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Cycling queries-for my circumstances

Rasamala33

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
1st Camino will Be in 2017.
Hello everyone,

I have been writing in a different thread and have decided to write here also.

I am a solo 28 year old from Australia who will be doing the Camino De Santiago trail for the first time.

I am physically fit but my knees need protection from basketball injuries and long distance running.

Currently, I run in the mornings on alternate days with cycling (16km clycling), I surf on weekends and kickbox 3-5 times per week. I won't be doing that much exercise when I am travelling in Europe, as I will be travelling for about 3 and a half months prior to starting the Camino De Santiago.

I will be arriving in Bordeaux at 1905 on the 18/8/17. I need to get a train/bus too Bayonne. I will need to get back from Santiago to Madrid in time for my flight which departs at 1530 on the 17/9/17. Does anyone know how early I can book these buses/trains and what internet link to use? I wanted to book by transport before booking a bike.

I will start in St Jean and finish in Santiago-the 800km trek.

Does anyone have an internet link of how I can organise to get my luggage picked up at the start of my trek and waiting for me at the end of my trek?

I'm looking for a lot of advice here as I am feeling stuck on what to do.

Initially, I thought of hiking the trek-which would equate to be 29km each day by foot. I really don't want to get injured though, hence I thought hiring a bike would be better. does anyone have any suggestions in this area? From my research, it looks like hiring a bike for 29 days would cost about $800 Australian dollars.

Does anyone have suggestions of which bikes to hire? I understand that cycling 29km a day is not much, but I think by foot it is too much.

Thanks for your help everyone. We solo travelers depend on each other!

Kind regards,
Rara
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
1. Booking the bike at a fixed date on location first, then arrange your transport when you get there may provide better flexibility and less stress.
2. Equipment carried by bikes vs walking can be quite different and hampers those wanting to do a mix mode.
3. Rear heavy with pannier affects the bike (not so much on the road but on off road single track). Learn to pack as little as you can (like a walker) 7-8 kg without food/water.
4. If you plan on riding a bike then prepare yourself on the bike route for the Camino Frances. Sadly, they are not available for the other Camino routes. I had cases I have to backtrack and reroute via the roads.
5. Another option is to get a rockrider 300 bicycle from Decathlon. There is one in Pamplona (100 euro). Add in a bottle cage and rear rack and you still pay no more than 130 euro. 20 euro for the rear rack and 5 euro for the bottle cage. I have the same one here in Singapore and also use one from a friend in Spain for my Camino Mozarabe. They are heavy (steel) but rigid (no loss of energy), simple 7x3 gearing and virtually indestructible. No need to pay 800 over Aussie dollars for that. With that price, you can even donate it to charity when you arrive in Santiago rather than the hassle to sell it.

https://www.decathlon.es/bicicleta-de-montaa-btwin-rockrider-300-id_8284495.html

Food for thought.

Last year while on my Camino Mozarabe on this bike, I met a biker and we were awed by each other's setup.

It amazes him how I can ride with such a basic setup. I was walking another camino prior to before seeing me friend and taking his rockrider bike for the Mozarabe so I ride with a light backpack on my back (no rack/panniers) and my waist pouch became a makeshift handlebar bag.

For me, his setup was so light. Rear rack, no panniers and apparently carry only a sleeping bag. On his back just a 10L backpack containing his evening wear and sandals. A handle bar bag for cell phone/maps, misc. That's it. He washes the same cycling wear every night and being quick dry it is ready by the morning.

He sets a new standard for simplicity even for people who walks rather than cycle. :)
 
Last edited:
Hola - great advice from @evanlow, from experience cycling the Camino is basically no different from walking it. As Evan advises - apart from planning the bike hire dates - don't stress too much. There is a Camino saying - the Camino will provide - I can vouch for it.
If you go with Evan's suggestion about buying a cheap bike by the time you reach Santiago its value will have halved - consider donating to any worthy university student you see. There are a couple of really good bike shops in Santiago that will assist if you wish to go this way.
As for the cycle route v the walking route - yes there are sections that are not suitable - even for full-on mountain bikes, but there is always a road alternative. Do a search of this section of the forum you will find all the info you need. Cheers
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-

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