Eoghan McGrath
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- French route Cycling final 400km (2007), Full French Route Cycling (2015).
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Hello there, I plan to cycle the Camino from SJPP to Santiago in 7 days in April 2015. I am a relatively experienced cyclist and I'm quite fit, so with a bit of training/conditioning I don't think it will be too much of an issue physically. However, I'd love to hear any advice anyone has to give with regards to this plan; any warnings, considerations I've probably overlooked etc.
Thank you very much for your time,
Eoghan
Some people I know say that about the Camino in general..........Because it's there!Why bother?
Why bother?
In my opinion, the camino is not a great cycle ride, it’s a pilgrimage route. It’s good for religion, history, food, social experience and that kind of thing. There are much more beautiful and much more exciting places to ride a bike in Europe.
Most pilgrims are cool about cyclists but some are downright hostile
The original post was requesting thoughts. "Why bother" was my thought. It is as legitimate as any other, it just may not agree with your thought.Some people I know say that about the Camino in general..........Because it's there!
Quite right! I stand corrected.The original post was requesting thoughts. "Why bother" was my thought. It is as legitimate as any other, it just may not agree with your thought.
He has not been back to the Forum since the original post...If you'll provide that information,
Eoghan
I'll be happy to add some thoughts, but to answer your questions thoughtfully requires additional information. First, as some have pointed out, whether you intend to ride on the road or on the trail (with occasional road riding in lieu of hike-a-bike) matters tremendously. Second, do you intend to spend nearly all your waking hours riding or did you plan on stopping to smell the flowers and see the sights along the way?
If you'll provide that information, I'll provide my insights from the perspective of one who cycled on a mountain bike and mainly on the path from Roncesvalles to Santiago in 14 days in April 2013.
Dan
I second that.The original post was requesting thoughts. "Why bother" was my thought. It is as legitimate as any other, it just may not agree with your thought.
Eoghan
I'll be happy to add some thoughts, but to answer your questions thoughtfully requires additional information. First, as some have pointed out, whether you intend to ride on the road or on the trail (with occasional road riding in lieu of hike-a-bike) matters tremendously. Second, do you intend to spend nearly all your waking hours riding or did you plan on stopping to smell the flowers and see the sights along the way?
If you'll provide that information, I'll provide my insights from the perspective of one who cycled on a mountain bike and mainly on the path from Roncesvalles to Santiago in 14 days in April 2013.
Dan
By choosing SJPP you also choose for a challenge on day 1. It takes 4 to 5 hours to climb the Puerto de Ibañeta. So be prepared (or start in Pamplona). In May it can be cold on the Meseta (800 m above sea level) and in the Spanish mountains (1,300 m). Cycling the Camino Path is also a challenge. Sometimes the Path is steep. There are stones, dust, mud, water and walkers who don't like bikers passing them closely. Alternative: asphalt. So plan your track, a mix of asphalt and the Path. Avoid cycling the asphalt of the N-120. There's a lot of traffic on this main road (large trucks) and that makes cycling not that comfortable as you might wish. The distance is about 900 km (SJPP-Santiago) so sixteen days will be sufficient. You won't have to hurry. So you can enjoy your Camino by visiting little villages (Estella, Nájera, Santo Domingo, Hontanas and many other), cities like Burgos and León, monastries and churches. And -very important- enjoy your Spanish food/meals. Tapas, cerveza, vino and the daily 'Pilgrims' meal' are my favorites. It'll be very helpful if you can understand (and speak) some elementairy Spanish. Older Spanish people only speak Spanish. And there're a lot of old Spaniards along the Camino. English is popular in contacts between pilgrims, coming from the UK, Netherlands, Germany, USA, Canada, Australia etc. Young people from France, Italy and Spain mostly speak English, sometimes even quite good. Enjoy these contacts.Hello!
I know this post is from a while ago now, but my friend and I are planning to cycle from SJPP to Santiago this May and I would really love to get some of your insights! We chose SJPP just because it is the more traditional starting point, but we are open to different starting cities. We would really like to travel mainly on the path as opposed roads, and trying to plan that is a little daunting! We have about 16 days to complete the trip, and we really want to be able to stop and smell the flowers and see the sights along the way.
Thanks for any info you might be able to provide!
HiHello there, I plan to cycle the Camino from SJPP to Santiago in 7 days in April 2015. I am a relatively experienced cyclist and I'm quite fit, so with a bit of training/conditioning I don't think it will be too much of an issue physically. However, I'd love to hear any advice anyone has to give with regards to this plan; any warnings, considerations I've probably overlooked etc.
Thank you very much for your time,
Eoghan
From Roncesvalles you can cycle directly to Puente la Reina rather than Pamplona.
By choosing SJPP you also choose for a challenge on day 1. It takes 4 to 5 hours to climb the Puerto de Ibañeta. So be prepared (or start in Pamplona). In May it can be cold on the Meseta (800 m above sea level) and in the Spanish mountains (1,300 m). Cycling the Camino Path is also a challenge. Sometimes the Path is steep. There are stones, dust, mud, water and walkers who don't like bikers passing them closely. Alternative: asphalt. So plan your track, a mix of asphalt and the Path. Avoid cycling the asphalt of the N-120. There's a lot of traffic on this main road (large trucks) and that makes cycling not that comfortable as you might wish. The distance is about 900 km (SJPP-Santiago) so sixteen days will be sufficient. You won't have to hurry. So you can enjoy your Camino by visiting little villages (Estella, Nájera, Santo Domingo, Hontanas and many other), cities like Burgos and León, monastries and churches. And -very important- enjoy your Spanish food/meals. Tapas, cerveza, vino and the daily 'Pilgrims' meal' are my favorites. It'll be very helpful if you can understand (and speak) some elementairy Spanish. Older Spanish people only speak Spanish. And there're a lot of old Spaniards along the Camino. English is popular in contacts between pilgrims, coming from the UK, Netherlands, Germany, USA, Canada, Australia etc. Young people from France, Italy and Spain mostly speak English, sometimes even quite good. Enjoy these contacts.
Buen Camino!
Faìlte Eoghan,
If you intend to take the road, it's probably doable in 7 days, but on the path most of the way, you're more talking about 10 to 11 days cycling, all depends on your fitness and luggage. The main issue with long cycling days is that it's already 5PM by the time you look for accommodation and cyclists aren't on top of the list for a bed. You might endup in situations like: It's 4pm, I can have a bed here but I made "only" 90k where I expect 110 avg per day, but next village, 20k from here has only one albergue and I don't know if I'll have a bed.... In April, you can't really start too early as it's fairly dangerous to ride with poor visibility.
Don't underestimate the time it takes to maintain the bike, your gear and yourself in the evening after a wet muddy day (Thank you guys from El Puntido ...)
I did Toulouse -> Santiago, 1200km in 15 days on a MTB. 80km avg is about 5h cycling at 16km/h. Great days at 100km+, bad at 45km.
My only advice is "take your time, don't plan too much, give yourself 2-3 extra days that you'll spend either on the road or in Santiago, or to Fisterra so your mind won't be focus on your bike computer and more on your feelings.
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