Cycling the Camino De Santiago

The title of this post is a not a reflection of what I actually believe, but it is an argument I would like to make nonetheless. I cannot objectively say that the Camino Pilgrimage is more fulfilling if you bike it rather than walk it. However, after returning from biking almost the entire French way, I have gathered some experience that suggests that many people may enjoy biking over walking. Although walking is by far the more popular method, I got a lot of jealous looks from trekkers when exchanging travel experiences.

My first observation was the injury rate. The most difficult stage of the French way is at the very beginning, where the Camino crosses over the Pyrenees. The the elevation changes are the most extreme here and the terrain is rocky and uneven. Before arriving to my first Albergue outside Pamplona, I had already met people who were drastically changing their Camino plans due to discomfort. At this point there were still more than 700km left to Santiago. One traveler was limping and having pains in her knees. She was contemplating quitting the journey altogether. Another lady had planned to walk the Camino, but rented a bike upon arriving to Pamplona to reduce impact. Many of the walkers I met were garnishing newly purchased knee wraps and nursing blisters along the way. I arrived to Santiago mostly unscathed after biking the whole way. Biking is a good way to avoid these pains that could dampen a special experience, while not taking away the physical challenge.

Another unnecessary suffering I was able to avoid was psychological. While the Camino is an incredible journey, not all 700kms of it are breathtakingly spectacular. After leaving the Rioja wine valley, there are many fields and the scenery can become monotonous. Not to mention even a bit repulsive, as one has to walk through many kilometers of industrial areas to enter the major cities along the way. During this time, I got a lot of jealous looks from the walkers I passed. 35 – 40 days is a long time to be on the road with just a backpack. For those who set their sights on reaching Santiago de Compostela, they were not even halfway done with their journey. There is a sense of gloom that sets in during this part of the journey. Because I was on a bike, I could sometimes more than double the pace of a walker, allowing me to see the light at the end of the journey. Because this area is mostly flat, I could tack on extra kilometers to get through this part of the journey quicker. I really enjoyed having this luxury.

The final significant advantage of biking that comes to mind is sleep. Because this technically was a vacation, I wasn’t that interested in getting up extremely early. I also wanted to go to the bars in the evening and stay up a little late. Alarms of the trekkers would typically go off between 4am and 6am in the morning. This was to ensure that they could reach their next destination before the late afternoon heat. The sleep deprivation didn’t allow for adequate recovery, so I met a lot of trekkers who got sick. Because biking is a bit faster, I could sleep almost until 8am, have breakfast before I set out, bike about 50km and arrive to my destination by 3pm. This included a few short stops in nature, a couple of longer stops to eat, and left time to go out in the evening after taking a nap. Biking was still very challenging, but allowed greater flexibility and more enjoyment of the experience. I could work through the challenge, but not sacrifice the sleep I needed to complete the journey.

Biking is by no means cheating, it is definitely difficult. Especially if you are not conditioned to climb. But I obtained all the benefits most would want on a pilgrimage. Pedaling for many hours a day amidst nice scenery is very reflective. I was able to put behind me a lot of the difficulties of the past year and get a fresh start. It is a very restorative journey. Biking helps to avoid some of the difficulties that could worsen the journey without losing any of the benefits.

If you do consider taking a bike, consider tournride. I am not earning a commission from this link; I just had a genuinely good experience renting from them. They are a small bike rental company based out of Santiago De Compostela. They can deliver to most places you would like to start your journey from and will support you along the way. My bike broke toward the beginning of the journey and they had me take it to a shop who fixed it for free. Renting a bike for the whole journey is a considerable expense, but does offset many costs when you consider that it will take you around half the time of walking the same distance.

Another invaluable tool for planning your camino is caminoways.com. For each of the different caminos, they have a page where you can select cycling, then see the distances between the major stops on the camino. I would check this each day and make a goal for how far I wanted to go. Then I would put each segment in google maps to see where the hardest climbing was, just to make sure I ate enough before these parts. Each camino also has a complimentary page that has descriptions of the major stops. I would usually read these each morning before I set out on my journey.