An obsession with weight - on a bike.

[Peregrinopaul]

I'm already deep into planning my next Camino, (sort of Mozarabe - Plata - Sanabres), and I'm pondering what I've learned from my previous five. As I'll be 73 by then, (at least my knees will be), weight is becoming something of an obsession. After having suffered the embarrassment of getting out of a taxi (con bicicleta) at O Cebreiro after abandoning the climb in despair, I know I have to take it seriously. That was 3 years ago. And how did I solve the problem of getting over the Route Napoleon? Simple, I brought my son along for the first week, and loaded my bags onto his bike; (he carried his own stuff in a back-pack). Check this out, taken a few km out of St Jean.



I respect the fact that walkers may have little sympathy for anyone doing the camino sitting down, but mountains do present a special problem, especially when you consider the fact that the force applied to the pedals has to raise the weight of bike, body and bags a thousand metres or so. As my knee problems prevent me from "standing" on the pedals, I am unable to use my own body-weight to advantage.
So, get the weight down, Paul.
Body-weight itself isn't an issue for me. I only weigh 58kilos, and after a bit of serious training I can expect to hit the road at 55. And I've solved the bike-weight problem by squandering too much money on a carbon-framed machine that I bring with me; that has saved me probably 7kg. Which leaves the bags.
A bike-rack and empty panniers, (I've always used Ortlieb), weigh in at close to 2kg. So, ditch them. Instead I've figured out how to rig a super-lightweight 4L Sea to Summit stuff-bags to each prong of the front fork, and another under my saddle. Plus one 2L stuff bag low on the frame near the crank for tools and phone charger.
Oh boy, I can't wait. I'll be cruising up the mountains like a ...well, 60 year old.

 

[jony jony]

Hello Pelegrinopaul....Please read my posting under the Mozarabe Camino ( Malaga to Santiago ) and you will find lots of advice about this route from people who have done the section from Malaga to Merida . I am planning this route on a bike and i am ,or will be 74 years old by then .
Last time i hired a bike , but this time i am planning to buy one from Decathlon Malaga , do the camino and give/ sell the bike away in Santiago ....so my baggage for the plane will be in Decathlon panniers and a 15ltr back pack with my sleeping bag inside, which on the camino will be strapped on the rear rack between the 2 panniers . The total weight ( as i will be taking the same "stuff" as earlier this year) ,will be 10.5 kgs which is O K for me .
I have never been a fan of baggage on the front forks on rough tracks because of the unbalanced feel it gives to the bikes steering .
I pushed my bike up many hills on the Vdlp /Sanabres route and will again next year .

Before i set off last year i did try and make a sort of wooden platform to attach to the bike rear carrier so i could then strap my backpack ( 60 lts ) to it , but the bike felt unstable as the centre of gravity was higher than with the pannier bags . I could not strap the bag down so as to remove all sideways movement when riding over rough ground even with plenty of straps , and the thought of taking 5 mins to unstrap and another 5 mins to re strap every time i needed something made my forget this idea .

As for weight and hills , i just get off and push without the slightest embarrassment ....i still get where i intended to get .

Good luck with your ride .

Regards..........John

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Last time i hired a bike , but this time i am planning to buy one from Decathlon Malaga , do the camino and give/ sell the bike away in Santiago
I have never been a fan of baggage on the front forks on rough tracks because of the unbalanced feel it gives to the bikes steering .
I pushed my bike up many hills on the Vdlp /Sanabres route and will again next year .

Hi John. Thanks for the interesting post.
I have hired bikes in the past, but my Camino Frances was done on a second-hand bike I bought in France, which I donated to the English Chaplaincy in Santiago. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a recipient.
As regards front-fork loading, I quite like the dampening feel, though I should add that I tend to avoid any difficult tracks, and look for a good road alternative. Also I don't take a sleeping bag anymore, as I only go in the summer months, usually June, and make do with a liner. I got my pack weight down to 7kg last trip, and this time hope to reduce it again. We'll see.
Yes, indeed, I've pushed my bike up many a hill, but I have to admit that it plays havoc with my knees; something to do with the twist in the body involved in leaning over to grip the handlebars.
This year I did the VdlP from Sevilla on my carbon bike, (with my bike rack on the front forks), and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Please read my posting under the Mozarabe Camino

I forgot to mention that I looked at this thread, but I will not be travelling the recognised Mozarabe route. I'm intending to start in Granada and head due north to Jaen. From there I am going to take the Via Verde de Aceite to Baena, then cross the Guadalquivir valley to Cordoba.
Then yet another big detour to Almaden, (the other one), because I want to check out the fascinating mercury mining heritage. From there I'll head to Plasencia, and follow the VdlP and Sanabres to Santiago.
Ah the wonders of retirement!

 

[Paladina]

I'm glad you've found the solution to cycling the Camino with a problematic knee, but I'd like to reassure prospective bicigrinos who are reasonably fit and active that it really isn't necessary to use an expensive ultralight bike. My robust steel-framed touring bike equipped with rear panniers and handlebar bag weighed about half my own body weight, and I found the various mountain climbs perfectly manageable. The ascents, at least by road, are gentler than you might expect - nowhere did I see a gradient sign of more than 10 per cent - but they are lengthy, requiring stamina rather than strength. Good luck with your next venture!

 

[Peregrinopaul]

I'd like to reassure prospective bicigrinos who are reasonably fit and active that it really isn't necessary to use an expensive ultralight bike...

Hi Paladina.
Your comparison to bodyweight is interesting. I'd never thought about it quite in that context - the walkers tend to think in those terms in relation to pack weight. And it is only an obsession for me because of the arthritis problem. Certainly I agree with your comments about the climbs. (And you would know, coming from the West of Ireland; thats where my son lives, and he certainly wasn't intimidated by the Camino Frances!)
Paul

 

[HedaP]

I respect the fact that walkers may have little sympathy for anyone doing the camino sitting down, but mountains do present a special problem, especially when you consider the fact that the force applied to the pedals has to raise the weight of bike, body and bags a thousand metres or so.

I often wondered why cyclists never offered to carry my backpack up a hill for me. Especially those young good looking ones. Now I know!
Have a safe and happy camino.