Traveling one of the routes that take us to Santiago de Compostela on two wheels is a highly recommended and increasingly popular option, since it offers us a totally different experience of the Camino. If you’re thinking of embarking on this adventure, at ALBERGUES DEL CAMINO we leave you some tips for cycling the Camino. Take note!
Get in shape
To travel the Camino de Santiago by bicycle you don’t need to be an expert cyclist, but you do need to train and get your body used to doing physical exercise before starting to pedal towards Santiago.
To do this, we advise you to draw up a training plan in which you include bicycle routes. The ideal is to start with a few kilometers and increase it progressively. It’s also important to include strength exercises three days a week to gain muscle mass and stay fit.
When you have the plan laid out, visit your doctor before starting to implement it so that they can evaluate you beforehand and give you some advice.
Choose the right bike
The bicycle must be suitable for the Camino de Santiago that you choose. There’re paths where you’ll find all kinds of soils: asphalt, dirt, mud… Therefore, it’s best to choose the right bike for the path you are going to take.
If you want to travel the original Camino, the most recommended thing is a mountain bike with good suspension, since you will travel mountainous roads with many slopes.
On the other hand, if you’ re going to choose a mixed Camino, the ideal is a hybrid bicycle, since they allow you to ride perfectly both on the road and on mountain terrain.
As you can see, the options are varied. In fact, there’re also people who choose to do it only on asphalt sections by road bike.
Whatever you choose, it’s important that before leaving you make sure that the bike and the tires are in good condition, this can save you some trouble or another on the route.
Which path to choose?
One of the advantages of doing the Camino de Santiago by bicycle is that we can cover more distance in less time. This means that many pilgrims who decide to embark on the road by bicycle choose longer routes than those who do it on foot.
Among the most popular routes is the Camino Frances, as it’s the best signposted route. Although if you choose this route it is important that you know that you are going to find quite steep slopes such as O Cebreiro, among others.
However, those preferred by bike pilgrims are the Camino Portugues and the Vía de la Plata. These routes do not have many slopes and are well signposted, so they’re suitable for all types of pilgrims, as long as they train a little before starting.
If you like challenges, we recommend the Northern Route, one of the hardest to travel by bike, but at the same time one of the most beautiful.
Take only the essentials
To all the pilgrims who travel the Camino de Santiago, whether by bike or on foot, we recommend going as light as possible and carrying only what is essential. If you want to know how to prepare your backpack for the road, on our blog there is an article in which we give you some useful tips.
If you decide to carry saddlebags, it is important that you balance the weight so as not to destabilize yourself. And remember don’t load them too much, every kilo counts.
Take it easy
And the last piece of advice that we bring you is one of the most important for us and that many forget: don’t be in a hurry to get there and enjoy the experience.
Whether by bike or on foot, traveling the Camino de Santiago is one of the most wonderful experiences we can have in life, so we want you to enjoy it as much as possible. Delight yourself with the landscape, get lost in the little towns, talk to interesting people… the options offered by the road are endless, enjoy them!
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In addition, we encourage you to share with us your experience traveling the Camino de Santiago on our social networks by tagging us or including the hashtag #alberguesdelcamino in your post. We look forward to your photos!
