First time peregrino...walking and cycling Camino Frances in 2024

NuevoPeregrino · Apr 18, 2023

Greetings all...
My girlfriend and I are planning to tackle our first Camino next summer, 2024. The plan is to walk from St. Jean to Pamplona then rent bikes for the remainder of the journey. We are both avid cyclists and will be renting road bikes. This means no "off road" riding on gravel or anything unpaved. Does anyone have any insights or advice on route selections and resources? I just picked up the Mike Wells book, Cycling the Camino (Cicerone Cycling guides), but wondering about and GPS based turn-by-turn resources that might be loaded onto iPhone or Garmin. Also, contrary to the stereotype of the bicigrino, we are not in a hurry and are not looking to check this off our to-do list. We want to take our time and see the sights, stop in villages for snacks and the like. Any insights on how to balance riding the roads and also seeing the relevant pilgrim sites in the towns and villages?
Much thanks for insights.

Oh and PS...we will be using a booking company for accommodations and luggage transfer so that we can enjoy our cycling without having to worry about a weighted down bike.

Corned Beef · Apr 19, 2023

Eurovelo3 is the Pilgrim Route and it's all mapped out here. You may find yourself sharing the road with walking pilgrims or you can reroute to other sections if it gets too busy - usually after Saria.

Cycling tourism: Pilgrims cycle route - EuroVelo

Discover the 20 UNESCO sites along thePilgrims cycle route

en.eurovelo.com

To see it close up use OpenStreetMap or OpenCycleMap. You might try the http://cycle.travel site as it integrates OSM with GoogleStreetView and Booking.com. Useful for detailed planning of stops. Love it's option to split a journey into daily sections.

MikeC · Apr 19, 2023

I cycled from St Jean to Santiago on a touring bike.
The Michelin cycle map 160? of the Camino was useful to me. It has strip maps showing the Camino in a slightly wider geographical context.
Avoiding motorways is an issue around Logrogno. I ended upon an older unpaved road for a few miles.
Cycling gives you the freedom to explore side trips such as the monasteries of Yuso & Luso.
Turn by turn navigation is only really useful of towns. Most of the time you just pedal along.
Buen Camino

Salmons · Apr 19, 2023

Corned Beef said:
Eurovelo3 is the Pilgrim Route and it's all mapped out here. You may find yourself sharing the road with walking pilgrims or you can reroute to other sections if it gets too busy - usually after Saria.

Cycling tourism: Pilgrims cycle route - EuroVelo

Discover the 20 UNESCO sites along thePilgrims cycle route

en.eurovelo.com

To see it close up use OpenStreetMap or OpenCycleMap. You might try the http://cycle.travel site as it integrates OSM with GoogleStreetView and Booking.com. Useful for detailed planning of stops. Love it's option to split a journey into daily sections.

Wow. thanks for these links. The cycle.travel site is amazing.

NuevoPeregrino · Apr 20, 2023

Corned Beef said:
Eurovelo3 is the Pilgrim Route and it's all mapped out here. You may find yourself sharing the road with walking pilgrims or you can reroute to other sections if it gets too busy - usually after Saria.

Cycling tourism: Pilgrims cycle route - EuroVelo

Discover the 20 UNESCO sites along thePilgrims cycle route

en.eurovelo.com

To see it close up use OpenStreetMap or OpenCycleMap. You might try the http://cycle.travel site as it integrates OSM with GoogleStreetView and Booking.com. Useful for detailed planning of stops. Love it's option to split a journey into daily sections.

Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded the EuroVelo3 map and am fiddling with splitting it using ridewithgps site.

NuevoPeregrino · Apr 20, 2023

MikeC said:
I cycled from St Jean to Santiago on a touring bike.
The Michelin cycle map 160? of the Camino was useful to me. It has strip maps showing the Camino in a slightly wider geographical context.
Avoiding motorways is an issue around Logrogno. I ended upon an older unpaved road for a few miles.
Cycling gives you the freedom to explore side trips such as the monasteries of Yuso & Luso.
Turn by turn navigation is only really useful of towns. Most of the time you just pedal along.
Buen Camino

Good to know as far as turn by turn direction are concerned. Makes for less thinking and more enjoying.

Corned Beef · Apr 20, 2023

If you are using RWGPS why not use one prepared earlier to save you splitting

Camino Frances Full

Camino Frances Full - 773.1 km, +11238 m. Bike ride in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Nouvelle-Aquitaine

ridewithgps.com

NuevoPeregrino · Apr 20, 2023

Corned Beef said:
If you are using RWGPS why not use one prepared earlier to save you splitting

Camino Frances Full

Camino Frances Full - 773.1 km, +11238 m. Bike ride in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Nouvelle-Aquitaine

ridewithgps.com

LOL probably because Im not that familiar yet with all of the routes available in RWGPS. Much thanks for pointing that out to me1

NuevoPeregrino · Apr 20, 2023

NuevoPeregrino said:
LOL probably because Im not that familiar yet with all of the routes available in RWGPS. Much thanks for pointing that out to me1

I also noticed that the route you pointed me to has quite a few off road sections (64% off road) and I am looking for as much road riding as possible. I understand that there are a few miles of gravel outside of one major city, but that the route can be done 99% on paved roads. Thanks for all of your insights so far!

Corned Beef · Apr 20, 2023

That's a very good strategy.

Motorists in Spain are very accommodating and there are wide areas on the sides of roads that cyclists take. Watch for the odd bit of debris though. It will also avoid much of the foot traffic on the pilgrim route and you can still meet up with other pilgrims at the overnight stops.

Spain is a joy to cycle.

NuevoPeregrino · Apr 21, 2023

MikeC said:
I cycled from St Jean to Santiago on a touring bike.
The Michelin cycle map 160? of the Camino was useful to me. It has strip maps showing the Camino in a slightly wider geographical context.
Avoiding motorways is an issue around Logrogno. I ended upon an older unpaved road for a few miles.
Cycling gives you the freedom to explore side trips such as the monasteries of Yuso & Luso.
Turn by turn navigation is only really useful of towns. Most of the time you just pedal along.
Buen Camino

Having a bit of trouble locating this particular map. Michelin seems to sell all of their maps on Amazon these days. Thoughts?

Flatlander · Apr 21, 2023

A few thoughts....

NuevoPeregrino said:
contrary to the stereotype of the bicigrino, we are not in a hurry and are not looking to check this off our to-do list. We want to take our time and see the sights, stop in villages for snacks and the like.

You don't say how much time you have, nor give any indication of daily distances. There's no reason to stick to an "official" route, simply wander from place to place with the security of having accommodation at the end of the day.

On road bikes I'd imagine you will miss some of the wonderful remoteness of the meseta.

Salmons said:
The cycle.travel site is amazing.

It is probably the best bike planner out there for those that like quiet roads. It has many features especially useful for multi day tours.
Be careful to select the "paved only" option for your needs.
You will find it especially useful for navigation into and out of urban areas.
There is an iPhone app recently available.
However, no app or router should override common sense.

NuevoPeregrino said:
I downloaded the EuroVelo3 map and am fiddling with splitting it using ridewithgps site.

EV routes are, in reality, a series of interconnected, local routes and as such the quality can vary. Significantly.
Depending on your tolerance for rough stuff they should be approached with caution.

Also, be aware that importing a route created on one planner onto the map of another can lead to problems when the two maps are slightly different. RWGPS will, for example, show alternate routes for the same start and end points if a different map option is displayed.

I understand the need to "have" a route but the reality is that Spain is close to a paradise for bike travel. It is very, very easy to get around and if anything, a rigid route does a disservice if while going from A to B you miss C. My suggestion would be to find out where you want to go then plot a route to go there as opposed to following a route someone else created.

If you're not used to using a phone to navigate bear in mind that power usage can be high (pack a power bank), the screen can be hard to see in bright sunshine (or in rain!), the phone can be prone to overheating and is vulnerable in the event of a fall or crash.
Also, turn by turn notifications are not what they seem

Buen Camino

NuevoPeregrino · Apr 21, 2023

Flatlander said:
A few thoughts....

You don't say how much time you have, nor give any indication of daily distances. There's no reason to stick to an "official" route, simply wander from place to place with the security of having accommodation at the end of the day.

On road bikes I'd imagine you will miss some of the wonderful remoteness of the meseta.

It is probably the best bike planner out there for those that like quiet roads. It has many features especially useful for multi day tours.
Be careful to select the "paved only" option for your needs.
You will find it especially useful for navigation into and out of urban areas.
There is an iPhone app recently available.
However, no app or router should override common sense.

EV routes are, in reality, a series of interconnected, local routes and as such the quality can vary. Significantly.
Depending on your tolerance for rough stuff they should be approached with caution.

Also, be aware that importing a route created on one planner onto the map of another can lead to problems when the two maps are slightly different. RWGPS will, for example, show alternate routes for the same start and end points if a different map option is displayed.

I understand the need to "have" a route but the reality is that Spain is close to a paradise for bike travel. It is very, very easy to get around and if anything, a rigid route does a disservice if while going from A to B you miss C. My suggestion would be to find out where you want to go then plot a route to go there as opposed to following a route someone else created.

If you're not used to using a phone to navigate bear in mind that power usage can be high (pack a power bank), the screen can be hard to see in bright sunshine (or in rain!), the phone can be prone to overheating and is vulnerable in the event of a fall or crash.
Also, turn by turn notifications are not what they seem

Buen Camino

Thanks for the insights. Really appreciate it. As far as time, we re not in a rush so we plan to take about 2 weeks-ish. We are fully capable to blasting through the route in a week, but that is not and never will be our intent. On bikes we can take our time and explore and make side trips and still make our evenings destination in plenty of time to relax and wander after a change of clothes and a shower. I have heard from so many people that Spain is a great place to cycle so Im looking forward to the experience. Good insights on navigation...there will definitely be times when I just let my instincts (and a little Spanish) be my guide.

Flatlander · Apr 21, 2023

NuevoPeregrino said:
we plan to take about 2 weeks-ish.

Does that two weeks involve the walking part?

Are you set fast on road bikes? With the luxury of time, a minimal load and booked accommodation there is a lot to miss by not taking some of the more interesting roads.

Near Burgos last year

Whatever company you are using should be able to provide pointers on places to visit.

NuevoPeregrino · Apr 25, 2023

Flatlander said:
Does that two weeks involve the walking part?

Are you set fast on road bikes? With the luxury of time, a minimal load and booked accommodation there is a lot to miss by not taking some of the more interesting roads.

Near Burgos last year
View attachment 145355

Whatever company you are using should be able to provide pointers on places to visit.

We are definitely roadies at heart and the two weeks is just for the cycling portion; we plan to walk from St. Jean to Pamplona. Im sure that we will miss some things and discover some things that we had not planned to discover, but the Camino is not going anywhere. We can always come back. My gf has been on cycling tours before and is teaching me how to slow down. As a result, we did an amazing 50 k ride through some of California's wine country this past Sunday, stopped to take photos and even did some wine tasting at the end. Ride time was just about 2 hrs, but total time spent more like 4 hrs....not including the wine.

Stephan the Painter · Jun 11, 2023

NuevoPeregrino said:
We are definitely roadies at heart and the two weeks is just for the cycling portion; we plan to walk from St. Jean to Pamplona. Im sure that we will miss some things and discover some things that we had not planned to discover, but the Camino is not going anywhere. We can always come back. My gf has been on cycling tours before and is teaching me how to slow down. As a result, we did an amazing 50 k ride through some of California's wine country this past Sunday, stopped to take photos and even did some wine tasting at the end. Ride time was just about 2 hrs, but total time spent more like 4 hrs....not including the wine.

I see this post as a couple months old, but I’ll throw my two cents in anyway. This is my opinion and experience, other people have different priorities.

I biked last year from Pamplona to Santiago due to a foot injury. I‘d recommend not to use a company for accommodations and luggage shipping, it’ll take too much of the spontaneity out of it.

Especially if you’re staying in private rooms, you wont need very much luggage. It’s nice to have it with you if you find something more interesting during the course of your day.

I’d also get hybrids, because sometimes you’ll want to be on dirt roads. It was my feeling that if I had stayed on the paved roads all the time, I may as well have been just taking a bike ride by the back roads near my house.

I had a Cicerone guide book, but I hardly ever used it. Instead, I just used the Wise Pilgrim Camino Frances app, which has a GPS map contained within it, and showed me all the roads I needed.

I would’ve not had as good of an experience if I had involved a company with my day-to-day Camino.

Either way, I hope you have a great trip!

MountainMiMi · 2024-11-14T23:26:33+0100

Hi all! First time, just wanted to post about my recent Camino experience doing a hybrid trip with biking AND walking. Essentially had a limited amount of time off from work, and wanted to do...

First time peregrino...walking and cycling Camino Frances in 2024

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