Are 60 to 70 km per day cycling achievable? Logrono to Astorga

[Amigos caminando]

Hi, I am cycling from Logrono to Astorga this June 2014. Is my plan of 60 to 70 km per day realistic? I am taking a day off in Burgos after 2 days cycling as I will have walked for 7 days before that from St. Jean PDP to Logrono where I pick up my hired bike. I will walk from Astorga to Sarria to finish my Camino as I walked Sarria to Santiago last year. I can take a day's rest in Leon as I have time to spare. Any thoughts?? I am not an experienced cyclist. I am walking 5 to 10 km three times per week and cycling 15 to 35km three times per week at present.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Easily achievable and many cyclists do more.

 

[Olivares]

Make sure you have good equipment and practice troubleshooting mechanical problems. I saw a lot of broken down bycicles while walking on the Meseta.

 

[k-fun]

This should be a fun trip. Don't forget a bell for the bike. I've seen too many people get startled when a biker yells out, and then they jump into the way of the bike. Even with the bell, walkers can be contemplative, talkative, or simple unaware of the meaning of the bells.

 

[newfydog]

We like to limit ourselves to 50km so the trip does not go by too fast. Our range has been 27-93. One trip we covered the last 270 km into Santiago at an 8o km per day pace, but I would not recommend that to anyone who is not an experienced cyclist and/or has not seen the trail before.

 

[djq]

The answer will depend on three things: road v. trail, what your physical condition is, and the weather. I did the ride in April 2013 on the trail on mountain bikes with my daughter. I am a pretty strong rider. My daughter had ridden little, but was in pretty good shape. In that area of the Camino, our daily rides were (start/finish, distance ridden, daily elevation gain per my GPS, hours of riding-actually moving, actual start to finish was much longer):

Torres del Rio to Ciruena 64.1km 4,057' gain 5.3
Ciruena to Burgos 78.5km 4,252' gain 5.1
Burgos to Fromista 68.3km 1,936' gain 4.3
Fromista to Sahagun 60.8km 1,158' gain 3.6
Sahagun to Leon 56.2km 2,323' gain 3.3
Leon to Astorga 77.2km 1,224' gain 3.4

So, if you are in shape and the weather cooperates, yes that is quite doable. As you can see from the elevation changes, though, some of those days are pretty tough with all the climbing. A couple of the days are fairly easy (notably Fromista to Leon), as you will be on either pretty decent dirt roads or pavement adjacent to the trial, and the terrain is pretty flat. If you hit rain and the dirt turns to mud (something we did not experience), all bets will be off. Not being an experienced cyclist will matter much less on this stretch of the Camino than on some others, as the riding in this area does not require much technical skill.

One tip--don't over-inflate the tires. You'll do better with lower pressure, as the tires can absorb the pounding dirt roads better than your backside and your legs will deal with the extra effort better than your backside will deal with the pounding.

Dan

 

[sillydoll]

Is there a time constraint to get from Logrono to Astorga?
Could you take it slower and do it in 9 days like this pilgrim did?

Town - Distance - time taken - ave speed - max speed
Viana - S. Millán de la Cogolla 65,25 04h57m04s 13,1 43
S.Millán Cog. - S.Dom. Calzada 19,52 01h10m55s 16,5 43
S. Domingo Calzada - S. J.Ortega 48,75 04h19m35s 11,2 37
S. Juan de Ortega - Burgos 29,13 01h38m05s 15,9 31
Burgos - Castrojeriz 44,04 03h49m17s 11,5 29
Castrojeriz - Carrión de los Condes 48,00 03h31m05s 12,9 41
Carrión de los Condes - Sahagún 36,86 02h54m59s 12,6 33
Sahagún - León 55,70 03h25m59s 16,2 42
León - Astorga 53,46 03h28m51s 15,3 38

 

[Amigos caminando]

The answer will depend on three things: road v. trail, what your physical condition is, and the weather. I did the ride in April 2013 on the trail on mountain bikes with my daughter. I am a pretty strong rider. My daughter had ridden little, but was in pretty good shape. In that area of the Camino, our daily rides were (start/finish, distance ridden, daily elevation gain per my GPS, hours of riding-actually moving, actual start to finish was much longer):

Torres del Rio to Ciruena 64.1km 4,057' gain 5.3
Ciruena to Burgos 78.5km 4,252' gain 5.1
Burgos to Fromista 68.3km 1,936' gain 4.3
Fromista to Sahagun 60.8km 1,158' gain 3.6
Sahagun to Leon 56.2km 2,323' gain 3.3
Leon to Astorga 77.2km 1,224' gain 3.4

So, if you are in shape and the weather cooperates, yes that is quite doable. As you can see from the elevation changes, though, some of those days are pretty tough with all the climbing. A couple of the days are fairly easy (notably Fromista to Leon), as you will be on either pretty decent dirt roads or pavement adjacent to the trial, and the terrain is pretty flat. If you hit rain and the dirt turns to mud (something we did not experience), all bets will be off. Not being an experienced cyclist will matter much less on this stretch of the Camino than on some others, as the riding in this area does not require much technical skill.

One tip--don't over-inflate the tires. You'll do better with lower pressure, as the tires can absorb the pounding dirt roads better than your backside and your legs will deal with the extra effort better than your backside will deal with the pounding.

Dan

Sorry, I meant Dan not Dad!!!

Hi Dad,

Thank you for your informative reply. I appreciate you sharing your experience with me. Of course the weather will dictate all. Good hint about the tyre pressure also. I will take note of all!

 

[Amigos caminando]

Is there a time constraint to get from Logrono to Astorga?
Could you take it slower and do it in 9 days like this pilgrim did?

Town - Distance - time taken - ave speed - max speed
Viana - S. Millán de la Cogolla 65,25 04h57m04s 13,1 43
S.Millán Cog. - S.Dom. Calzada 19,52 01h10m55s 16,5 43
S. Domingo Calzada - S. J.Ortega 48,75 04h19m35s 11,2 37
S. Juan de Ortega - Burgos 29,13 01h38m05s 15,9 31
Burgos - Castrojeriz 44,04 03h49m17s 11,5 29
Castrojeriz - Carrión de los Condes 48,00 03h31m05s 12,9 41
Carrión de los Condes - Sahagún 36,86 02h54m59s 12,6 33
Sahagún - León 55,70 03h25m59s 16,2 42
León - Astorga 53,46 03h28m51s 15,3 38

I haven't got the hang of getting the reply correctly yet!

I think I will take extra time like you advise, thank you.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Are you in a hurry? If not then slow down, it's too beautiful to cover quickly.

 

[Amigos caminando]

Are you in a hurry? If not then slow down, it's too beautiful to cover quickly.

I think you are right. I am not booking accommodation from Burgos so I can see where the road takes me.
I hope to carry my few belongings in panniers on the bike. Hope the weight won't impede my travels.

 

[Saint Mike II]

The benefit of cycling the Camino is being able to stop and smell the flowers along the way, yet still reach your destination. As others have advised unless there are time constraints I would agree with the 50 km suggestion. Maybe do a bit more research and select a few special places that you can stop-off at. Some of the churches (old and almost falling down); historic places etc. Buen Camino

 

[Amigos caminando]

I'm getting the picture Mike, listening to all the advice I've decided to reduce my expectations and see how each day goes. Really looking forward to it now.

 

[BallVice]

This is what I love about this forum

I walked the Camino 2 years ago -and am taking my daughter June 3rd to do it again -- -she turned 16 this will be a breeze for her.

We can only spare the 3rd through the 23rd - and I was plotting where to go - what not to miss - and was killing myself over this ----

Catherine - Thank you for posting this --- it gave me MUCH valuable insight. I had an epiphany tonight ----

Walk from St Jean to Pamplona - get bikes in Pamplona - and ride to El Gonzo/Rabbanal Del Camino area - and then walk the rest of the way....

I NEVER thought about "what about rain..." That would SUCK pretty badly for us - but maybe not as much as taking a City Bus forward to make the walk.

Catherine - Where are you getting your bike? You said you are renting one - I didn't look at that possibility - can you pass along some info on that?

My initial thought (just thought of this option tonight) was to try to just by 2 used bikes in Pamplona - and then donate/sell them when we got to a point that we knew we could walk the rest of the way (hoping for a fast journey to El Gonzo area).

I am open for other opinions - has anyone else ever done this - I may post this in the open thread area too for feedback.

Many thanks!

Frank

 

[Amigos caminando]

Hi Frank,

I am starting on June 4th and finishing in Santiago on 26th.

I am hiring my bike from www.tournride.com they will leave your bike to the place you are staying the night before you start cycling and they will collect it at the place where you stay the day you finish your cycle. Alberto dealt with me and is very helpful with excellent English. Look at their website. Another good website is www.bicigrino.com

I am walking with my sister from St. Jean to Logrono, cycling to Burgos where she goes home. I continue cycling to Astorga and then walk to Sarria. I am finishing there as I walked from Sarria to Santiago last year.

Hope this is of some help.

C.

This is what I love about this forum

I walked the Camino 2 years ago -and am taking my daughter June 3rd to do it again -- -she turned 16 this will be a breeze for her.

We can only spare the 3rd through the 23rd - and I was plotting where to go - what not to miss - and was killing myself over this ----

Catherine - Thank you for posting this --- it gave me MUCH valuable insight. I had an epiphany tonight ----

Walk from St Jean to Pamplona - get bikes in Pamplona - and ride to El Gonzo/Rabbanal Del Camino area - and then walk the rest of the way....

I NEVER thought about "what about rain..." That would SUCK pretty badly for us - but maybe not as much as taking a City Bus forward to make the walk.

Catherine - Where are you getting your bike? You said you are renting one - I didn't look at that possibility - can you pass along some info on that?

My initial thought (just thought of this option tonight) was to try to just by 2 used bikes in Pamplona - and then donate/sell them when we got to a point that we knew we could walk the rest of the way (hoping for a fast journey to El Gonzo area).

I am open for other opinions - has anyone else ever done this - I may post this in the open thread area too for feedback.

Many thanks!

Frank

th

 

[mgtstorey]

Renting bike from bikeiberia.com, so far have been very helpful, about 190 for one week

 

[BallVice]

This is all great information!!!

I think I have found a place to get bikes - that provides a turn-key service.

But this does raise MORE questions...

IS this the same route... I found this in one of the other forums...

Torres del Rio to Ciruena 64.1km 4,057' gain 5.3
Ciruena to Burgos 78.5km 4,252' gain 5.1
Burgos to Fromista 68.3km 1,936' gain 4.3
Fromista to Sahagun 60.8km 1,158' gain 3.6
Sahagun to Leon 56.2km 2,323' gain 3.3
Leon to Astorga 77.2km 1,224' gain 3.4

I would add Pamplona to TDR -- which is 52Km (may go further)
Day 2 I would go to Granon (79km - but shortened if I go beyond Torres Del Rio)

What is ODD - is when I look in the Michelin book - Leon to Astorga is only 5okm --- but this above says 77.2....

Does this mean that the bike route is different than the walking route (I am actually using the Michelin book to plot a plan to see what is do-able and will post it ---

BUT - I am looking for feedback again

Frank

 

[BallVice]

Here is what I am planning -- SO FAR...

The BIKE days we can afford to slow down / shave if we need to - OR start walking earlier...OR not walk as far from Melide

Last time I walked it we walked 100km the last two days - and we walked from Melide to SDC in one day - 60Km -- took all day - 3 bottles of wine - and I was TOAST after - slept the entire next day...

WALK
(6/5) 1 - SJPDP - Rons
(6/6) 2 - Rons - Las
(6/7) 3 - Las - Pamp
---------
BIKE
(6/8) 4 - Pamp to Torres Del Rio (OR IF POSSIBLE) - Granon (52/79km)
(6/9) 5 - Granon - Burgos (70km)
(6/10) 6 - Burg - Fromista (68km)
(6/11) 7 - Fromista - Sahagun (56km)
(6/12) 8 - Sah - Leon (56.2km)
(6/13) 9 - Leon - Astorga (77 or ??) - IF not then will go to El Gonzo (63km in Michelin book)
(6/14) 10 - El Gonzo - Villa Franca (63km)
(6/15) 11 - VillaFranca - O'Cebreiro - (30km)
(6/16) 12 - O'C - Sarria (have to stay there (43km)
(6/17) 13 - Sarria - Melide - (58Km)
------------
WALK
(6/18) 14 - Melide to O' Pedrouso (32km)
(6/19) 15 - O Ped - SDC -- WOOOT (20km)

FLEX - 6/20
FLEX - 6/21
Depart 6/22 to Madrid
Depart 6/23 from Madrid


This gives us 2 full flex days on the trip to tone down some of the distances if required - we wanted to be in SDC on the 17th day ---

ALL input welcomed!!!

Frank

 

[mgtstorey]

Leon to Astorga 50 km, but terrain difficult and I stuck
to the pilgrims terrain a lot, bit of difficulty as some roads not clearly signed, took me about 5 hours on bike without stoping, that was yesterday.

Today I cycled from Astorga to Ponferrada which while only 56km on the cyclists road took me 6 hours as very hilly and had to push bike a bit, great coming down the hills, beautiful villages outside Astorga which I would recommend instead of Astorga which is only 5km more, village is Castrillo de Polvazares.. looks really interesting