Cycling Rules

[Elly]

Hi. My partner and I are interested in cycling the Camino Frances next spring. We'd like to know how cycling-friendly the route is. Are there any rules or restrictions related to cycling? Would you recommend a road bike or a mountain bike? Thanks for any tips you can provide.
Elly

[Leslie]

No there are no particular rules regarding the Camino. Which bike you choose will determine to a large extent which routes you can cycle. On a mountain bike you will be able to travel the same route at the walkers - only occasionally getting off to walk in very narrow or steep areas.

However if you use a road/ touring bike a lot of the walking routes would not be good and you might have to find a map for the road route.

Some hostels do not allow cyclists to stay - not many and it did not appear to be a problem for those that I spoke to as usually hostels are every 4/5 km - see the list on the main part of the site.

There can be a little friction between walkers and cyclist - as walkers complain about cyclists whizzing past and cyclist complain about walkers not getting out of the way for them... go figure.

[stconleths]

No there are no particular rules regarding the Camino. Which bike you choose will determine to a large extent which routes you can cycle. On a mountain bike you will be able to travel the same route at the walkers - only occasionally getting off to walk in very narrow or steep areas.

However if you use a road/ touring bike a lot of the walking routes would not be good and you might have to find a map for the road route.

Some hostels do not allow cyclists to stay - not many and it did not appear to be a problem for those that I spoke to as usually hostels are every 4/5 km - see the list on the main part of the site.

There can be a little friction between walkers and cyclist - as walkers complain about cyclists whizzing past and cyclist complain about walkers not getting out of the way for them... go figure.

Cycling along the route I never had any issues with walkers, I had a Spanish cyclist fall down on a very steep path taking me with him. We just laughed about it. Some of the Hostels you have to wait until later in the day to get a bed, we didn't have any problems. We used mountain bikes and stuck religously to the walking routes. I don't think we were much faster than the walkers in most sections. When we arrived at the hostels we looked like we needed rest and were received with a welcome. We met other cyclists who travelled by road on touring bikes, I don't know how their welcome was, most of them did the route by road and were covering twice the distance as us each day.

[Ahimsa]

Hi.. I'm thinking of cycling the camino in a few weeks time.. I've just put in a very hectic 1st in college (mature student)... I'm reasonably fit but have had no time to prepare for this on any level... I really want to do it but only have a small window of time to play around with.. I have to be back in Ireland by 20th June..So I've about 3 weeks to play around with..I've ordered the books yesterday but while I'm waiting it'd be great to get some info from someone who has done it.. Firstly is it really tough?? About how many miles a day should I aim for.. will this be determined by the villages that provide accomodation... Can I do it without any training??? Any info at all would be really welcomed..

Anne

[Leslie]

You can do the walking without any training - don't know about cycling. Do you cycle much just now - or is just 10 mins back and forward to college?

I cycle around Dublin - but a few times recently I have went out for 4/5 at a time and felt the pain later.

[Ahimsa]

Hi.. for the past few years I've been exercising 3 to 5 days a week.. running 5kms, weights, swimming ect.. but little to no cycling in gym. I cycle 5min run to and from college, hardly worth the mention. I used to cycle up the Dublin mountains twice a week but that was years ago... I've only recently realized that I can take this opportunity to do the camino, my friend was supposed to walk with me but unfortunately she can't do it now. So I'm afraid to walk it on my own, I would feel more comfortable on a bike.. for many reasons. I would like to leave by the end of May and be home for the 20th June..Will it be extremely hot at this time.. I'm an early riser and I'm thinking I could set out at 5am in the mornings and get most of my cycling done before mid day sun.. I'm still in the middle of exams so it's a bit hectic trying to juggle the planning and training but next week I plan to cycle a 40km run and see how I fair.. So any info while I'm waiting for my books to arrive would be welcomed..

Thanks,
Anne

[Leslie]

I find that it is not doing 40km a day that is the problem but doing it day after day, the body rebels.

If you were walking I would say just go for it, so I have to say the same for cycling. The route is not hard going mostly, though there are some parts you will find tough, but you can get off and walk.

The camino route can be traveled on a mountain bike, if you are using a tourer you will have to take the road at some points.

[Ahimsa]

Hi Leslie.. thanks for the reply.... I was a personal trainer so I understand the need for specific training and I'm aware of the possible injuries caused by consistant use of particular muscle groups that have not been trained but my choices are take this opportunity and do it in the way that will cause the least damage or don't do it at all.. So I think I will take my chances, and build up my stamina slowly..Start with 20kms a day and each day increase a little.. my only dilhemma is I want to pre book my accomodation to guarentee a place as it'll be a busy time I think.. this means I'll have to decide in advance what distance I'll be doing everyday.. Hard to gauge yet but I'm sure when I get my books it'll all become alot clearer.. One things for sure the more I read the more I want to do it...
Thanks again for your promt replies.. much appreciated..

Anne

[Leslie]

Stay in the Pilgrim hostels. There is a list of them here http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/albergues.html you will be fine and get to meet loads of other pilgrims - they are cheap and basic, however they can't be booked in advance generally. They give you a lot more flexibility, and they are cheap, did I mention that, you said you were a student, mature I know, on the whole the hostels are great.

At this time of the year you will not have many problems finding a somewhere to stay you are going outside of the busiest times. (July and Aug) I stayed in the hostels both times except for 2/3 nights each time where I booked into a pension for what felt like luxury.

[Ahimsa]

Thats great Leslie..

It'll make such a difference not having to worry about booking in advance.. my worry was preference would be given to walkers and obviously thought June was peak season too.. a relief.. did my first 30km cycle tonight.. slightly hilly and grand.. will increase each night to 60km next week.. see how I respond to the daily cycling over the next 20 days..
Cheers for your prompt responses.. every morsel of info much appreciated..

Thanks..
Anne

[Kay]

My husband and I are also planning on the Camino this summer. At this point, it looks like early July. This thread has been most helpful to us as well. We tried to get planning help from a travel agent (since we didn't know much about the trip) and he hooked us up with a guide that was going to charge us about $750 a day, including train from Madrid, bike rental, a couple of lunches and hotels along the way. We thought that was really expensive and declined, so we're back on our own. The nice thing about it was that they carried our bag from town to town, but we've found other companies that will do that cheaper than that. The other thing we noticed about using a tour company is that the ones I've seen book you into hotels. We were hoping to be more like pilgrims ~ but we sure like the idea of someone taking our bags. We also are not cyclists and I'm wondering how smart it is for us to just strike out and ride like that. I'm 56, my husband is 61. We're in fair shape, but not overly fit and have a few knee issues. Do most of the people who walk or cycle on their own carry everything with them? If we don't go the hotel route, will it be difficult in July to find a spot in a refugio? And by the way, what is a pension? Thank you for your help.

[Covey]

There are a number of companies who provide a booking service for pilgrims along the Way, and can move your bags.

If you are not cyclists, then I would suggest you walk. The walkers route is pretty rough in places and is hard for the walkers, let alone the cyclists. If you do not own suitable bikes then you have to rent, and by the time you have rented, the cost would be little different than buying!.

If you walk, then all you need to worry about is what is on your back, and if you need a bit of a break, then virtually every albergue has adverts on the notice board for people (often local taxi firms) who will carry your bag to the next nights stop for around €5 per pack.

There is a vast difference between being a "true" pilgrim, who walks each day and sleeps in the albergues with their friends, and those who treat the Camino as a glorified tourist trail.

When you walk the Camino Frances, there are albergues every 10 - 15 kms on average and you walk as far and as fast as you feel comfortable with. I never know when I start out in the morning exactly where I am going to stop in the evening, and that is part of the fun of the Camino. You clear your mind of schedules, timetables, lists etc and just do your own thing!

The Camino is not a race, and there are no prizes for coming first. It is your Camino, and you do it your way and in your own time. The average pilgrim sleeping in albergues will probably spend around €30 a day per person which seems a little cheaper than $750 a day!!

I often meet pilgrims who are retired and in no hurry, so they walk gently from albergue to albergue without a care in the world. They might only cover 10kms a day whereas others cover 30kms a day, but they have time to enjoy their surroundings and enjoy the company of others they meet.

[Kay]

Thank you so much for the information. It confirms much of what we decided last night. The $750 a day seemed just as you described it, a glorified tourist trail, and we are really looking for a spiritual journey. Do you have any tips for enhancing the spirituality of the Way?

[robin]

Almost anyone can turn the pedals of a reasonable bike for long enough in a day to get to the next stop.
Its not a race.
Get the bike right,and get used to it before you go.This means be able to do 50 miles in a day comfortably.
However slowly.
If you buy a good Brooks saddle now and ride it for about 500 miles you won't even think its there when you're on it every day.
Get a wide one,the ordinary B17 is just fine.You can soak it in neatsfoot oil overnight,upside down,if you want to hasten its breaking in time.
Thats the saddle thats upside down,not you.
You need a good English tourer,any old Dawes galaxy is good,if secondhand get a really good bike tech to strip it and sort it out.
Exotic tubing is for geeks like me,you don't need it.
Buy some good shimano SPD pedals,and shoes to match,even the cheap Shimano shoes are good,i've got some 15 year old ones here,still OK.
If you are not going offroad you don't need chunky tyres at all,you can probably get away with Gatorskins in fact (28s),but the lighter Schwalbe sports are a bit more robust,if heavier.
Get some padding under the handlebar tape,which should be cork,and don't ride too long,the top of the bars should be level with the saddle and you should not feel stretched when holding the brake lever hoods.You are not racing.
The saddle top should be parallel with the ground.
All baggage is carried on the bike,obviously.
Go for the lowest gears you can,92" is high enough for a top gear,20" is a good emergency low.
For occasional offroading one or other of the more agressive treaded Schwalbes will suffice,but boy oh boy,don't you pay the price on the road bits!
Off road bikes are for offroad,and road bikes are for roads,and never the twain shall meet.
You can drive a Range Rover with off-road tyres on the road,but if you are only driving on the road why not use something like my BMW,which was designed for just and only that?
Or you can put road tyres on a Range Rover and endure the worst of (what Voltaire would have called) all possible worlds,whatever Jeremy Clarkson might think.
robin

[Covey]

I am probably not the right person to advise on spiritual matters as I don't walk the Camino for any spiritual reasons, but merely for my own amusement, but here goes!

If you sat outside a bar along the Way and talked to the pilgrims who walk past, you get a complete cross section of life and nationalities. Based solely on personal experience, I estimate that about 30% are walking because their beliefs have called them to the Way. In this group you will find Priests and Nuns and those whose beliefs are core to their being. Another 30% regard themselves as being motivated by religious beliefs mixed with a sense of adventure, and the rest of us walk for a variety of reasons ranging from the "not quite sure" to the "because it's there".

Along the Camino Frances, there is a vast array of places of religious interest, ranging from the splendour of the Cathedral in Burgos to a simple shrine at the side of the path. If you are Catholic, there is no shortage of places to pray and have a few moments of peace, but as a Methodist, I tend not to be over burdened with choice!! Most Churches along the Way have a simple Mass for Pilgrims in the evening, or a special blessing for all pilgrims.

Strangely, it is places like the Iron Cross Hill which mean more to pilgrims of all or no beliefs. It is a very simple large iron cross on top of a remote hill where pilgrims pause and often leave a memento such as a scarf, or a small stone and pause a while with their thoughts.

[Kay]

Thanks so much for your reply. I think we fall into many of the categories you described, beginning with "because it is there" and moving through the idea that something is calling us to that place. We leave Saturday and are very excited to begin, however, we are only able to walk the last 100 km. Due to recent family trauma, we are also not as prepared as we had hoped and know very little Spanish. We are also pretty mentally and spiritually exhausted, which could be an interesting place to begin a pilgrimage. Being Anglican (actually Episcopalian) I guess we will have a variety of choices along the way. Again, thank you so much for your reply. It is very helpful.

[Covey]

Buen Camino!

[robin]

Iam a lifelong cyclist,and a life long anti-walker!
I therefore do not understand why cyclists might wish to encimber themselves with utterly horrible mountain bikes and get themselves and their kit muddy.
Annoying walkers might be a reason,I suppose,but they don't annoy us real cyclists,on touring bikes,on the ROAD.
If I were walking on walking tracks I would'nt budge an inch for a cyclist,because they should'nt be there.
No reason we can't have dedicated cycling tracks to Compostela,I suppose,but are we not getting away from the spirit of the thing?
Lastly,if I could,I'd limit the thing to walkers,riders,and cyclists.
No back up vehicles,and you start in one of the traditional places,a long way from the Pyrenees.
R

[Covey]

The problem of whose track it is will probably be still rumbling along when I am long dead and buried along the Way somewhere. I can understand the cyclists not liking some stretches of the official cyclist routes as it takes them along the main East-West highway and given the standards of driving, the cyclists are in mortal danger in places.

The "walkers" track often takes the cyclists away from the traffic, but then can cause us walkers problems. The problem often is that the majority of bikes do not have the required bell to warn walkers that the cyclists are coming up fast behind. On the other hand, a lot of walkers have taken up being plugged in to their Walkmans/ipods and would not hear the bell even if used. The problem we have is that the pack on our back alters our center of gravity and balance and sudden changes of direction to get out of the way of a cyclist can cause a fall.

If it was up to me, I would stop the cyclists doing the Camino! Pilgrims over the centuries either walked or rode a donkey/horse from all over Europe to get to Santiago. It is only because that cycling is a national sport throughout Spain that they allowed cyclists to get a Compostella.

[Kay]

I am sad to say that after walking the Camino for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I have to agree with you. I found that most of the people who seemed to be dropped off each morning from the tour bus lacked any connection with the rest of the pilgrims on the trail and the cyclists were next in that category. The first time I heard the bell ringing behind me, I had no idea what it was and was almost run over. They seem to think they own the trail and walkers should get out of their way, just because they are on a bike. Having said that, most of them at least greeted you with a "Buen Camino", where the day trippers usually didn't. I mentally got around that with the attitude that most of us have our own reasons for being on the camino, but we are all heading to Santigo de Compostella.

[Covey]

Welcome back!

A couple of years ago I was sitting outside a bar opposite Leon Cathedral having a beer with my Camino Family when a group of pilgrims arrived with their tour guide. Not a speck of dust on their boots, small bottle of water in hand, micro pack on their backs and covered in scallop shells. Their tour guide explained that the Cathedral was one of the most important pilgrim sites in Spain, and then finished his speech with the immortal words "and tomorrow you will finish your Camino in Santiago!"" With the thoughts of the climb up to Cebreiro in front of us, we ordered more beer!

I always think the autobus pilgrims feel embarrassed when they encounter us baggage mules because they never say anything as we pass by.

[Kay]

Well said!

Again I'd like to thank you all for your input in this forum. It provided us with invaluable information that enabled us to make the camino as easy as possible for a couple of aging Baby Boomers. We hope to do it again, but start farther down the trail. God bless you every one!!

[Covey]

One of our members described us "aging Baby Boomers" as Recycled Teenagers. Very apt!!

[cyclogical]

Hi folks

A few friends and I are cycling the St Jean - Santiago route in a couple of weeks time. We are using panniers and towing our life belongings along with us but I have noticed in earlier threads that there may be ways of transporting gear between towns/hostels on the cheap? I know tour operators charge high prices to cart your suitcases around - that's not what we are looking for here as we are bringing minimal gear but an extra backpack of essentials for the bikes would be handy. What I am wondering is whether there are vans/taxis etc going between the towns that bring bags for cyclists on a hostel to hostel basis? And if so, the approximate cost? The earlier threads I mentioned earlier suggest that this is a common enough service that exists however, we don't want to hawk over extra bags only to find that no such service really exists and we end up having to tow the extra baggage to Santiago with us - a prospect we wish to avoid. Our idea is to carry as little on the bike as possible and ship the extra gear each day.

[Covey]

There is a baggage transport service which runs along the full length of the Camino Frances. Almost every albergue will have a poster from which ever companies are running the service on that section and the hospitaliero (he/she who runs the albergue) will tell you where to leave the bags. The normal cost per 20km stage for a rucksack is €5.

However, the cyclists tend to do far longer daily stages than the walkers and from memory the last cyclists I talked to were doing 60 - 80kms per day. The problem with the bag service for cyclists is in finding a transporter who can guarantee to carry your bag forward for 60+kms rather than the usual 20+kms for the walkers. Often the bag service is run by a local taxi service and they might not want to go 60kms down the route just for one bag. They will also charge a lot more than €5!!!

[cyclogical]

Aha, that makes sense alright. Perhaps the extra bag isn't such a good idea after all - lugging it along on the bikes for the sake of it doesn't really appeal to me - nor does forking out 20/20 euro a day for a taxi to transport a bag we do not necessarily need.

Thanks for the prompt response and buen camino if you are heading back this year.

[robin]

I've just come back from a very long 2650k camino,on a trike. I carried full camping kit because in france there is a scarcity of gites and i dont much care for hotels.
Additionally what space there is in france is seriously reduced by the pernicious habit of pre-booking and not turning up.
pre-booking is an anti-social,selfish practice which must be discouraged,it is also entirely unecessary.
Were I starting from St J P deP and on a bike no camping kit would be necessary,just a 2/3 season goose down sleeping bag.everything else you need,which is almost nothing can be got into two small Ortlieb panniers.And a handlebar bag,ditto,although a modest rear rack bag can contain heavy items like tool kits and help take weight off the barbag,which reduces tank-slapping on descents.
Nearly everyone takes too much,many quite laughably so,you can buy anything you leave behind.
Unless you know for a fact that your wheels have been hand built in the first place and recently serviced by a wheel builder in the second,get this done.
dont be surprised if he doesnt think much of your wheels,even if your bike is a dawes galaxy,it will almost certainly need the spokes on the cassette side replaced with Sapim Strongs.
Robinme.jpg

[ashleyvds]

So I have started my planning on doing the Camino de Santiago. My brother turns 40 in two years time and it is his wish to do the pilgrimage for his 40th in thanks to his Lord for his 40 years on this earth.

In saying that, my reason for doing the Camino is to be with my brother. Now we are avid cyclists - road and mountain bikers. We are not hikers or walkers and it is really disheartening reading about how walkers dislike cyclists or cyclists dislike walkers and there is no mutual respect and understanding between the two groups.

As a cyclist, I am always aware that the walkers are in front of me and it is easier for me to brake or move over as the walker doesn't have eyes in the back of their head. In the same breath, if there is no space for me to pass and I come up to you and ask if I may pass then no attitude is given.

It makes me wonder with this dislike between the parties, what is your point of doing the pilgrimage? Not everyone is doing it for religious reasons but that was the intent when it first started correct? I am using my religion here (even though I am not well versed) but ... what would Jesus do? Did he not speak to the tax man and invite him to sit with him for dinner or go over the Magdalene who was a prostitute when no one else even bothered?

That kind of attitude is what I wish for walkers and cyclists. Just because I enjoy cycling and not walking - does this mean I can't partake in the Camino de Santiago? Does this mean that because I am a cyclist I won't be allowed into Heaven but walkers will? Does it make the pilgrimage less meaningful? I am doing it with my brother, who is my best friend.

So to all walkers and cyclists out there, I ask only one thing, be respectful of each other and have an understanding that both cyclists and walkers are probably doing the Camino de Santiago for similar reasons, don't ruin it for each other. I don't dislike walkers, they just have a different mode of transport.