Best Camino by bike?

[ChrisMac]

Hi Camino family! Hope you are all well? I am proposing my first bicycle Camino after 14 hiking trips on various Caminos. I wondered what anyone's experiences/ timescales were of various Caminos by bike,?
Thanks in advance

Chris X

 

[steve 217]

Hi Chris

Just. Come upon your thread hope your Camino planning went well for me the Portugese from Porto along the coastal route was a great bicyle route if time short .
Personally im planning the via de la plata when i can get a minimum of 2 weeks .
Hope all well Buen Camino

 

[justin credible]

I've cycled two routes on different occasions, the Camino Frances and the Via de la Plata. I did the Via de la Plata from Seville to Santiago in May this year and would recommend it. I stayed mainly on the road as the road from Seville to Zamora is relatively quiet as there is a motorway which takes most of the traffic along that route. I stopped in Salamanca for two nights for a break, a good place to stop as it's a beautiful city and it's about half way between Seville and Santiago. The journey took me 14 days.

 

[flyfishinguy]

Hello
You didn't state when you planned to leave
in 2016, I rode the Camino Frances on my bike, leaving from St. Jean Pied de Port
Made it to Santiago in only 9 days
rodes were in great condition
larger cities had bike shops to handle basic repairs but I was lucky and did not need any
buen camino

 

[Peregrinopaul]

I've cycled two routes on different occasions, the Camino Frances and the Via de la Plata. I did the Via de la Plata from Seville to Santiago in May this year and would recommend it. I stayed mainly on the road as the road from Seville to Zamora is relatively quiet as there is a motorway which takes most of the traffic along that route. I stopped in Salamanca for two nights for a break, a good place to stop as it's a beautiful city and it's about half way between Seville and Santiago. The journey took me 14 days.

I'm a VdlP nut too.

 

[Peregrinopaul]

To elaborate a little, my first VdlP was a very leasurely affair, 25 days from Seville, rarely exceeding 50Km per day - I was worried about my age at that stage. Subsequently I've done it in 14 days. As Justin said, the road is a boon, because of the light traffic a superior surface, (and usually generous verge). Many of the tracks are very bike-friendly too. The mountain sections are not killers, like the O Cebreiro segment of the Frances. And the cities are marvels to behold. Depending on when you go - I've usually chosen June - you'll still interact with other pilgrims at some memorable albergues, like Zamora or Fuenterroble.
Oh! I've only just noticed the OP is almost a year old.

 

[ChrisMac]

Hi Chris

Just. Come upon your thread hope your Camino planning went well for me the Portugese from Porto along the coastal route was a great bicyle route if time short .
Personally im planning the via de la plata when i can get a minimum of 2 weeks .
Hope all well Buen Camino

Hi man. Thank you. I just cycled the French. It was awesome. Love the bike now. Am going to the via de la plata next week!!

 

[justin credible]

Let us know how you get on. Buen Camino.

 

[JabbaPapa]

I've met several very good bike pilgrims in various circumstances, as a foot guy, though the ones I've been most positively impressed with (apart from those wonderful ones appearing as Camino Angels to help me out of a tight spot ❤ ) have been those either having started from VERY far, or biking back home from Compostela after having biked there.

So I'd suggest either of those ... if you're coming in by plane to somewhere, bike out from there to Santiago, then bike back there for the return flight ; or start from somewhere not Camino related, wherever in Europe you'd like to see as well, then from there get on your Way to Compostela.

I do well understand that biking is not "easier" than hiking ; but it is, at least, faster ...

 

[Lizremedy]

Hi Chris

Just. Come upon your thread hope your Camino planning went well for me the Portugese from Porto along the coastal route was a great bicyle route if time short .
Personally im planning the via de la plata when i can get a minimum of 2 weeks .
Hope all well Buen Camino

Hi Steve
Do you have gpx tracks for the Portuguese route by bike? WE only have a week, so thinking the ride from Porto to SdC is best bet as Ive heard coming out of Lisbon is ugly and industrial... your opinion? Also did you use a baggage forwarding service? I know it is not possible close to Lisbon, wondering where that service becomes available. We did part of the Frances route by bike 3 years ago, averaging about 50km per day. Is that doable on the portuguese route or is the footpath technical or challenging or mountainous? Any advice would be appreciated.. looking at August/Sept 2022

 

[JensNL]

Hi Steve
Do you have gpx tracks for the Portuguese route by bike? WE only have a week, so thinking the ride from Porto to SdC is best bet as Ive heard coming out of Lisbon is ugly and industrial... your opinion? Also did you use a baggage forwarding service? I know it is not possible close to Lisbon, wondering where that service becomes available. We did part of the Frances route by bike 3 years ago, averaging about 50km per day. Is that doable on the portuguese route or is the footpath technical or challenging or mountainous? Any advice would be appreciated.. looking at August/Sept 2022

This may help.....

Cycling the Camino Portugues Coastal from Porto to Santiago

Cycling the Camino Portugues from Porto to Santiago

caminoways.com

 

[Corned Beef]

Or here is the route @LesBrass took late last year

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/the-glorious-coastal-path.71734/

Best Camino by bike? Camino Peleton - all the benefits of home and no hills.

 

[steve 217]

Hi Steve
Do you have gpx tracks for the Portuguese route by bike? WE only have a week, so thinking the ride from Porto to SdC is best bet as Ive heard coming out of Lisbon is ugly and industrial... your opinion? Also did you use a baggage forwarding service? I know it is not possible close to Lisbon, wondering where that service becomes available. We did part of the Frances route by bike 3 years ago, averaging about 50km per day. Is that doable on the portuguese route or is the footpath technical or challenging or mountainous? Any advice would be appreciated.. looking at August/Sept 2022

HI Liz remedy
im grateful to jensl and corned beef as i am rubbish with technology and didnt use a gpx route which may well explain why we got lost a couple of times!
Porto onwards was lovely but even then you do go through some industial estates .
The people were incredibly accommodating one of our group (3 brothers 1 nephew )is a vegan and the portugese people allowed him to wander into kitchens and point out what he would eat , we didnt use a luggage service but travelled fairly light ,2 of the group hired from a bike shop in Porto who i would thoroughly reccomend ,if of use.
My brother and I took our own bikes the route was better suited to a mountain bike as opposed to a road bike given some of the tracks , there not technical but a bit rough in places .
A fantastic experience and one we still talk about we laughed cried and drank far too much, good luck and go for it, the only issue we had was that trains from Santiago back to Porto where we were flying back from ,would only allow 2 bicycles per train.
August sounds a great time we went in March and it was cold and v wet. Good luck and Buen Camino.