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Moto on the Camino Frances

joan.

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
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I have walked thr camino from SJPDP To Santiago and am looking for info regarding the possibility of taking my wife on our Moto as close to the Camino Frances as possible. I noted when walking that some of the tracks had locals using them in cars or vans. Some also looked like the dust roads in OZ.
Info regarding the areas that allow traffic away from the main carriagway would be helpfull. Thanks in anticipation.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Hi @joan. You might consider looking at one of the "Cycling the Camino" guides, or just spending some serious time on Google Maps plotting yourselves a route.

It is true that the Camino frequently parallels highways such as the N-135, NA_1110, N-120 etc. And indeed stretches, particulary across the Meseta are on un-metalled but made roads. A motoring route that would visit all the key points and highlights of the Camino would be relatively easy to compile with a little research. Eunate, Alto de Perdon, Irache,Castrojeriz, the Elvis bar, Cruz Ferol, Manjarin & Vilar de Donas are all easily accessible by road.

Happy Planning
 
When the Camino Frances was revived in its modern form in the 1970s and 1980s there was a fairly effective de facto segregation of pedestrians and cyclists built-in as almost all cyclists used road-touring bikes and followed parallel sealed roads whenever the yellow arrows directed walkers onto rough dirt tracks. The preferred bikes of the period simply could not handle such terrain. The advent and increasing dominance of all-terrain bikes and a great increase in numbers walking and cycling the Caminos have combined and led to increasing conflicts of interest and occasionally physical injuries as walkers and cyclists now share paths for which those who chose and marked the route never intended or imagined such dual use. I do not think that adding more motor vehicles to the mix is likely to improve matters. I have no objection in principle to people making a pilgrimage to Santiago by any means of transport. But I think that it would be more appropriate and considerate to recognize that it would be a different pilgrimage experience and to choose a route more suited to the mode of transport.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I have walked thr camino from SJPDP To Santiago and am looking for info regarding the possibility of taking my wife on our Moto as close to the Camino Frances as possible. I noted when walking that some of the tracks had locals using them in cars or vans. Some also looked like the dust roads in OZ.
Info regarding the areas that allow traffic away from the main carriagway would be helpfull. Thanks in anticipation.
G'day mate (and Happy Christmas, hope its not too hot).
I have both cycled and walked the Frances (cycled from Pamplona and walked from St Jean). As part of the cycling preparation I obtained a copy of the Michelin Guide : Camino de Santiago. As a camino walking guide it is, imho, very basic (if you compare it to Brierley's gude). But what it does have is virtually all the major and minor/local roads that parallel the Frances,. You will know from your own experiences that there a some really rough sections that were even difficult to walk, there are others where you can see the major motor way running beside you; for example Estela to Los Arcos or Santo Domingo to Belorado. Of course the meseta is a local road you can virtually drive the whole way from Burgos to Leon (the guide does have a diversion around the Castrojeriz hill). You can also drive Leon to Astorga / Rabanal / Molinaseca to on to Santiago. In fact when I cycled from Rabanal back in 2015 I used the local roads virtually all the way to Santiago as the Camino path was just unsuitable, especially in the busy sections.
Cheers
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
G'day mate (and Happy Christmas, hope its not too hot).
I have both cycled and walked the Frances (cycled from Pamplona and walked from St Jean). As part of the cycling preparation I obtained a copy of the Michelin Guide : Camino de Santiago. As a camino walking guide it is, imho, very basic (if you compare it to Brierley's gude). But what it does have is virtually all the major and minor/local roads that parallel the Frances,. You will know from your own experiences that there a some really rough sections that were even difficult to walk, there are others where you can see the major motor way running beside you; for example Estela to Los Arcos or Santo Domingo to Belorado. Of course the meseta is a local road you can virtually drive the whole way from Burgos to Leon (the guide does have a diversion around the Castrojeriz hill). You can also drive Leon to Astorga / Rabanal / Molinaseca to on to Santiago. In fact when I cycled from Rabanal back in 2015 I used the local roads virtually all the way to Santiago as the Camino path was just unsuitable, especially in the busy sections.
Cheers
Thanks. Too hot in December in the UK !!,,
 
When the Camino Frances was revived in its modern form in the 1970s and 1980s there was a fairly effective de facto segregation of pedestrians and cyclists built-in as almost all cyclists used road-touring bikes and followed parallel sealed roads whenever the yellow arrows directed walkers onto rough dirt tracks. The preferred bikes of the period simply could not handle such terrain. The advent and increasing dominance of all-terrain bikes and a great increase in numbers walking and cycling the Caminos have combined and led to increasing conflicts of interest and occasionally physical injuries as walkers and cyclists now share paths for which those who chose and marked the route never intended or imagined such dual use. I do not think that adding more motor vehicles to the mix is likely to improve matters. I have no objection in principle to people making a pilgrimage to Santiago by any means of transport. But I think that it would be more appropriate and considerate to recognize that it would be a different pilgrimage experience and to choose a route more suited to the mode of transport.
Thanks for your comment. Why do you assume that everyone on the Camino is on a Pilgrimage. There are many diverse reasons why people choose to travel a Camino.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
I have walked thr camino from SJPDP To Santiago and am looking for info regarding the possibility of taking my wife on our Moto as close to the Camino Frances as possible. I noted when walking that some of the tracks had locals using them in cars or vans. Some also looked like the dust roads in OZ.
Info regarding the areas that allow traffic away from the main carriagway would be helpfull. Thanks in anticipation.
What time of year were you thinking of? What kind of bike? Some of those "dust roads" get churned into thick mud when wet, add the chaff and stalks from freshly harvested wheat and it will bind to your wheels like er, chewing gum to a blanket ;)

It's been a while since my last motorbike tour but I used to find that the Tyre route planning app was useful (written by a motorbike riding Dutch priest!) - the resulting planned route can be exported to TomTom, Garmin etc.

As always, Google Earth is your friend - you can download various routes from this Forum's resources page and compare the footsloggers' route to roads you might wish to try. There's one comprehensive file called map_of_camino_s_cammino_caminho_via_at_spanje_spain_espa_a_spagna_portugal_portugallo(1).kml
buried somewhere which contains every conceivable pilgrim route in Iberia and beyond - I'll root around for it when I have more time.

Have fun - planning is half the adventure!
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your comment. Why do you assume that everyone on the Camino is on a Pilgrimage. There are many diverse reasons why people choose to travel a Camino.
I was trying to make the point that my objection to someone using a motor vehicle to travel the dirt track sections of the Camino is not driven by a personal narrow definition of pilgrimage as exclusively a walking exercise. I believe a pilgrim may travel by any means they choose. Similarly one may walk every step of the way and never consider oneself a pilgrim. That is irrelevant to my argument. The Camino Frances has been deliberately routed along dirt tracks and unsealed roads where possible to minimise encounters with vehicles for aesthetic and safety reasons. Clearly local people need access to their homes and land and often make use of these trails. That is inevitable. But I feel that it would undermine the experience for the great majority if motor users actively seek out these sections for long-distance journeys when they could as easily and more safely follow alternate routes on sealed roads between the towns and villages that make up the Camino Frances.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
What time of year were you thinking of? What kind of bike? Some of those "dust roads" get churned into thick mud when wet, add the chaff and stalks from freshly harvested wheat and it will bind to your wheels like er, chewing gum to a blanket ;)

It's been a while since my last motorbike tour but I used to find that the Tyre route planning app was useful (written by a motorbike riding Dutch priest!) - the resulting planned route can be exported to TomTom, Garmin etc.

As always, Google Earth is your friend - you can download various routes from this Forum's resources page and compare the footsloggers' route to roads you might wish to try. There's one comprehensive file called map_of_camino_s_cammino_caminho_via_at_spanje_spain_espa_a_spagna_portugal_portugallo(1).kml
buried somewhere which contains every conceivable pilgrim route in Iberia and beyond - I'll root around for it when I have more time.

Have fun - planning is half the adventure!
Thank you. If possible spring would be my ideal time as it's not too hot. Can't cope in too warm conditions.
 
Thanks for your comment. Why do you assume that everyone on the Camino is on a Pilgrimage. There are many diverse reasons why people choose to travel a Camino.
I was trying to make the point that my objection to someone using a motor vehicle to travel the dirt track sections of the Camino is not driven by a personal narrow definition of pilgrimage as exclusively a walking exercise. I believe a pilgrim may travel by any means they choose. Similarly one may walk every step of the way and never consider oneself a pilgrim. That is irrelevant to my argument. The Camino Frances has been deliberately routed along dirt tracks and unsealed roads where possible to minimise encounters with vehicles for aesthetic and safety reasons. Clearly local people need access to their homes and land and often make use of these trails. That is inevitable. But I feel that it would undermine the experience for the great majority if motor users actively seek out these sections for long-distance journeys when they could as easily and more safely follow alternate routes on sealed roads between the towns and villages that make up the Camino Frances.
You always express it so much better than I could 😎
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Thanks for your comment. Why do you assume that everyone on the Camino is on a Pilgrimage. There are many diverse reasons why people choose to travel a Camino.

Well, that/those Caminos end in Santiago, at the tomb of the apostle Saint James, the destination of that pilgrimage ...
BC SY
 
Thanks for your comment. Why do you assume that everyone on the Camino is on a Pilgrimage. There are many diverse reasons why people choose to travel a Camino.
I can't speak for Bradypus (and I see that he has already spoken for himself) but I think using the word "pilgrimage" for the act of travelling the Camino is not unexpected. The Camino is, after all, known first and foremost as a pilgrimage route.

For example, the Wikipedia entry for the Camino begins:
The Camino de Santiago (Latin: Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; Galician: O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of Saint James among other names, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried.

When I choose to travel a pilgrim's way to a pilgrim's destination, it isn't surprising to me to find the word "pilgrimage" used for the journey, even when my motivation is not religious. There are plenty of other examples in English of the word "pilgrimage" used in non-religious contexts. How much more so should I expect it when I am on a route famous for pilgrimages.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.

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