biking half the route , walking second half?

[Ann2834]

Hello,
I have about 20 days for the camino and was thinking of biking from Pamplona for a week, then walking the rest. I do bike so thinking i can easily do 70km a day unless it is super steep...not sure if i can return a bike other than Santiago though...or will i be missing some good camino parts by biking? I plan on staring soon- early nov. any suggestions?

 

[SYates]

Sounds far too complicated for me! There is no reason you couldn't start closer to Santiago (for example in Astorga) and walk the whole way. Buen Camino! SY

 

[wayfarer]

Ann, you could walk from Burgos or Hontanas no problem and not have the worry of picking up or dropping off your bike, whatever you decide have a safe and enjoyable Camino.

 

[newfydog]

Hello,
will i be missing some good camino parts by biking?

I guess you mean biking on the roads which sort of follow the route rather than mountain bike on the trail.......If you do that you indeed miss some wonderful trails in exchange for some quite mediocre road biking. I assume you would wear your backpack on the bike? I can't think of a worse way to go. I would recommend hiking a shorter segment, or mountain biking the whole way, and see the trails.

 

[Olivares]

I think the Meseta- Burgos to Astorga is ideal for this type of approach. However, I did not think the bikers I saw at the Meseta were having a great time....lots of breakdowns by the side of the road and solitary biking. So, if the point is either bike or walk, by all means, it is YOUR Camino. Do however calibrate well your expectations. I did see a lot of people with limited time busing ahead in Fromista or taking the train ahead to Leon from Sahagun, so there are options. My advice to you is, skip the Meseta for a later trip if your goal this time is to get to Santiago. If you can wait to get to Santiago, just get as far as you can. The Camino isn't going anywhere....

 

[SYates]

And always remember that, unless you are starting your Camino from the door of your own home, all starting points are 'artificial' and that therefore there is no such thing as the 'whole Camino' ;-) SY

 

[newfydog]

. However, I did not think the bikers I saw at the Meseta were having a great time....lots of breakdowns by the side of the road and solitary biking.

We LOVED biking the Meseta. Reminded us of the American West.

 

[Olivares]

newfy-- very glad you enjoyed the Meseta. I saw more bikers stranded than in any other section, which surprised me given the much flatter terrain and, for the most part, good trail conditions. Maybe is a compounding effect of pushing it given the flatter conditions, and hence the break-downs. I got talking with quite a bit of bikers, too who stated the Meseta was beautiful, but the sense of solitude is much more augmented. Overall, I actually think the Meseta is ideal for biking, although the downhill from the Altos de Mostelares was scary enough by foot, let alone if biking down....

 

[newfydog]

Yeah, I worked in bike shops while a student, and end up fixing someone's bike at least once a day out there. The Camino is no place for a crappy bike. It always amazes me that people who would never go in cheapo boots and backpacks think some flimsy bike can be loaded with gear and get to Santiago!

 

[freeflyer123]

When we reached Santiago, we had our bikes shipped back home. To be honest, it cost so much that next time we would seriously think about buying a few cheap mountain bikes once in Spain, ride as much of the route as we wanted to, before finding a bike shop that could resell the bikes, and walk the rest of the way. I can understand why you would like to walk part of the Camino. Taking just under three weeks (we found trying to do 70 km a day almost impossible with the hills) on bikes, neither of us felt that we spent enough time doing the Camino. It was over far too quickly.

 

[newfydog]

it cost so much that next time we would seriously think about buying a few cheap mountain bikes once in Spain, ride as much of the route as we wanted to, before finding a bike shop that could resell the bikes.

Sounds good, except you would then be riding a piece of garbage on rough trails. Bike shops have a good mark-up, and couldn't give you more than 1/4 the price of the retail price for your used bikes.

There are some companies which rent decent bikes just for the Camino, which would be a far better way to go.