Electrical bicycle?

[Tulle]

A friend of mine has walked part of Camino Frances, and of course he observed the cyclists. And now he wonders: What about an electrical bicycle? Will using it qualify for a compostela for cyclists?
Ps: I am not sure if his question is seriously meant..

 

[t2andreo]

Unless something in the rules has changed since last year, electric assist bicycles are considered motorized transport and not eligible to receive a Compostela. That said, on my arrival from Lisbon (on foot) this May, I did see significant numbers of electric assist bicycles mixed in with the groups of cyclists seeking Compostelas. I have no idea of whether this fact is checked or verified.

So, if anyone else out there has the straight story, please share it. I know that I arrive in Santiago on 12 July to work at the Pilgrim Office for a month. I will be most interested in the Cathedrals' position on this.

My personal thought is that it is a slippery slope. Once this is allowed, the leap to a full on electric all the time bicycle is a matter of battery capacity and a place to recharge nightly.

IMHO, it is cheating. But I defer to the Pilgrim Office and official policy on the matter.

 

[jony jony]

I have just got back from cycling the Sanabres route and in an albergue one night i was talking ( i exaggerate ) with a Spanish cyclist on an electric bike ( cost him 2500 Euros ) and he told me he averaged 130/140 klms per day WOW .
4 sellos from Salamanca in his credentials should give the game away in Santiago i would hope .
I hired my bike from a company that also now hire electric bikes and it clearly states that a Compostella will not be awarded if the pilgrimage is made on one of these bikes .......and rightly so .

From electric bike to a moped is not a great leap ......then we have the leap from moped to motorbike ....motorbike to helicopter ......helicopter to lets do a virtual camino and print or photocopy a compostella .

OOOOh i can be ridiculous cant i ?

Regards.....John

 

[domigee]

How about a motorbike? Would that count?

 

[Jeff Crawley]

How about a motorbike? Would that count?

Only if you carry it in your backpack . . . .

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I have just got back from cycling the Sanabres route and in an albergue one night i was talking ( i exaggerate ) with a Spanish cyclist on an electric bike ( cost him 2500 Euros ) and he told me he averaged 130/140 klms per day WOW .
4 sellos from Salamanca in his credentials should give the game away in Santiago i would hope .
I hired my bike from a company that also now hire electric bikes and it clearly states that a Compostella will not be awarded if the pilgrimage is made on one of these bikes .......and rightly so .

From electric bike to a moped is not a great leap ......then we have the leap from moped to motorbike ....motorbike to helicopter ......helicopter to lets do a virtual camino and print or photocopy a compostella .

OOOOh i can be ridiculous cant i ?

Regards.....John

Ooh, I like the idea of a virtual Camino - do you think we can get Google to send somebody with a pack camera to film it?

 

[notion900]

There are already 100,000,000,000 blogs and vlogs. Watching them all is harder work that actually doing the camino.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Motorized is motorized..... the method of fueling the motor is irrelevant. So, does motorized transportation qualify for a Compostella?

 

[Felipe]

Ooh, I like the idea of a virtual Camino - do you think we can get Google to send somebody with a pack camera to film it?

Actually, a good part of the Camino paved roads are in Google Maps. Obviously, it does not (still) cover paths. For example, you can click your way from SJPP up to Cruz de Thibault (km 15), and then from Lepoeder pass to Roncesvalles (by Ibañeta).

 

[JillGat]

Why is the big point of it all to get the Compostella? Do people enjoy - or get anything out of - the process of getting there?

 

[Jersey]

Why is the big point of it all to get the Compostella? Do people enjoy - or get anything out of - the process of getting there?

I have mixed feelings about the Compostella. Bottom line it's a participation trophy which I hate when they hand them out to kids that play sports. You come in last & get a trophy? Not a great teaching method in my opinion.
On the other hand, walking 500 miles is an accomplishment, specially for the older folks so I have no problem with it.
That being said, I'm walking Leon to Santiago next month.. I'll get my Compostela stamped but it's not really a big deal to me.
Seeing the country, meeting people & the experience are the important things.

 

[jony jony]

Yeah....JillGat i am with you on this .

Regards......John

 

[RobertS26]

I have mixed feelings about the Compostella.

There's a part of me that wonders what the Camino would look like if the Church just handed out Compostellas--no questions asked--in SJPP and Sarria. That way the cheaters and frauds could get out of the way and leave the trail to those who are walking for a purpose.

 

[Mike Trebert]

Why not just push through it via streetview? I'm not sure if this question is seriously meant.

EDIT: Sorry @Jeff Crawley, I just noticed that you asked the same question.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

If a person riding an electric bike has the right to receive a Compostela to me is not a very interesting question. I myself don't need one very much (don't want to wait for it for more than half an hour) for me it's enough to know that I walked to Santiago. To me the compostela is at most a collateral advantage.
A more interesting question is whether electric bikers can stay in albergues municipal or donativos?

 

[t2andreo]

Riding a motorized vehicle to accomplish a Camino does not qualify one for a Compostela.

While some folks, myself included, have "leap frogged" at portions of any given Camino for any number of legitimate reasons, usually earlier on, this is one reason the Cathedral / Church established the you must walk at least the FINAL 100 km if on foot and you must PEDAL the final 200 km if on a bicycle.

Please, if the rules have changed, someone find out and report back. I know when I walk into the Pilgrim Office on 12 July, to begin my month of volunteer service, this will be one of my first questions after I greet my "second family."

 

[Tincatinker]

One Peregrino jumped right over another Peregrino's back
And the next Peregrino jumped right over the other Peregrino's back
And a third Peregrino jumped right over the other Peregrino's' backs
And a fourth Peregrino ......

They were only playing leapfrog (repeat)

And with apologies to the original and brilliant cast of "Oh What a Lovely War".

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I was out on a hike in the local woods yesterday and crossed the local Crab and Winkle cycletrack (a nicely graded gravel track from Canterbury to Whitstable - see what they did there?).
There was a family group out for a walk that ranged from small children with dogs up to Granny in an electric wheelchair and I wondered, if you're confined to a motorised wheelchair and complete the Camino, even just the last 100km, does that mean no recognition?

 

[Deleted member 67185]

I was out on a hike in the local woods yesterday and crossed the local Crab and Winkle cycletrack (a nicely graded gravel track from Canterbury to Whitstable - see what they did there?).
There was a family group out for a walk that ranged from small children with dogs up to Granny in an electric wheelchair and I wondered, if you're confined to a motorised wheelchair and complete the Camino, even just the last 100km, does that mean no recognition?

Many have completed the Camino via wheelchair assisted by others pushing them. There are even some very moving videos/documentaries of family and friends pushing those with severe disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, committing to providing wheelchair pilgrims the ability to complete their Camino. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...lchair-500-mile-trail-spain-article-1.1860528

Because electric wheelchairs are not essential for a wheelchair pilgrim to complete their Camino, I would guess that electric wheelchairs would not qualify.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Because electric wheelchairs are not essential for a wheelchair pilgrim to complete their Camino, I would guess that electric wheelchairs would not qualify.

From the Pilgrim Office website: "They are required to have travelled at least the last 100 kilometres on foot or horseback or the last 200 by bicycle, which is demonstrated by the “Credencial del Peregrino” duly stamped along the route travelled. Therefore other forms of travel to access the Compostela are excluded, except in the case of the disabled".

This tells me that electric wheelchair should be allowed.

So many threads end up with how rules need to keep in mind the disabled, not keeping in mind that the standard rules already do not apply to them.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

From the Pilgrim Office website: "They are required to have travelled at least the last 100 kilometres on foot or horseback or the last 200 by bicycle, which is demonstrated by the “Credencial del Peregrino” duly stamped along the route travelled. Therefore other forms of travel to access the Compostela are excluded, except in the case of the disabled".

This tells me that electric wheelchair should be allowed.

So many threads end up with how rules need to keep in mind the disabled, not keeping in mind that the standard rules already do not apply to them.

Point taken

 

[simeon]

If the electrical bike is not charged by "external" means, ie-not plugging it in, but is charged by pedal power and gravity, all the energy is only coming from either the person or gravity. This is the same for those who walk or cycle just a more efficient use of energy.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It might be worthwhile to do the pilgrimage on an electric bike, but remembering that the pilgrimage and the Camino, and the Compostela that belongs to the Camino, is separate from the pilgrimage if you're using motor transport, as far as the pilgrim's office is concerned anyway.

But it's probably closer to the spirit of the Way to use an electric bike along the Camino to get to Compostela on your pilgrimage than by bus or car or plane, none of which have anything wrong with them intrinsically either on the terms of what the pilgrimage is -- though it might be a little odd to approach it that way in a non-religious manner, because the pilgrimage in this particular sense would be basically Catholic (though some other Christians, Anglicans most notably, do carry out the pilgrimage like this too).

So, as long as you're not confused about the lack of eligibility for a Compostela that would ensue, the pilgrimage as such is not strictly incompatible with any means of transport, in the same way as the foot pilgrimage or the bike pilgrimage specifically.

 

[JabbaPapa]

There's a part of me that wonders what the Camino would look like if the Church just handed out Compostellas--no questions asked--in SJPP and Sarria. That way the cheaters and frauds could get out of the way and leave the trail to those who are walking for a purpose.

Well, prior to the 100/200 KM rule, the Compostela was indeed given to anyone going on pilgrimage to Compostela for religious reasons, with a credencial/certificate from their Priest or Bishop, regardless of the means used to get there -- and there are still some Catholics who are disappointed that this possibility no longer exists ; though OTOH, the sheer number of people that would qualify for such a thing would most likely make it impractical both economically and organisationally, particularly during the major feast day periods.

 

[jony jony]

If the electrical bike is not charged by "external" means, ie-not plugging it in, but is charged by pedal power and gravity, all the energy is only coming from either the person or gravity. This is the same for those who walk or cycle just a more efficient use of energy.

Simeon....does such a bike exist ? I would be interested in any info you have .

Regards.....John