Cycling the Tours route / Walking the Frances Route

[Bungkus]

Hi Pilgrims! I am starting to plan my Camino to celebrate 50 years above ground (many are not so lucky!). I originally was going to walk the Frances Route, but planing how to get there, was thinking it might be nice to cycle the tours route.

I live in Indonesia, and am waiting for a guidebook to arrive in the mail... so I hope you don't mind if I post a few enquires here. Would it be correct that it would take about 2-3 week to cycle Paris to SJPDP, and a further 4-5 weeks to walk to Santiago? What would be the shortest time for the cycle trip? I am a complete novice at a lot of these things - I have never been to Europe!! and I only speak English & Indonesian (which I don't think will help much!). However I will endeavour to learn a few phrases... The longest walk I have done was 10 days (but that was in a very remote area of Indonesia... with no shops or villages!), (however I regually climb mountains and go hiking), and the longest cycle I've done is 7 days (with a support van), also I'm not used to the cold & am planning my trip in October / November. Crazy?

My Questions are - on the Tours route - will I encounter much traffic if I ride a bike? I am used to riding in traffic, but the average speed here is 40km/hour... and it's on the left.
I am on a very low budget, Is there pilgrim accommodation? (the Rupiah & Euro don't have such a good exchange rate!)
I don't eat beef / lamb / pork (but do eat fish / chicken / duck) - will I be able to eat the set Pilgrim meals? - Are they available on this route?
What is the approximate cost of a secondhand mountain bike (I've never ridden a road bike), in Paris? Or would it be cheaper to hire one?

Thank you all so much in advance if you can answer all, or any of my questions.

 

[newfydog]

Selamat Datang Bungkus!

By Indonesian standards there will be no dangerous traffic.. None!
It will not be too hard to ride on the other side, but crossing the street is dangerous...look left, look kiri!

finding halal meat will not be a problem but good nasi putih is rare and the local rice of the camargue is gelek sekali, one of the few failings of French food. In Spain there is a lot of pork, so you might want to buy your own food often.

When are you going? I'm in France now and will have more time to help later....taman saya tingal di Paris dengen isterynya dari Indonesia juga. Send me a PM

 

[Bungkus]

Terima Kasih Newfydog - I've sent you a PM

 

[obinjatoo]

When I lived in the UK I had come from the states and had a difficult time remembering to look in the correct direction. My at the time mother in law said, "Don't look left, else your mother become bereft". So for you, "DO look left, else your mother will be bereft"!
I once had to change buses several times trying to get to downtown Bangkok from the airport because I was so disoriented. They drive on the other side from the US.

 

[Bungkus]

Ha ha Thanks Obinjatoo. I once got into a taxi in the driver's seat in the Philippines... so I know how easy it is to get disorientated...

 

[obinjatoo]

How goes the route planning. I am planning a similar trek. Paris to Bordeaux to Bayonne (maybe) to Granon which lies between Logrono and Burgos.
OR I may skip the bicycle all together and train from Paris to Bayonne or Bilbao and walk from there to meet the Frances. This is a very first world problem I know. I have a very good friend who is an American guy and now lives in Jakarta. I've never been to that part of the world. Anyway, drop a note let me know how it's going.

 

[Bungkus]

I have a friend who's cycled in France many times (he's written 2 books about his adventures), and he think's I'm crazy to even attempt starting cycling in Paris, and thinks I should catch a train and start in Orleans or Tours... What do you more experienced pilgrims think? Pairs seems rather cycle friendly by all accounts... but maybe just the city area, and not actually getting out of it.

I have looked on Decatholon website, and bikes are a bit more expensive in Europe, than here... but still I think will work out cheaper to buy rather than hire. Do you think I could easily sell a bike in SJPDP? (that is if I don't change my mind & cycle all the way!)

 

[Carlos Madero]

Bungkus: Look at http://www.troc-velo.com/ is a website where you can buy used bikes. Just set your parameters for the bike you'll want to buy and your budget, you'll get many options, so choose wisely and good luck. Have a Buen Camino. With my wife we are planing to bike the Camino del Norte, the route that goes on the coast, next year to celebrate her 50th year. As training we will do week-end trips starting from Paris and doing about 100 kms. and returning on the train, next trip we'll take the train to where we ended the last stage. That way we'll train for getting used to long days on the bike and start collecting the stamps, so by next year we'll be ready to start in Irun and go to Santiago in one adventure ride.
Best of luck, Buen Camino,

Carlos

 

[newfydog]

I have biked right into CDG airport. Cycling out of Paris is not great, but very possible with the right route. As i said, nothing compared to biking in Indonesia!

 

[obinjatoo]

I have biked right into CDG airport. Cycling out of Paris is not great, but very possible with the right route. As i said, nothing compared to biking in Indonesia!

Do you happen to remember that route? I could do it in reverse to get out of CDG.

 

[newfydog]

Well, I'm actually in France, with nothing but an ipad mini, so my resources for a good post are limited. I used the white roads north and east of the airport, and it was nice, safe quality biking up until the last two km. Lets see if I can get a photo of the map up....