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Has anyone got any experience using an Alinker to help them walk?
It strikes me that the Alinker would be totally impractical on most Caminos. Or are you asking if anyone has ever used one? In which case you should refer to the website linked by @SabineP above.Has anyone got any experience using an Alinker to help them walk?
Yes, I'm very familiar with the website. I'm asking if anyone has done any part of the Camino with this walk assist device.It strikes me that the Alinker would be totally impractical on most Caminos. Or are you asking if anyone has ever used one? In which case you should refer to the website linked by @SabineP above.
To be fair, these same environments are also a similar challenge to those in wheelchairs, and we know that people have done Caminos in wheelchairs. It may be impractical to do so, but with determination (and perhaps some assistance) it can be done.Much of the Camino paths are a combination of muddy farm track, asphalt minor roads, rocky paths, grass track & cobblestone. A much more challenging environment than any portrayed in the promotional videos. There are some serious elevations and steep descents.
It would be surprise if anyone had any experience of using such a novel and newly promoted device on Camino. The final 100km from Sarria, Lugo or Tui might be doable with adequate support but I remain with my view that the design is impractical for a Camino.
Sometimes there are alternate marked routes for bicycle pilgrims. I remember reading of a wheelchair user who did the Camino without bringing volunteers with her, although she was not always on the same footpaths as the walking pilgrims, taking nearby roads (I expect not major highways) sometimes. This kind of strategy would likely make a Camino more practical for someone with an Alinker.A Warm Welcome to the Forum
As indicated by other responses, the physical issues that create the need for an Alinker, would indicate that even WITH an Alinker it would be enormously challenging to impossible without some significant modifications to a planned route like the Frances, or without a number of volunteers to help with mobility with the device.
Wheelchair users tend to have some support to deal with difficult terrain and steep uphill grades. I would think that those difficulties, along with the need to also get the weight and bulk of the Alinker through such terrain issues, would make obtaining helpers a part of the planning.
There are generous spirits that would help a struggling pilgrim, but I would hesitate to rely on such being always within reach.
Yes Wayfarer, in the still pictures I do see the cable and a handbrake. Even with a brake, an alternative route would need to be found for a number-of sections of the CF, or the pilgrim would likely need to use another means of transport at times.If you check the photos there does seem to be a breaking system in some of them, you can see the cable and what appears to be a break lever.
Totally agree.Yes Wayfarer, in the still pictures I do see the cable and a handbrake. Even with a brake, an alternative route would need to be found for a number-of sections of the CF, or the pilgrim would likely need to use another means of transport at times.
Much of the Camino paths are a combination of muddy farm track, asphalt minor roads, rocky paths, grass track & cobblestone. A much more challenging environment than any portrayed in the promotional videos. There are some serious elevations and steep descents.
It would be surprise if anyone had any experience of using such a novel and newly promoted device on Camino. The final 100km from Sarria, Lugo or Tui might be doable with adequate support but I remain with my view that the design is impractical for a Camino.
Has anyone ever surveyed the main camino routes for stretches that accommodate wheelchairs and those with limited mobility. It seems like it would be a noble project to identify a camino that combines accessible stretches connected with accessible transport between.
Thank you, @C clearly, for the tagging you are doing that makes information like this accessible to future searchers. This seems like a little-known device, yet a great one to be aware of for all sorts of situations.I have added the tag "disability" to this thread. If you click on that tab (under the title at the top of this thread) you can find a lot more discussion of how people manage their disabilities while planning or walking the Camino.
Yes, I've seen bikers with plans in booklets/pamphlets that circumvent the steep ascents/descents and other difficult to navigate spots along the routes-- I am speaking of the French and Portugues routes. Don't know what languages they were printed, but nonetheless, a map is just about a map in any language.I think the German yellow Outdoor book has information about the surface.
I think the German yellow Outdoor book has information about the surface.
Has anyone ever surveyed the main camino routes for stretches that accommodate wheelchairs and those with limited mobility. It seems like it would be a noble project to identify a camino that combines accessible stretches connected with accessible transport between.
No, I haven’t, but I am blown away by the genius and perfection of this simple invention.Has anyone got any experience using an Alinker to help them walk?