I made this trip alone, starting in Pamplona from May 12 to June 5, 2014 on a MTB that I rented from Bikeiberia.
The bike was delivered to my hotel on time as promised. There were small issues with the bike including a non functioning bell, really worn handle grips with the handle bar metal exposed at both ends that should have been replaced long ago, and a cheap bike rack that caused me tremendous frustration mounting the panniers. The tires seemed quite worn, and indeed during the last 10k before entering Santiago the rear tire delaminated internally, creating a large bump on the tire making the bike not rideable. But the bike did get me there safe and sound, as those hydraulic brakes and gears worked great!
I'm a 63 years old male in good physical condition, and trained extensively for many months prior to the ride, continually riding up hills with fully loaded panniers until I was fed up with the boredom of all that riding.
But I still found the journey to Santiago to be extremely physically challenging, even with my extensive training. There are just so many, many hills. Many of the smaller hills don't show on the profiles. I pushed the bike and walked up these hills as much as I cycled them.
In several cases I rode the country roads that added many extra kilometers to the journey just to avoid the larger hills, and also because of some of the steep decents that can be dangerous in wet conditions. Riding the roads is much, much easier, but I tried to ride the walking path as much as I could because the two experiences are very different. And while there are many quiet roads that can be taken, and some of these are quite enjoyable to ride, it is still not the walking path experience, and misses the mark in so many ways. Also, I found that many are very busy, and to ride these highways is far from being a tranquil experience and is clearly very dangerous.
The weather was poor for about 50 percent of the time with many cold days, with lots of rain and high winds. At Pedrafita just before summiting O Cebreiro, I was wearing three T shirts, a turtle neck, a fleece, windbreaker, poncho, toque, helmet, gloves and jeans, and I was still going hypothermic as the temperature was just above freezing.
I stayed in alburgues 50 percent of the time. Pensions and hotels the other 50 percent. I really enjoyed several of the alburgues, the ones that were connected to Parishes that had a communal meal, and we all participated in the preparation. Most I didn't enjoy in the slightest, especially the ones that were large and more impersonal.
All the alburgues accommodated my bike and I was not turned away. I'm not sure if this would be the case in the busier season.
Having said all of the above, it would seems that I had a fairly negative experience. But this is far from being true. The Camino Frances is a phenomenal ride. The landscape is spectacular, the Spanish cuisine fabulous, the people welcoming, the cultural experience refreshing, the medieval architecture with the cathedrals, churches, museums, buildings breathtaking. In one word I would describe the Way of Saint James Camino Frances as "glorious". Am I glad I rode the Camino Frances, you bet. It was wonderful. Would I ride it again? A resounding no! It's just too difficult for this pilgrim.
Unless, unless, I decided to use one of the several luggage forwarding services that are available. You simply reserve your alburgue, or room a day in advance. Then you tag your panniers to be picked up in the morning while you are riding, and they are delivered and waiting for you at your new accommodation. It's cheap and works great. In fact, I used it the last two days coming into Santiago. I don't know if I would have made it without this service, as I was just so spent with all the pushing of all that weight up those hills!!
Buen Camino
The bike was delivered to my hotel on time as promised. There were small issues with the bike including a non functioning bell, really worn handle grips with the handle bar metal exposed at both ends that should have been replaced long ago, and a cheap bike rack that caused me tremendous frustration mounting the panniers. The tires seemed quite worn, and indeed during the last 10k before entering Santiago the rear tire delaminated internally, creating a large bump on the tire making the bike not rideable. But the bike did get me there safe and sound, as those hydraulic brakes and gears worked great!
I'm a 63 years old male in good physical condition, and trained extensively for many months prior to the ride, continually riding up hills with fully loaded panniers until I was fed up with the boredom of all that riding.
But I still found the journey to Santiago to be extremely physically challenging, even with my extensive training. There are just so many, many hills. Many of the smaller hills don't show on the profiles. I pushed the bike and walked up these hills as much as I cycled them.
In several cases I rode the country roads that added many extra kilometers to the journey just to avoid the larger hills, and also because of some of the steep decents that can be dangerous in wet conditions. Riding the roads is much, much easier, but I tried to ride the walking path as much as I could because the two experiences are very different. And while there are many quiet roads that can be taken, and some of these are quite enjoyable to ride, it is still not the walking path experience, and misses the mark in so many ways. Also, I found that many are very busy, and to ride these highways is far from being a tranquil experience and is clearly very dangerous.
The weather was poor for about 50 percent of the time with many cold days, with lots of rain and high winds. At Pedrafita just before summiting O Cebreiro, I was wearing three T shirts, a turtle neck, a fleece, windbreaker, poncho, toque, helmet, gloves and jeans, and I was still going hypothermic as the temperature was just above freezing.
I stayed in alburgues 50 percent of the time. Pensions and hotels the other 50 percent. I really enjoyed several of the alburgues, the ones that were connected to Parishes that had a communal meal, and we all participated in the preparation. Most I didn't enjoy in the slightest, especially the ones that were large and more impersonal.
All the alburgues accommodated my bike and I was not turned away. I'm not sure if this would be the case in the busier season.
Having said all of the above, it would seems that I had a fairly negative experience. But this is far from being true. The Camino Frances is a phenomenal ride. The landscape is spectacular, the Spanish cuisine fabulous, the people welcoming, the cultural experience refreshing, the medieval architecture with the cathedrals, churches, museums, buildings breathtaking. In one word I would describe the Way of Saint James Camino Frances as "glorious". Am I glad I rode the Camino Frances, you bet. It was wonderful. Would I ride it again? A resounding no! It's just too difficult for this pilgrim.
Unless, unless, I decided to use one of the several luggage forwarding services that are available. You simply reserve your alburgue, or room a day in advance. Then you tag your panniers to be picked up in the morning while you are riding, and they are delivered and waiting for you at your new accommodation. It's cheap and works great. In fact, I used it the last two days coming into Santiago. I don't know if I would have made it without this service, as I was just so spent with all the pushing of all that weight up those hills!!
Buen Camino
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