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I came across this in La Voz de Galicia / Santiago:
La bici eléctrica se suma a los medios de transporte aptos para la compostela
Pese a ser un vehículo a motor, la Oficina del Peregrino hace una excepción con las personas que sufren una discapacidadwww.lavozdegalicia.es
When I was there this year, staff told me that the rule was that electric ASSIST bicycles do qualify as bicycles, PROVIDED that you MUST pedal for the electric assist to kick in. Per the article, above, this is still the case.
Hope this helps.
I came across this in La Voz de Galicia / Santiago:
La bici eléctrica se suma a los medios de transporte aptos para la compostela
Pese a ser un vehículo a motor, la Oficina del Peregrino hace una excepción con las personas que sufren una discapacidadwww.lavozdegalicia.es
When I was there this year, staff told me that the rule was that electric ASSIST bicycles do qualify as bicycles, PROVIDED that you MUST pedal for the electric assist to kick in. Per the article, above, this is still the case.
Hope this helps.
I do hope this can be clarified explicitly as it could well be a slippery slope.
Clearly some form of powered assistance should be permitted for wheelchair users. They deserve a medal the size of a bin-lid for even contemplating the journey.
Extending that dispensation to e-bikes initially sounds like a logical step - but how is the line drawn at ‘some kind of disability’?
Parking permits for those with qualifying disabilities (I’m truly sorry if that is an inappropriate term - it’s ignorance not disrespect if so) in the UK can now extend in certain circumstances to non-apparent and non-physical conditions. It’s a very difficult subject.
I thoroughly support equality of access to opportunity - who could not? But I’ve never subscribed to the ‘all must have prizes’ concept.
I’m so pleased it’s not my decision.
My own somewhat jaded opinion on all of this is that at some point the rules are going to converge and break down, but really, who cares! What about roller blades? What about being carried in a sedan chair?
If I want to get a compostela, or a distance certificate, or a certificate of completion, how does that have any impact on the value of your compostela, your distance certificate, or your certificate of completion? This is all about extrinsic validation, but it seems to me that the real value of the camino is that it is all about the internal goings on. Camino Lesson Number 1 — the camino is between you and your god/goddess/spirit, and no one can take the value of that relationship away from you. And no certificate can give you that relationship.
BTW Roller blades are considered walking as you must propel yourself. This has been done and accepted.
Still waiting for the inevitable pogo stick Pilgrim...LOL
Still waiting for the inevitable pogo stick Pilgrim...LOL
I'm going to be the contrarian here and just say, "They do? Why?" They don't have to do anything.They must come up with a better way to do things.
I hope not. As I said on the other thread, and please don't take this personally @t2andreo , these ideas...just no thanks. I think it would be a great pity if the compostela became just another commodity and a commercial process-driven venture, done by machine and involving tourist ventures outside the Pilgrim's office.It will NEVER happen. But, I am thinking of preparing a white-paper, in Spanish to float this alternative when I am there next year.
I agree. It's my impression that the Cathedral is saddled with this Compostela business now as it has developed in recent decades but doesn't really take such an interest in it. They can't or won't drop it, for obvious reasons, and they can't make it fairer or control it better for financial reasons. They have better things to do with their human resources and other resources. The link to El Pais that I posted earlier was illuminating when the author quoted some information that he was told by volunteers of the Pilgrims Office in connection with whether or how the Pilgrims Office grants Compostelas to e-bike riders and then added as a remark to readers: "I don't believe what they told me".For me this "obtaining Compostela" issue (and rules about it) is so overblown and overrated.
“Your Camino is yours” personally I wish there was a bell on every bike and a speed governor on wheeled vehicles.My own somewhat jaded opinion on all of this is that at some point the rules are going to converge and break down, but really, who cares! What about roller blades? What about being carried in a sedan chair?
If I want to get a compostela, or a distance certificate, or a certificate of completion, how does that have any impact on the value of your compostela, your distance certificate, or your certificate of completion? This is all about extrinsic validation, but it seems to me that the real value of the camino is that it is all about the internal goings on. Camino Lesson Number 1 — the camino is between you and your god/goddess/spirit, and no one can take the value of that relationship away from you. And no certificate can give you that relationship.
As it should be. There are more than enough bicycles, let alone electric bikes!Tom, in the article (translated by Chrome) I read the portion quoted below as part of the article. I am wondering if that written caveat is part of your understanding. . that ebikes are only to be used by those with an informity or mobility issue? This is translated by Chrome from the Spanish.
"...the Pilgrim's Office they clarified yesterday that the electric bike is already among the means of transport suitable for obtaining the Compost[ela]. Although only as an exception for people who have some type of disability."
The best of all questions. ‘They’ would not.How would they even know?
New business opportunity here. Buy old bikes and rent them out to compostela seekers.The result is increasingly difficult to spot. Clearly, the security guys do not want this chore. To do it properly, a staff person or volunteer would have to be assigned to inspect and verify every bicycle to eliminate those that did not comply.
I certainly do not want that job. YOU try disqualifying a peloton of Italian bikers ...nope, not me...
An E-Bike, which can go as fast as 30 km/h, ridden by an inexperienced and/or inconsiderate rider will result in collisions. E-Bikes have a place in this world but not on walking trails. Additionally, there is the risk of fires from the lithium battery.“Your Camino is yours” personally I wish there was a bell on every bike and a speed governor on wheeled vehicles.
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