Camino de Santiago

[alanmalarkey]

It is almost time to begin my camino. I will cycle from a hopefully sunny Croydon on Friday to catch the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbayo. From Bilbayo I ride to San Sebastian and stay overnight with a friend and the next day, which will be Monday, I head out by Train to St-Jean-Pied-a-Port to begin the Camino over the Pyrenees from France.

I aim for a mainly off-road camino, spiritual in the sense of achievement and opportunities to meet others but not a religious pilgrimage. Hopefully a linguistic challenge as well.

I will probably use this space to post a few observations along the way so please add your own comments or insights if it pleases you to do so. In total I will be away for nearly 3 weeks. If any of you plan to be anywhere along the way during the first 2 weeks in June let me know and we can share a drink or two.

best wishes

Alan

[eldeano]

Good luck, Alan. I hope you have all the creams/powders. ;)

[tad]

If any of you plan to be anywhere along the way during the first 2 weeks in June let me know and we can share a drink or two.
Sounds great, if you fancy a slight detour I'm in Palmers Green, we can meet in the Alfred Herring ;) (take care at the Tottenham Hale gyratory system)

[alanmalarkey]

Thanks both; I think I'll save the Palmers Green pilgrimage for now but I can see it becoming popular now that we know where you drink! :rolleyes:

[spacehopper]

Hello,

wishing you the very best of luck with your treck across Spain. You should check out www.santiago-today.com forum for some invaluable help, advice and contact with fellow walkers on the pilgrimage.

Best wishes

Spacehopper:D

[Ben]

Good luck Alan! Can't wait to hear all about it here.

[guapo]

Good luck Alan! Can't wait to hear all about it here.

likewise, best of luck Alan, will be very interesting to hear your experiences.

[Emily]

I walked the first three days, from St Jean to Pamolona, about two weeks ago and it was great. My only advice, pack light! And also, it gets quite muddy after rain so watch out for that. The pass was amazing. It look my friend and me quite a bit of time because we stopped to take so many photographs.

Emily in Portland, OR, USA

P.S. I only did the first three days on purpose, just for the fun of hiking over the pass.

[alanmalarkey]

Thanks Guapo, Ben and Emily, I am beginning to feel quite excited by the prospect and I am hoping for a way out of the terrible weather we are experiencing in England over what was supposed to have been a holiday weekend.

Ben, I seem to recall that Marina has this in mind for you some time in the future?

Did you see any cyclists over the pass Emily?

Guapo, I missed the final night of excess in Madrid (how was it? but nevertheless, I am looking forward to an abstemious pilgrimage, probably about as spiritual as I can manage!

good wishes

Alan

[gary]

Thanks Guapo, Ben and Emily, I am beginning to feel quite excited by the prospect and I am hoping for a way out of the terrible weather we are experiencing in England over what was supposed to have been a holiday weekend.

Ben, I seem to recall that Marina has this in mind for you some time in the future?

Did you see any cyclists over the pass Emily?

Guapo, I missed the final night of excess in Madrid (how was it? but nevertheless, I am looking forward to an abstemious pilgrimage, probably about as spiritual as I can manage!

good wishes

Alan

We turned round and you were gone - with the two Jans... As it happened there was a table for 8 at la Chata on Cava Baja, so we did okay - did you have a good meal?

Best of luck with the cycling thing I'm sure you'll have a great time :eek:, it's certainly on my list to do the north west. I look forward to your posts and photos.

[alanmalarkey]

Hola todas

Well I had hoped to be more regular in my emails, but really I have found that the physical efforts of riding almost 1000km off road has demanded more of my concentration than I bargained for.

There are already some memorable highlights and experiences that I will look back on with delight but also some tough situations.

The ride to Portsmouth was great and on my way into the city I found a couple of roadies who showed me the way.

The ferry was an interesting blend with a mix of minicruisers, caravan club and leather clad bikers. I was the only cycle. We had shows in the evening, confirming my absence of interest for musical theater, but by day whale and dolphin watching which was an unexpected bonus, from a full time research team that live on board the Pride of Bilbao.

Getting out of Bilbao was very difficult and more than once I found myself on route for the autopista or an impassable tunnel. I was tired by the time I got to San Sebastian but the last 40Km was along the coast in the sunshine.

I again had an opportunity to experience the hospitality of Itzi and Mikel in SS and we enjoyed some Tapas and beer and I hope to be able to show them a good time in London in September. Thanks both.

My next challenge was getting out of SS in the rain. For some time I felt very exposed on roads of motorway dimensions if not actual motorways. I eventually made it to France when things calmed down and we entered elegant countryside and cafes and I enjoyed the ride to Saint Jean Pied a Port, but experienced a language gap and my French is almost non existent.

My first Alburgue experience was great, a fairly small hostel with a communal supper with 3 types of wine!

By Monday I was ready to start my off road experience, but a bit hung over, and although the weather was cloudy over the pyrenees I decided to take the higher Napoleon route. It took 5 hours to do 25km, much of it pushing the bike and I arrived in Roscavelles very tired and cold but after some lunch and a look round the church I pushed on for a further 25Km.

I will not fill in the rest of the detail between Tuesday and now Saturday but eventually the photos should tell a story, but it has comprised of hard rides getting easier as the Camino came out of the mountains. There are about 150 walkers to every cyclist and I have met every conceivable type of cyclling including single track fast decents, parts where it was impossible to ride and some very agreeable tarmac tracks.

The coutryside has been truly beautiful and the people on the Camino friendly and helpful.

I cannot say that I have really enjoyed the hostal experience, they are safe, cheap (7 euros) but the sleepiing areas generally house about 40 beds and sleep is very diificult with the many snoring peregrinos.

Yesterday I rode into Burgos a big city but turned my ankle on the way in so am having a day off today, resting up and staying in a cheap hotel which is bliss.

However, I need an early start tomorrow as I have to crack on and do about 100Km a day for the next 4 days, so I may take to the road if circumstances dictate, that said the path is beautiful and you see so much and so many others wishing you buen camino as you pass them by.

Hasta Luego

Alan

[greytop]

Alan - what an experience! Thanks for taking time to keep us informed and good luck with the rest of it. Looking forward to the photos.

[alanmalarkey]

After Burgos my recollections of the journey become increasingly hazy. Mostly I was intent on gathering sufficient kilometres to get to Santiago so as to make timely arrangements for my transfer back to Bilbao. I made a tactical decision to forsake Alburgues on the basis that communal wakefulness in groups of 40 plus is a form of torture not worth enduring. That said, I did attend one more, a convent that I happened upon having asked directions of a nun. There were only 2 of us staying there as they admitted exercising discretion over its entry by not advertising its existence. I spent a restful night for a voluntary donation but no hot water.


After Leon which I passed through quite quickly and had a slightly longer break in Astorgia which I enjoyed for its market and Gaudi designed museum. This marked the end of the Meseta a long, flat and straight section with fast paths and quiet roads where I could average about 120 km a day. Leaving Astorgia I headed back up into mountains, passing through the Maragateria, home of the Maragatos, another separate cultural group living within Spain. It was near here where I met one man who was running the camino!


Over the mountains I enjoyed some very fast descents on good roads and eventually passed into Galicia for some stunning countryside and yet more hills. It was here that I lost my way and rode 12 Km down the wrong hill and for the first time turned to my maps to find my route back. Unfortunately I had to climb again all the height that I had lost but I was glad of the break from the official camino and its many walkers. That night, the last of my journey, I experienced 'diarrea prolongada' so after self-administration of appropriate medicine I set off in the hope of making Santiago in one 90Km hop. But there was a fierce headwind and I made slow progress with a steadily weakening resolve. As I arrived in Santiago the heavens opened but luckily a very entrepreneurial pension owner followed me into the main plaza and invited me to her pension, which I gratefully accepted.


I spent the next day looking round Santiago and enjoying its parks as well as watching other 'perigrinos' arrive after their 7 week walk. I had hoped to get a coastal train back to Bilbao but it proved impossible to match up the timetables of the two main different train companies - they make railtrack seem like an integrated system. Instead I caught and Alsa night bus back to Bilbao and spent an agreeable last evening in Portugalete before joining my ferry for sunbathing on the upper deck.


Taken as a whole the camino is a very testing cycle ride with every imaginable form of cycling. My choice of bike, a Scott hybrid with 700mm wheels and cross tyres was an excellent compromise and I didn't get one puncture, and the only maintenance was needing to adjust my brakes for wear about half way along. The latter part of the ride included more and more cyclists, most of whom were on touring bikes. The scenery was stunning, and at this time of year the roadside flora was particularly colourful. I met very few English people and mostly had to use my Spanish.


For any who may consider it in the future, check out some photos here


http://www.flickr.com/photos/tizer/


and


buen camino

[Ben]

Alan, I have only just seen this post - well done on doing the Camino by bike, what a feat! How fit does one need to be to do this... or maybe my question is, if I am not that fit now cycling-wise, how much preparation would I need to do in order to get ready for a ride like this?

[alanmalarkey]

It really depends where and how much you want to do, and your preferences for road or trail and whether your a tourist or cyclist or combination.

By road if averagely fit you could probably cover it in 14 days including a couple of rest days - this would give you time to explore a bit as well. About 825 km, it is less by trail, 750 km but would feel more. If taking road and easy trails you would be advised to use a touring bike or fit slick tyres to a MB. This will make a measurable difference.

By trail you need to be fitter or leave longer. I generally ride about 180 miles per week at between 75 and 95 max heart rate - and I have been doing this over a long period.

To get fitter I would advise using a heart rate monitor and over at least 2 - 3 months building up mileage so that you feel comfortable with a 45 - 50 mile ride on a road bike and can complete it in around 3 hours on mainly flat or undulating roads, maybe with a short tea/coffee stop - this will build up strength. By the time that you leave you should be aiming for 2 of these a week. Within the rides you need some peak efforts of increasingly long duration, so a long hill, for between 5 and 15 minutes at around 85% mhr to increase your aerobic capacity. By the time you leave, 2 or 3 of these every time you go out for a 45-50 mile ride. You should do a longer ride or 2, about 70 miles a few weeks before you leave and just some light 20 mile sessions on the week before to rest your muscles and that week start eating pasta and the days before plenty of water and no alcohol. This will give you a flying start.

You can do it without this preparation but it will hurt!

Hydration and food will be important so you need to use a carb drink and eat plenty of carbohydrate and protein each day. I burnt 3-4000 calories a day and neglected to eat enough and became fatigued and lost some muscle strength, so a good diet is very important. Also the time of year, I would not advise August - too crowded and too hot.

Join this group and delve into its resources for more info http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Santiago_Bicicleta/

This is probably more info than wanted or need

cheers

Alan

[eldeano]

I have an image of Gary on a bike. I'll be curled up near him when he arrives in Santiago de Compostela. ;)

[Diana]

I have an image of Gary on a bike. I'll be curled up near him when he arrives in Santiago de Compostela. ;)
:eek:

[Ben]

This is probably more info than wanted or need

cheers

AlanNot at all, it has served to terrify me somewhat though!! Looks like I have a bit of work to do if we really do decided to go for it one day...

[gary]

I have an image of Gary on a bike. I'll be curled up near him when he arrives in Santiago de Compostela. ;)

I defy you to post that image online - I have never been to the northwest!!

And you can curl up anytime you like its the ´cat of death´ I´m avoiding:)

[Marina]

Alan, it sounds like a great experience!!!

Don't worry Ben I will have Quique, my brother in-law, to design a program for you. We will start next weekend cycling from Colmenarejo to El Escorial. GET READY!!!!

[eldeano]

I defy you to post that image online - I have never been to the northwest!!

And you can curl up anytime you like its the ´cat of death´ I´m avoiding:)

It's still in my head - unfortunately - but I'll be googling when I get a chance.

[alanmalarkey]

Oh, and I forgot to mention Ben, it would also be helpful to put in some core strength work, so maybe yoga and tai chi - this also helps with breathing and relaxation at the end of a hard day, and maybe some upper body work just for the sculptural effect and to tease the peregrinas. Oh, and we must also think about shaving your legs and clothing, lycra of course, and how to look cool on the bike! What fun you will have >:D

Cheers

Alan

[eldeano]

Oh, and I forgot to mention Ben, it would also be helpful to put in some core strength work, so maybe yoga and tai chi - this also helps with breathing and relaxation at the end of a hard day, and maybe some upper body work just for the sculptural effect and to tease the peregrinas. Oh, and we must also think about shaving your legs and clothing, lycra of course, and how to look cool on the bike! What fun you will have >:D

Cheers

Alan

What about the chafing? :eek:

[timg]

What about the chafing? :eek:

You don't have to practice that as well, do you?

[eldeano]

You don't have to practice that as well, do you?

Well, I was presuming that he wasn't having to practise the leg shaving, either. :'(