In 2016 I walked the Way of St. James from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela. The first 10 days were with my sisters and my nephew Sam and then Sam and I continued for another 27 days. I raved about it and would often start talking to Paul about an experience that I’d had, forgetting that he hadn’t been there with me. Jump forward 7 years, and we found ourselves with some unplanned days after Madeleine’s visit. At first, we thought that we would simply train to Santiago and hang out for a couple of days BUT, that is not really EXPERIENCING the Camino is it!!?? I started looking into how Paul could understand what it’s like to be a Pilgrim on the Camino with a limited number of days and, recalling our thought long ago of doing a bike trip, it all came together. We had no training time, no biking “gear” (Paul thought matching jerseys would be good – NOT) and little time to plan so we got in touch with The Natural Adventure tour company. They arranged everything: electric bikes, panniers, water bottles, hotel bookings, luggage transfers, GPS tracking with a few alternative routes for bikes, the Credential for the Camino, detailed notes on each days route as well as the places we stay.
Day 1 – April 9 – Porto to Barcelos
The day before we started we walked from our apartment to where we thought we could likely meet up with the Camino on our bikes. We then walked the Camino route backwards to the starting point at the Cathedral. It made us feel better that we had the chance to do the whole way from the start in Porto because riding in the historical centre would not have been fun!!
It was a bit of a late start as we had to wait until our bags were picked up, also giving us a chance to see Madeleine off. They had delivered the bikes the night before so we could pack our panniers and have a good idea of how much we could take with us and what to send ahead.
Day 2 – April 10 – Barcelos to Ponte de Lima
It’s day 2 and we are excited and a bit sore as we set off for our next destination, Ponte de Lima. Being able to experience a Camino, even an abbreviated one via e-bike, with Heather after what she did in 2016 is a very cool travel moment for me.
It’s also my first time using an ebike. we debated whether to pay the surcharge for them, and I am so, so, so thankful that we did. I assumed we would be mostly riding on pavement, but so far we’ve spent a lot of quality riding time on cobblestones (to which I now have a thriving love/hate relationship), rocks, and of course dirt.
Day 3 – April 11 – Ponte de Lima to Valenca
It’s day 3 and there is 90% excitement for what lies ahead and 10% soreness. Fingers crossed some corrective action will make for an easier day (narrator: “No, it did not”). We had a few wrong turns but at least we stayed together!
Now its time to rest up for the big ride tomorrow (more then 50km). We are 1/2 way done but still lots of riding and camino experiences to come!
Day4 – April 12 – Valenca, Portugal to Pontevedra, Spain
We are up and breakfasting before the long ride into Spain today. Confidence remains high but there is a new obstacle to overcome in our camino. RAIN!
Our ride started out wet but the rain stopped after an hour or so and the sun slowly appeared beyond the clouds. Today was probably the hardest day – 54 km in rain or wind off and on, uphills, downhills, across bridges, through forests and 2 cities BUT, hardly any cobblestones!
Day 5 – April 13 – Pontevedra to Padron
We purposely left a little later today, as the weather report emphasized rain in the morning and then okay for the rest of the day. Well, that plan didn’t work out as well as we had hoped. It rained off and on all day which resulted in a chilly ride.
Fortunately the terrain was lovely – lots of wooded areas, along countryside paths near grape vines, horses, sheep and even a pig crossed our path. There were a LOT more pilgrims walking today and we had to be very cautious not to sneak up on those who were listening to music, had their hoods up for the rain, or were talking on their phone.
Day 6 – April 14 – Pãdron to Santiago de Compostela
Another wet and dreary day lay ahead of us. The clouds were really socked in and there was a power outage at our hotel that lasted all through breakfast and until our departure. It was the shortest ride (25 km) and, although we were not looking forward to being wet, we were excited to hit the road.
Final thoughts from Heather’s perspective:
I loved being able to share the Camino with Paul and the experience was amazing!! The bikes were great and I am so happy to have now done and thoroughly enjoyed a multi-day bike trip (something I’ve been thinking of doing for a while). I am a little sore, but a good sore that tells me I did get some exercise! Having everything organized by the company made it all so easy and relaxing.
Riding the Camino was a very different experience than walking it. I had such a great time and the scenery was lovely and the company fantastic and the biking allowed us to fit it into our time frame. I do however, feel that the walking experience had more of an impact for me. Maybe because it was my first time or perhaps because I stayed in the albergues and met more Pilgrims. Or could it be because walking was slower, giving me more time to look around and ponder. It’s hard to know the reason for the difference but regardless, I am so, so happy that we did this ride and I will always remember it fondly!!
Paul’s perspective : What a thrill! It was more physically challenging than I probably thought it would be (in my head I thought it would be mostly riding on pavement – NOT). I have no idea how long its been since I have ridden significant distances for 6 straight days. Probably never!
The bikes were awesome and it was very cool to see portions of Portugal and Spain from a bike. And while it was different than Heather’s experience, it was so cool to walk into the Church square with her. I even got a little misty in the moment!
I can definitely see another Camino in our future. I think I’d like to try to walk one. But that’s for another day (and another blog)!
galmc2Report 
Leave a comment