with the Alinker. I haven't heard of anyone using one and wouldn't be surprised if the Camino is awaiting its first.

 

[davebugg]

A Warm Welcome to the Forum

As indicated by other responses, the physical issues that create the need for an Alinker, would indicate that even WITH an Alinker it would be enormously challenging to impossible without some significant modifications to a planned route like the Frances, or without a number of volunteers to help with mobility with the device.

Wheelchair users tend to have some support to deal with difficult terrain and steep uphill grades. I would think that those difficulties, along with the need to also get the weight and bulk of the Alinker through such terrain issues, would make obtaining helpers a part of the planning.

There are generous spirits that would help a struggling pilgrim, but I would hesitate to rely on such being always within reach.

 

[David Tallan]

A Warm Welcome to the Forum

As indicated by other responses, the physical issues that create the need for an Alinker, would indicate that even WITH an Alinker it would be enormously challenging to impossible without some significant modifications to a planned route like the Frances, or without a number of volunteers to help with mobility with the device.

Wheelchair users tend to have some support to deal with difficult terrain and steep uphill grades. I would think that those difficulties, along with the need to also get the weight and bulk of the Alinker through such terrain issues, would make obtaining helpers a part of the planning.

There are generous spirits that would help a struggling pilgrim, but I would hesitate to rely on such being always within reach.

Sometimes there are alternate marked routes for bicycle pilgrims. I remember reading of a wheelchair user who did the Camino without bringing volunteers with her, although she was not always on the same footpaths as the walking pilgrims, taking nearby roads (I expect not major highways) sometimes. This kind of strategy would likely make a Camino more practical for someone with an Alinker.

 

[oursonpolaire]

I have a friend who uses an Alinker but I have never seen one on the Camino. I think that, like a wheelchair, there are stretches which would not be easily (if at all) traversed, and that it might be helpful if the user had some form of support with volunteers or companions.

 

[Marbe2]

I watched the video. The Alinker does not not appear to have a breaking system…. unless one intends to use their feet to be the brake when declining steep and sometimes quite bumpy downhills. Maybe I missed something? If one is able to do this on uneven steep inclines then they may not need- (this apparatus) it at all?

I would consider that it might be hazardous on some types of terrain for folks with ambulatory issues to walk the camino with an Alinker, unless alternative routes could be mapped out.

 

[wayfarer]

If you check the photos there does seem to be a breaking system in some of them, you can see the cable and what appears to be a break lever.

 

[Marbe2]

If you check the photos there does seem to be a breaking system in some of them, you can see the cable and what appears to be a break lever.

Yes Wayfarer, in the still pictures I do see the cable and a handbrake. Even with a brake, an alternative route would need to be found for a number-of sections of the CF, or the pilgrim would likely need to use another means of transport at times.

 

[wayfarer]

Yes Wayfarer, in the still pictures I do see the cable and a handbrake. Even with a brake, an alternative route would need to be found for a number-of sections of the CF, or the pilgrim would likely need to use another means of transport at times.

Totally agree.

 

[camino.ninja]

Much of the Camino paths are a combination of muddy farm track, asphalt minor roads, rocky paths, grass track & cobblestone. A much more challenging environment than any portrayed in the promotional videos. There are some serious elevations and steep descents.

It would be surprise if anyone had any experience of using such a novel and newly promoted device on Camino. The final 100km from Sarria, Lugo or Tui might be doable with adequate support but I remain with my view that the design is impractical for a Camino.

I've seen people in wheelchairs completely paralyzed from the neck and down doing a full Camino Francés. And I would say everything is possible in that regard if you really want it. And from the perspective of the wheelchair, this might make a lot more sense than us easy walkers might be able to comprehend.

 

[Gerard Griffin]

I very much admire the spirit of the OP and I've no doubt that if anyone was brave enough to make the attempt there would be no shortage of helpers willing to push, pull or carry as needed ... And in the few really tough places, a bus to the next stage would see you through. The Camino is for everyone, and everyone loves to see and to help a pilgrim who refuses to allow any affliction of body, mind or spirit to stop their pilgrimage. They inspire us all. Their Camino is our Camino.

 

[summerthor]

I own an Alinker today and did the Camino from France in 2011.... well I alternated between walking and taking public transportation and ended up walking roughly half the length.

I would say that whether or not someone can use the Alinker on the Camino would depend largely on their physical abilities. For instance, I CAN walk on a flat surface about a block before I HAVE to sit down to relieve the pressure on my lower back. If there is no seat available I am going to plop on the ground!

My disabilities were with me in 2011 when I did my Camino, but not as pronounced. For me, walking with a backpack HELPED my lower back pain because it forced me to lean forward some.

There are certainly places along the Camino that would not be at all suitable for an Alinker, but if the person riding it CAN walk some (most of us can) they might be able to get off and push the trike up some of the more difficult hills. It really depends on the abilities of the Alinker rider. With a good guide book and advice from veteran Camino walkers, they may be able to do large portions of it.

I'm not one that believes you have to do the WHOLE Camino and I believe you don't have to do it in 30 days! I took 3 months to do the Camino, walking roughly half of it, and when I got to a great city like Leon or Burgos I stayed for a week and saw the sites! I know I was privileged to have so much time to stay and explore, but to me, walking into one of the great cities along the route one day and walking out the next is just plain NUTS!!!

BTW, there are less that 3000 Alinkers in the world, so we have a lot of hills to climb in just getting the world to know what that crazy BRIGHT YELLOW "thing" IS!!

 

[Philtration]

Has anyone ever surveyed the main camino routes for stretches that accommodate wheelchairs and those with limited mobility. It seems like it would be a noble project to identify a camino that combines accessible stretches connected with accessible transport between.

 

[camino.ninja]

Has anyone ever surveyed the main camino routes for stretches that accommodate wheelchairs and those with limited mobility. It seems like it would be a noble project to identify a camino that combines accessible stretches connected with accessible transport between.

I think the German yellow Outdoor book has information about the surface.

 

[C clearly]

I have added the tag "disability" to this thread. If you click on that tab (under the title at the top of this thread) you can find a lot more discussion of how people manage their disabilities while planning or walking the Camino.

 

[islandwalker]

I have added the tag "disability" to this thread. If you click on that tab (under the title at the top of this thread) you can find a lot more discussion of how people manage their disabilities while planning or walking the Camino.

Thank you, @C clearly, for the tagging you are doing that makes information like this accessible to future searchers. This seems like a little-known device, yet a great one to be aware of for all sorts of situations.

 

[Jim]

I think the German yellow Outdoor book has information about the surface.

Yes, I've seen bikers with plans in booklets/pamphlets that circumvent the steep ascents/descents and other difficult to navigate spots along the routes-- I am speaking of the French and Portugues routes. Don't know what languages they were printed, but nonetheless, a map is just about a map in any language.

 

[SabsP]

I think the German yellow Outdoor book has information about the surface.

Yes the very good books/ maps from Conrad Stein Verlag.

Pilgerführer online kaufen

Beliebte Pilgerführer online bestellen. Alle unsere Bücher bieten Alternativrouten, Höhenprofile, Karten uvm. Jetzt kaufen!

www.conrad-stein-verlag.de

 

[oursonpolaire]

Has anyone ever surveyed the main camino routes for stretches that accommodate wheelchairs and those with limited mobility. It seems like it would be a noble project to identify a camino that combines accessible stretches connected with accessible transport between.

I have a recollection of a forum member referring to a guide or document issued by the Spanish advocacy group for disabled persons. (During Camino training sessions, I advised an enquirer who had mobility issues to earth-google the trail to see what might be practical and to refer to the cyclists' guides to the Francese. An experienced volunteer offered to sit with him and go through a detailled map to identify problematic areas.)

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Has anyone got any experience using an Alinker to help them walk?

No, I haven’t, but I am blown away by the genius and perfection of this simple invention.
I have browsed the website and watched the videos. My first reaction has been: with one of these I could WALK a Camino!
I have biked multiple caminos, not because I am a cyclist but because my knees are “shot” and there is no way I could walk. (I am aware of the option to have them replaced by a surgeon with a buzz saw, but I’m a coward). As a bicigrino, I am adept at avoiding the impossible bits - the climb to and from Alto de Perdon for instance. I am incapable of pushing my bike up those inclines, let alone down the other side. Castrojeritz comes to mind too. In such circumstances I detour by road. You could do the same. Crikey, I could do the same.
It strikes me that traversing the very rough surfaces of some sections will obviously be a problem. I wonder if it is possible to fit wide tyres that can be inflated at a lower pressure, as with mountain bikes.
I have always been envious of those pilgrims who walk, particularly from the point of view of developing camaraderie with others. I say go for it. With planning, and assuming that you have some mobility on two feet, I see no reason why this will not work.