The Camino de Santiago on bike

[freeflyer123]

Greetings from two 'wannabe' cyclists who plan to ride the whole of the Camino de Santiago later this year. Consensus is to leave it until September/October although the heart says "go now". The idea of riding it was really quite sudden - just a matter of a few weeks ago. But over the past 10 or so years, we've occasionally bumped into others who have either walked or cycled the Camino so it shouldn't really come as a surprise - to either of us.

Both retired, now seems the right time. My husband is 72, I am 65. We did think of walking the route, but have since found that it is just as rideable. We have never been to Spain either, having mostly ridden in the UK and France. I am not sure if this site is the right one to be on, as I have not, so far, come across any entries from people who have ridden the route. But the information here has been very encouraging and positive.

If everything goes according to plan, we intend to leave our house (in the middle of England) and take a few days riding down to the ferry port (not sure which one yet), before crossing over and beginning our route through France and into Spain. The furthest I have ever ridden in France is to Quimper in Brittany (in a week which rained most days) so this is going to be a whole new ballgame. But the ride to Spain should prepare us for when we need to face the Pyranees! We hope to carry a very lightweight tent for the few occasions when we cannot find a place to stay. We have to do things 'on the cheap' because we only have our pensions coming in as income now. We are used to 'roughing it' occasionally but for six to eight weeks! That should test us both. What do we hope to get out of it? I honestly don't know, but am looking forward to finding out. If nothing else, I think it will be great to look back in a few year's time and tell ourselves that we did it, rather than that it's a pity we didn't try!

 

[mspath]

Hi freeflyer123,

Welcome to the Forum!

You will find much helpful advice here from former pilgrims who are always eager to share their experiences. Ask all the questions you like.

Be sure to check out the Forum pilgrim topic Biking the Camino at >>>
http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/biking-the-camino/ which contains lots of useful information and accounts of biking pilgrims' gear, routes, etc.

You may wish to investigate the Bike-line Service for cyclists on the Camino. it lists those albergues which are cyclist friendly. See >> http://bike-line.blogspot.com.es/
One such albergue is at Viloria de Rioja just east of Belorado. Acacio and Orietta have a wonderful refuge for pilgrims which is also cyclist friendly. Although now I am a walker and no longer a cyclist I stayed there late October 2010. They have created a comfortable oasis from abandoned animal sheds; there are 10 comfy bunks in a dorm heated by a wood burning stove and great showers that water you and not the ceiling, walls or your clothes. Wifi is available as is a multilingual library specializing in books by Paulo Coelho. See >> http://www.peregrinando.org/.

Happy planning and Buen Camino,

Margaret Meredith

 

[Deleted member 3000]

If you are not mountain bikers, you will will want a guide or maps that show the roads that parallel the path. Some places are nearly impassable except for experience mountain cyclists, and there are even a few that they avoid. As a result, you cannot just "follow the yellow arrows". The section on cycling has some good information on getting maps and guides.

Buen camino!

 

[freeflyer123]

Thank you guys, it's great to know that it's possible by bike. I will definitely look on the links. We are on hybrids, rather than mountain bikes so appreciate any feedback on routes etc. I have been thinking of getting a garmin tracker for hubby but two things against this: my husband prefers using old fashioned maps, and it might be tricky getting a signal in the mountains. We are used to humping bikes over stiles and even carrying them over muddy paths, but prefer at least a semblance of a rideable track where possible.

My reason for doing this is because lately I have been feeling as if I am 'drifting through life aimlessly' and I need some reason for 'why'. I hope the trip can see me back home afterwards with the feeling that I have achieved something with my life. My husband will be doing it because he loves cycling - anywhere, anytime.

 

[William Marques]

Good luck with your tour. I am a cyclist and look forward to hearing how it all goes. Although you may be happy carrying your bikes over stiles remember on a long trek like this you will probably have at least 2 panniers each so avoiding them would be wise. Pushing is not so bad and you may even be doing that on the road in the mountains. We did our tours on the Caminos and Via on 26 inch wheeled tourers so were able to go on many paths but often a quiet road is nearby.

I would stick with the maps myself but I am old fashioned.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

it might be tricky getting a signal in the mountains

The signals are from satellites, so the mountains are less a problem than trees! I had no problem with my Garmin.

 

[newfydog]

Check out this thread:

biking-the-camino/topic16273.html#p115564

I updated my post on the Frances by pasting in a detailed write-up I did a few years ago.

If you are going to ride your hybrids, put on the fattest tires (tyres) that will fit. Pack as light as possible.

My wife is 64. We did four mountain bike trips last year. You will love the trip!

 

[freeflyer123]

Yes, we had thought of using mountain bikes. However, as we will be riding a great deal on roads - we intend to leave the house and ride all the way through to the ferry then through France to Spain - we won't be using genuine mountain bikes. But we do intend putting on stronger wheels than we currently have - to try and avoid as many punctures as possible.

We will be taking two panniers each. We are used to carrying light as we often go camping with the bikes. We usually take three pairs of shorts, three tops, three pairs socks, and some rain-gear. As we have heard that the weather changes a lot there, we might need to revise what we take this time around. For instance, I've also heard that we will need to keep our arms covered because of the hot sun. Even in September/October? And we've heard so much about bed bugs (again on this site) that it seems a good idea to take some sort of light covering for the mattresses. We hope to take a lightweight tent which might come in handy, although this idea is very fluid and might change. As we are both retired, we had meant to do this trip on the cheap, but I occasionally do some freelancing for the company I used to work for, and they've just given me a juicy job which would mean we should have some reserves to fall back on. Still, camping on the odd night should probably be planned for in any case.

I'm thinking the most challenging aspect of this trip right now is that neither of us know any Spanish! I have a smattering of French which gets us through on the many occasions that we visit France. But Spanish? So it's off to the library to see if we can find some CDs to listen to. I want to get something for the mp3 player so that I can have it on while at the gym. My problem is that it's very possible we'll be mixing the French with the Spanish, lololol. But I do honestly think it's a good thing to show the 'locals' that we are willing to at least try to speak to them in their own language.

I am hooked on the idea of buying a Garmin for my husband for his 72nd birthday (soonish). He does prefer ordinary maps and we do have a phone with gps but I suspect it would be expensive using it in any country other than the UK. Having said that, surely no more expensive than purchasing a garmin!

 

[newfydog]

Well, looks like you have things fairly well sorted out. You'll like this trip.

A few comments on our personal choices.....We have done the Camino with and without a tent. We have very light gear, but I can tell you the riding is much easier without a tent and pad. If budget is a concern, I'd be tempted shorten the trip a bit. We camped some nice spots, but the trip without camping gear was more fun riding. Of course England is expensive relative to the Camino, so if you are camping there, it might save you quite a bit

If you have mountain bikes, remember that you can put road tires on a mountain bike, but you can't put mountain tires on a road bike. We frequently ride with a road rear tire and fat smoothish front on the road, and buy two MTB rear tires when we hit the trail. A mountain bike with road tires makes a great loaded touring bike, with the low gears and powerful brakes

We never bring three pairs of shorts and tops. Two if it is damp, one in dry country. We wear them right into the shower, wash them, and get them dry, or nearly dry by morning. The sun was never so strong in Sept-Oct that we needed light clothes with long sleeves, but we had medium weight long sleeves for cold descents.

I have a Garmin Dakota 20 with a Europe chip with every little road from Finland to Sicily and it is wonderful. It comes with a good handlebar mount, and is waterproof. You can load a track from Google Earth into it and never get lost. Of course, you won't get lost on the Camino, but for picking a route to Spain, for choosing alternatives to the hiking trail, it can't be beat. For something such as the Great Divide MTB route in the US, it is far better than a map. Also, you can save your route every day and refer back to it on Google Maps to find any little cafe you stopped at, where you took a photo, etc..

Our plan for this year is a bit like yours----We will take the ferry from Le Havre to Portsmouth, ride the South Downs Trail and the North Downs Trail to Canterbury, then ride the via Fracigena to Lausanne. I found tracks on the internet and it is all loaded in the Garmin. Send me a PM if you have any tips on the British part!

Newf

 

[freeflyer123]

Thanks for the feedback, Newf. We are still undecided about taking a tent, but as we are going at one of the most popular times of the year, we thought it would be a good standby. The last think we would want is to have to pay out for a private hotel because everywhere else is full! But I agree with you that traveling without a tent is preferable. On the other hand, camping in France is so easy! They have it down to a fine art and have never let us down yet.

Spain is definitely going to be a new experience. I had been learning the basics of speaking Spanish - then I read in a book that leads me to think that perhaps the dialect in the North of Spain might not resemble what I have been learning! Hopefully, our spattering of French will help to smooth the way. I have to admit that we're pretty new to this 'branching out by ourselves". We've almost always gone before in a group, and a pretty organized plan to boot. This time, we go alone, without any firm planning in place. So it's definitely going to be a new venture.

I noted your advice on not taking too many items of clothing - and we have revised what we take - not so much to carry now Some people we have been talking to say that August is going to be too hot. We were in France early August last year and found it very hot (42 degrees on two days), but we able to escape in the evenings because we were in a building three floors up (no camping last year :shock: ). Of course, sitting here in a centrally heated room, while the temperature outside plummets to minus 2, it's easy to imagine that we are going to love cycling day in/day out in temperatures over 38 degrees. The reality is that we might find it too difficult to cope with! But to be honest, as the weather warms up, both of us are feeling that we just want to go now!!!

This is our real challenge! Do we listen to our hearts, pack the panniers, and head for the Camino? Or do we wait until the middle of August, then set out in the relative cool of the UK, into the searing heat through France? Waiting any later would be a mistake as we want this to be a fun ride, with days off the bike to investigate, and not think of it as a "rush-job". But we do need to be back in the UK beginning to mid October. I suspect that 'spontaneity' will win in the end, and I would be very surprised if we managed to wait until Mid August...

Your trip to the UK sounds great. And some of the areas you are traveling through are pretty awesome in themselves. The North Downs, in particular, is heaped in history. Will you manage to visit Stonehenge? And, if you come across it, the Silent Pool, near Guildford. We had been toying with the idea of buying a Garmin, but it would need constant recharging, so we're still not convinced it's a great idea. After reading your entry to my husband, he did voice the idea of getting one - that's something new! Until now, he's resisted the idea, being something of a luddite when it comes to modern technology :lol: