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My 2020 Journey ... home to SJPdP on a bike

Mark L

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Done : Le Puy to SJPdP in 2020.
Planned : Saint Jean to Santiago in 2021
Hi

i just got there. Like many others, this year has been a “re-planning exercise” in whatever I could manage to do. It has been the most positive thing of 2020 for me.

The playlist is my personal video diary of the whole thing and in no way commercial. I hope it helps someone, encourages someone and leads someone to seek information. I will obviously be happy to help anyone who wants to try to do the same.

Plus I hope it gives someone a laugh watching a big bloke slogging across France on a cheap bike ....

here you go ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXkeRjTaPZ1GJ0wZrxWJH4n536paFNZon

PS. I’m up.oading the final one to the list overnight tonight ... just in case you wondered

enjoy
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Thanks for your link. I just watched the first video and look forward to the rest, but I have to do some housework now! When I stop for a cuppa... I will watch you suffer! or not...
 
Hi

i just got there. Like many others, this year has been a “re-planning exercise” in whatever I could manage to do. It has been the most positive thing of 2020 for me.

The playlist is my personal video diary of the whole thing and in no way commercial. I hope it helps someone, encourages someone and leads someone to seek information. I will obviously be happy to help anyone who wants to try to do the same.

Plus I hope it gives someone a laugh watching a big bloke slogging across France on a cheap bike ....

here you go ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXkeRjTaPZ1GJ0wZrxWJH4n536paFNZon

PS. I’m up.oading the final one to the list overnight tonight ... just in case you wondered

enjoy
Hi Mark
Loving your videos and your style.I love the Lot Valley .I volunteered at the Monastery of Escayrac ,near Montcuq,with the Dominican Sisters who had a pilgrim gîte.For me it was paradise.I know the couple at Montlauzon .Their daughter purchased the old school house facing the Monastery which also belonged to the nuns.Unfortunately the Monastery was sold in 2017.
Looks like you bypassed Escayrac.That' s a brutal climb up to Montlauzon for pilgrims on foot let alone on a bike.Hats off to you.
I' ve watched the first three videos.I found them very enjoyable on a grey day here in Belfast.
Bon Courage et Bon Continuation
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

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I just watched the first one - good start! I had tentatively planned to walk this route this fall, but.... Looking forward to watching the rest and get a first-hand view of what, hopefully, awaits, while enjoying your adventure for its own sake.
 
Hi Mark
Loving your videos and your style.I love the Lot Valley .I volunteered at the Monastery of Escayrac ,near Montcuq,with the Dominican Sisters who had a pilgrim gîte.For me it was paradise.I know the couple at Montlauzon .Their daughter purchased the old school house facing the Monastery which also belonged to the nuns.Unfortunately the Monastery was sold in 2017.
Looks like you bypassed Escayrac.That' s a brutal climb up to Montlauzon for pilgrims on foot let alone on a bike.Hats off to you.
I' ve watched the first three videos.I found them very enjoyable on a grey day here in Belfast.
Bon Courage et Bon Continuation
Oops Bonne Continuation
 
Mark, welcome to the forum! I watched several of your initial Utube videos and found them engaging. Watched also the landscape...as Bala mentioned! Will continue watching your journey. Thanks for posting!

Ps what kind of fish was that in the 4th video?
 
Last edited:
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Oops Bonne Continuation
I’ve lived here for a long time, worked here too... I still mess it up from time to time mate.
thanks for the feedback... it’s nice to have.
tbh, this has ended up being a sanity provision for me this year.
im not done yet but I can’t explain how much it has helped me ... nothing to do with cycling, I just mean mentally.
 
Three down... really enjoying the trip, it's so easy from the computer chair!!!
That’s how I started mate
Mark, welcome to the forum! I watched several of your initial Utube videos and found them engaging. Watched also the landscape...as Bala mentioned! Will continue watching your journey. Thanks for posting!

Ps what kind of fish was that in the 4th video?
cheers . I’m actually trying To ”give back” A bit. Last year I signed up when researching options. I got help from good people here.
that’s not how it ended up but that’s not the fault of the people who helped...
what you see is the result ...
i want to try to give back and encourage/help others.
only got to SJPdP but then I couldn’t leave my house till June for more than a km. Doesn’t matter, it’s not a race, it’s a rythme and mindset
 
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Hi Mark
Loving your videos and your style.I love the Lot Valley .I volunteered at the Monastery of Escayrac ,near Montcuq,with the Dominican Sisters who had a pilgrim gîte.For me it was paradise.I know the couple at Montlauzon .Their daughter purchased the old school house facing the Monastery which also belonged to the nuns.Unfortunately the Monastery was sold in 2017.
Looks like you bypassed Escayrac.That' s a brutal climb up to Montlauzon for pilgrims on foot let alone on a bike.Hats off to you.
I' ve watched the first three videos.I found them very enjoyable on a grey day here in Belfast.
Bon Courage et Bon Continuation
If you pass, shout. I’ll show you the area and How to paddle a real canoe ... Canadian style boat .., it’s my business organising open canoe trips
yours is free
 
I just replied to some of the positive comments I got by posting this. Tbh,it was a bit of a stupid afterthought really to post it here despite this being one of my original sources of advice .. dumb as a box of rocks at times ... that’s me

anyway, I just wanted to say something .... thank you all of you.

I hope it comes through a bit in the vids but I’ve fou d another strand to my life. Mostly I’m a “indestructible lump” in things but I’ve been shaken this year and eventually just doing “an imperfect version of what I’d pictured” just became perfect

I struggle to sum up the implications personally of the small part I’ve so far done to others but I’m sure people here will get it when I say “far from tiring me out, it has recharged me”

i hope I can help others get that too
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Mark, welcome to the forum! I watched several of your initial Utube videos and found them engaging. Watched also the landscape...as Bala mentioned! Will continue watching your journey. Thanks for posting!

Ps what kind of fish was that in the 4th video?

The fish was a catfish. That area/river is known for them.
in fact, 2 were caught at about that size while I was there (and returned to the river).
the other one was caught during the big storm with the guy out there fighting a whale while getting absolutely battered by the elements.
keen people, these anglerists it seems
 
I just replied to some of the positive comments I got by posting this. Tbh,it was a bit of a stupid afterthought really to post it here despite this being one of my original sources of advice .. dumb as a box of rocks at times ... that’s me

anyway, I just wanted to say something .... thank you all of you.

I hope it comes through a bit in the vids but I’ve fou d another strand to my life. Mostly I’m a “indestructible lump” in things but I’ve been shaken this year and eventually just doing “an imperfect version of what I’d pictured” just became perfect

I struggle to sum up the implications personally of the small part I’ve so far done to others but I’m sure people here will get it when I say “far from tiring me out, it has recharged me”

i hope I can help others get that too
Mark, I want to just say thank you. I detect a glimmer of something simmering underneath. Do pay attention. That is for you. As for your decision to share your videos - spot on! I thought you suffer a bit...and I see I was right. Never mind. How are you now about having done the Chemin? Are you ready to undertake the Camino from where you finished the Chemin? I look forward to more...
 
Mark, I want to just say thank you. I detect a glimmer of something simmering underneath. Do pay attention. That is for you. As for your decision to share your videos - spot on! I thought you suffer a bit...and I see I was right. Never mind. How are you now about having done the Chemin? Are you ready to undertake the Camino from where you finished the Chemin? I look forward to more...

cheers, I suspect you may be correct about glimmers :)

Frankly, I got better as I went and just kept going. Next fence post, lay-by, road sign etc. There’s a beat to it ... it’s similar to the feeling of long expedition paddles and portages ... the body hurts a bit but the mind is free. I don’t mind the hurt and I’m stubborn enough to ignore it ... Yorkshire stubborn is famous.

Plus, I just laugh at myself ... it helps

right now I couldn’t be better mate. Sure I’m fitter now and working to keep that, but that’s only a part of the circle. Best therapy I could have had. I’m happy and sort of ”charged up”.

as to “am I ready to start again” .... I’d still be going if I could afford to right now but we have had all but 2 bookings this season cancelled so I really need to find a way to earn something ... it’s not just me to look after ... that’s fine though, I now will know why I’m doing it and will be back to restart as soon as I can
 
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cheers, I suspect you may be correct about glimmers :)

Frankly, I got better as I went and just kept going. Next fence post, lay-by, road sign etc. There’s a beat to it ... it’s similar to the feeling of long expedition paddles and portages ... the body hurts a bit but the mind is free. I don’t mind the hurt and I’m stubborn enough to ignore it ... Yorkshire stubborn is famous.

Plus, I just laugh at myself ... it helps

right now I couldn’t be better mate. Sure I’m fitter now and working to keep that, but that’s only a part of the circle. Best therapy I could have had. I’m happy and sort of ”charged up”.

as to “am I ready to start again” .... I’d still be going if I could afford to right now but we have had all but 2 bookings this season cancelled so I really need to find a way to earn something ... it’s not just me to look after ... that’s fine though, I now will know why I’m doing it and will be back to restart as soon as I can
Sounds really good. Look after yourself and those in your care. If the time comes, you will know. I walked my first camino, the Frances, when I was 58, and at that time thought I was an elderly lady! I learned some more (by the way, you might find time to look up those words - title of a poem written by a lovely poet from Dublin, Pat Ingoldsby) and at the age of almost 73 I have no intention of stopping.
 
cheers, I suspect you may be correct about glimmers :)

Frankly, I got better as I went and just kept going. Next fence post, lay-by, road sign etc. There’s a beat to it ... it’s similar to the feeling of long expedition paddles and portages ... the body hurts a bit but the mind is free. I don’t mind the hurt and I’m stubborn enough to ignore it ... Yorkshire stubborn is famous.

Plus, I just laugh at myself ... it helps

right now I couldn’t be better mate. Sure I’m fitter now and working to keep that, but that’s only a part of the circle. Best therapy I could have had. I’m happy and sort of ”charged up”.

as to “am I ready to start again” .... I’d still be going if I could afford to right now but we have had all but 2 bookings this season cancelled so I really need to find a way to earn something ... it’s not just me to look after ... that’s fine though, I now will know why I’m doing it and will be back to restart as soon as I can
Chapeau Mark to you and the bike.Brute force and determination got you both through.As you said a very positive experience to look back on .Great for the body and soul.I hope it will give you the motivation to continue at some point on the Camino Frances in Spain.
Sole pilgrims on foot will also have the same problem finding accommodation in gîtes in France because of the preference for groups ,due to Covid 19.
.I have passed through Cajarc ,on foot,many times.I think I stayed there once.I may well take you up on the canoe offer.Thanks for that.It would be a new experience for me!
This is the first year since 2007 that I haven't been in France .I miss it so much.
I hope your videos will encourage other pilgrims to walk or cycle the chemin/the way in France.There are many to choose from however the route from Le Puy is undoubtedly the most popular.
Hopefully next year will be a better one for all of us.
Best wishes to your wife who supported you on your adventure.
 
Tbh I’m always and always have been, ok to help people where I can here, so Cajarc should be safe ground for anyone passing here ... if I’m here, I can sort problems, offer hospitality etc. If I’m not then I can get someone to sort issues

you’d find a different but similar beat to Paddling ... and so maybe not so different really ... other than technique.

good news is I can paddle, have boats and also I can cook after.

It’d be nice to welcome someone else who gets this whole thing. forget hills, bikes, walking etc ... I’ve learned more than that on this first small part and we live an open life so I’d like to give something back
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Sounds really good. Look after yourself and those in your care. If the time comes, you will know. I walked my first camino, the Frances, when I was 58, and at that time thought I was an elderly lady! I learned some more (by the way, you might find time to look up those words - title of a poem written by a lovely poet from Dublin, Pat Ingoldsby) and at the age of almost 73 I have no intention of stopping.
 
Thing with it appears to be ... having got though enough of it ... there isn’t Really an option but to continue. It’s so similar to the feeling I got though wilderness canoe expeds in Canada etc, yet there is also something else. It’s not something you do, it becomes something you are

My wife ran Support car for me because of the covid stuff and related issues for accommodation which wasn’t plan a ... plus we are skint so can’t afford to just pay to make it happen. She also pushed herself out of her “norm” doing it for me and the result is that she is also better for it, knows every place and is actually emotional about it despite doing it in a Fiat Panda. Don’t underestimate how much of a big deal it has been for her to do it .... just in order to make me doing it possible. She freely admits to being better for it ...

I’m Properly fine, I’m a lump with a very open view of the world, I’ll be straight back as soon as I can secure enough living to do so and its doable,.... the rest of the time when not working, I paddle a canoe and bivi overnight near places where primitive cave paintings were done locally ... and I swear that outside the circle of light from the candle, I’m not alone.
 
Thing with it appears to be ... having got though enough of it ... there isn’t Really an option but to continue. It’s so similar to the feeling I got though wilderness canoe expeds in Canada etc, yet there is also something else. It’s not something you do, it becomes something you are

My wife ran Support car for me because of the covid stuff and related issues for accommodation which wasn’t plan a ... plus we are skint so can’t afford to just pay to make it happen. She also pushed herself out of her “norm” doing it for me and the result is that she is also better for it, knows every place and is actually emotional about it despite doing it in a Fiat Panda. Don’t underestimate how much of a big deal it has been for her to do it .... just in order to make me doing it possible. She freely admits to being better for it ...

I’m Properly fine, I’m a lump with a very open view of the world, I’ll be straight back as soon as I can secure enough living to do so and its doable,.... the rest of the time when not working, I paddle a canoe and bivi overnight near places where primitive cave paintings were done locally ... and I swear that outside the circle of light from the candle, I’m not alone.
 

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