Mad cycle from Ireland?

[Xali1970]

I'm looking for advice. I've been planning on cycling to Santiago fro Ireland :Roscoff down to Basque Country, cross the Pyrenees onto the Norte to Santiago and back starting end November.
What challenges aside from sore knees and cold weather gear do I need to plan for?

 

[Penbaysail]

Black ice, snow, short amount of daylight, relatively few albergues open, treacherous mountain passes and downhills, blustery winds, salt corrosion of your bike components, hypothermia, being hit by skidding cars, and social isolation. If you know all that and go anyway, you’re a braver man than I.

 

[Antomuchacho]

Respect my friend!! Tòg a bògie

 

[Penbaysail]

I meant no disrespect. I live in a cold climate and cycle & camp in the winter. It’s not for everyone, and most of my friends think I’m daft. Still, I would give serious pause to a long cycling trip in the winter in mountainous terrain alongside cars.

 

[Xali1970]

Black ice, snow, short amount of daylight, relatively few albergues open, treacherous mountain passes and downhills, blustery winds, salt corrosion of your bike components, hypothermia, being hit by skidding cars, and social isolation. If you know all that and go anyway, you’re a braver man than I.

Didn't think of those...
Thank you
Still planning on it but with more caution and an open mind.

 

[Xali1970]

I meant no disrespect. I live in a cold climate and cycle & camp in the winter. It’s not for everyone, and most of my friends think I’m daft. Still, I would give serious pause to a long cycling trip in the winter in mountainous terrain alongside cars.

None taken.

 

[Steve from Hebden Bridge]

Good morning my friend, do you realise that you will be climbing 1500 mts ascent, in unpredictable weather? I take it you will be carrying your gear in panniers. Please seriously re think your plans. I lived in the heart of the Pennines for the vast majority of my life and thought I was good on the hills but nothing prepared me for my encounters on the Camino. You will have little daylight, alburgues are not abundant in the winter and where will you sleep. It can be one hell of a lonely place in winter.
Buen Camino

 

[Tandem Graham]

At a confraternity event in London early this year, I met a young woman cyclist from Scandanavia (I think) who had ridden from Pamplona to Santiago in late December. She was very strong and physically fit. She acknowledged that it had been tough and that she had sometimes to cycle further than she had planned to find accommodation but she was very positive and enthusiastic about her experience. She was seeking advice on other pilgrim routes .....
Personally, I like sunshine and views, but life would be boring if we were all the same!
Good luck with your plans, but be careful on the descents!

 

[Xali1970]

ok, after a good thinking over I'll do the via de la plata instead...
thanks everyone for your input

 

[Former member 49149]

not that I know a lot, but sounds sane to me from the responses you have been given. Buen Camino, peregrino.

 

[Kat Kostrzewska]

ok, after a good thinking over I'll do the via de la plata instead...
thanks everyone for your input

Because of time of the year I also think that Via de la Plata is a better idea. Camino Norte means for a cyclist constant climbing for over 800 km, not much fun in the snow. It is also not overcrowded even in the high season. I did it four years ago in the autumn and I met one other cyclist. Yes, ONE - chef from Paris, who decided to come back to Spain. In Galicia I met maybe four Spanish cyclists. I don't think that did the whole route. If you want fully enjoy Norte do it in season