Camino Frances completed

[Stev0]

Hi all , just done my first camino on my touring bike, left SJPD on Saturday morning 08/04 and arrived in Santiago on Sunday 16/04, so 9 days of great cycling , meeting people from all over the world (mostly walking it) and enjoying the great weather which was a bit of luck for this time of year.
I made a few mistakes like taking too much gear which I sent surplus back after day 4, a common error.
Finding the correct exits or directions out of the cites was sometimes tough although I was lucky and asked around for directions. The first part up until Burgos was just about all road and I did not feel like part of the camino until I got on the Meseta and that was the best part in my opinion, also the Calzada Romana was great hot, dry and isolated and then you hit Reliegos nice village where I had the whole albergue to myself, surprisingly.
I stayed in albergues all the way and had no probs with having a bike, all in all it was a great experience and would love to do another, buen camino to all those peregrinos that I met along the way , and good luck to anyone planning on doing the camino it well worth it.
Buen camino

 

[wayfarer]

Thank you for the info Basicoro, delighted you had a great Camino.

 

[joecamino]

Congrats B! I'll be starting my walk in a couple weeks. Hope to follow that up with some cycling on Loire and Rhine after.

 

[István Maradi]

Hello Basicoro, greatings from Budapest!

I fly/go by train to Irun (a border city at the sea) on the 5th May, where I pick up my mountain bike. I plan to bike to SJPP on my first biking day (6th), I guess on roads (1k+ elevation, if I saw it correctly). I was happy to see your post, the first person I saw who biked and posted I have a few questions, would be glad if you could burn some time to answer, hope not too much load on you. Thanks in advance
Did you follow the walking route or only " more or less"? I have some concern (due to the unknown) about the first leg over the Pirennes (via Roncevaux), could I go this way or should I move to the road?
You were very fast. When I go long-range, 100km/day is the average, but here I'm planning 15 days for the whole 900 km. How did you manage this speed?
What advice do you have for packing? I read you made some re-planning midway, would appreciate some help what and what not to pack.
Did you make reservations for overnight stayings, or as-it-came-out at the end of a day?
Did you use GPS or just a map, or only the road signs?
Was it cold then?

That is all, and thanks for your time. Congratulations, great job, especially with this momentum

Cheers Istvan (53)

 

[Mike Savage]

Congratulations Basicoro and welcome back!

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

We will watch for your comments on the way.

 

[Stev0]

Thanks guys , hey Istavan no worries happy to answer your queries, ok if you are biking from Irun to SJPD great but you will need the best part of the day to enjoy it there are a few ups and downs , but its a good taster to what lies ahead.
As for the 1st part or at least until Roncevalles I would recommend the road its still tough in parts but easier than the walking route and the downhills are worth it, plus you wont be bothering any peregrinos .
As for speed , well I did not do much sightseeing , I enjoyed a drink now and then along the way and also stopped to eat but when I reached the main towns/cities my intention was to get out of them asap,(I live in London) the only city I stayed in was Burgos, not out of choice its just that I arrived late afternoon and needed to stop.
On day 4 I celebrated my 50th so I didn't do that many miles and stopped at Boadilla del Camino at an albergue by the same name, I have to say it was the best , lovely garden , fantastic food and family run very friendly (it was recommended to me by an American peregino I had met previously in the day)
I guess I was arriving at the albergues a bit later than the peregrinos, so my average time would be around 5/6pm so having started around 7am thats on average 10 hours on the road.
Also I have to say the weather played a big part , cold in the mornings to start with , warm and hot when the sun came up, most importantly very little wind against me , bit chilly in the evenings , but no complaints in general perfect cycling conditions I was very lucky.
As for kit , take the bare bones, as little as poss, rain gear is a must cos you never know , but quick drying clothes etc, (I was loaded up with camping equipment etc which I never used , so had to jettison it all after day 4 ) All albergues have facilities for washing and in 1 place near o'cebreiro I had my washing done and dried within 2 hours via a service wash.
As for reservations , I had no problem , but I guess it s down to the time of year, I just turned up and asked, there seemed to be always an alternative place further on if need be but no place I stayed seemed to be packed to capacity, but April verus May I dont know, maybe again I was lucky.
Navigation is very easy when you are on the main route but I found it a bit difficult in the main towns/cities, use your sat nav if you can just to get you in the general direction , or look for a peregrino who knows where they are going.
Finally I wish you a buen camino and let us all know how you get on.
Cheerz Steve

 

[Mark T17]

Hi Basicoro,

Thanks for the tips and sounds like you had a great time ! I'm planning on taking 14 days to cycle the Camino in September 2017 out of St Jean and I will be 52 years young ! In the past, I've done a lot of running but not much biking. Could you please let me know your words of wisdom in relation to:

How far did you ride on day 1 out of St Jean, start and finish times, etc and maybe more importantly how did you feel?

I've heard the Alto de Perdon, Cruz de Ferro and El Cebreiro are all challenging ascents, how did your find them on a bike and what distance did you travel on those days?

Hope we're all not troubling you too much with questions !

Cheers,

M

 

[Stev0]

Hi Mark
14 days sound great and Sept should be good for the weather, you must be looking forward to it.
As for the answers to your queries ,
I left SJPD around 8:45 , this was the latest departure I ever did during my trip and was due to the fact that I headed out of town the wrong way and had to double back a bit, I was thinking this was going to be the start of things to come ,lol.
Anyway once on the correct road I stopped for lunch in Roncesvalles and ended the day around 6pm in Cizur Menor which is just north of Pamplona, I preferred to stay out of towns if I could , and this place was nice , big albergue and in the village a nice bar where you could enjoy a beer and some lovely tapas. I had traveled a total of 49miles (78km) Not all cycling I walked a bit when the hills were steep which probably helped as I felt fine , not super tired or achy etc
As for the challenging ascents, I would walk when it got too much, especially as I was fully loaded it was sometimes too hard to ride, even walking up was tough especially O Cebreiro when you turn off before La Faba, it was the steepest of the lot , but near the top is la Laguna where I stayed. That day I put in the longest distance 71miles (113km) which is probably why I felt it was the hardest.
On average I was covering around 60miles (96km) per day , setting of between 7 & 8am (no change of a lie in when you are staying in an albergue) and then ending the day between 4 & 5pm, after taking in plenty of stops to eat and drink and rest a bit.
And Im happy to say no mechanical probs and no punctures, I would recommend kevlar lined tires for peace of mind.
Anyway hope that info is of use to you mate , enjoy your planning and I'm sure you will enjoy the trip as much as I did.
All the best

 

[Ange105]

Hi Basicoro
I'm planning to walk/cycle the Camino Frances next May. My choice to both walk and cycle is mainly to do with time - I don't believe I have enough time to get to SdC if I only walk as as it's a long way from New Zealand to Spain I would like to finish my Camino in a single trip as I don't know when I will be able to get back. Which portions of your ride would you recommend to someone who does more walking than cycling?