{"id":14771,"date":"2025-12-17T21:43:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T21:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/the-way-of-saint-james-by-bicycle-tips-from-experience-bicigrino\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T14:54:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T14:54:49","slug":"the-way-of-saint-james-by-bicycle-tips-from-experience-bicigrino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/the-way-of-saint-james-by-bicycle-tips-from-experience-bicigrino\/","title":{"rendered":"The Way of Saint James by bicycle: tips from experience | Bicigrino"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"blog-camino-bici\">\n<header class=\"post-header\">\n<p class=\"post-kicker\">Camino de Santiago by bicycle &#8211; Bicigrino.com<\/p>\n<h1>The Way of St. James by bicycle<\/h1>\n<p class=\"post-subtitle\">Advice and reflections from the experience of traveling the Jacobean roads on two wheels.<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-author\">By Tom\u00e1s S\u00e1nchez &#8211; Bicigrino.com<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"post-intro\">\n<p>From the website of the Camino de Santiago by bike <strong>bicigrino.com<\/strong>, and on my own behalf,<br \/>I want to share a series of tips and guidelines for those who are thinking of doing the Camino de Santiago<br \/><strong>on two wheels<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a rigid manual or an absolute truth, but the result of the experience<br \/>accumulated after traveling different Jacobean roads by bicycle, living the Camino from the inside,<br \/>day by day, stage by stage.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>The roads to Santiago<\/h2>\n<p>There are many routes that run through Spain and that have deservedly earned the appellation<br \/><em>Camino de Santiago<\/em>. Each one has its own character, difficulty and essence. <\/p>\n<h3>The French Way<\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>French Way<\/strong> is undoubtedly the best known and busiest. It crosses the north of Spain<br \/>and its most common starting point is located at the Franco-Navarre border, being the most popular one. <br \/><strong>Roncesvalles<\/strong> is the most frequent starting point, although many choose to start<br \/>in the French town of <strong>Saint Jean Pied de Port<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Another popular option is to start the French Way from the Aragonese Pyrenees, specifically<br \/>in <strong>Somport<\/strong>. This variant, known as the <strong>Aragonese Way<\/strong>, links<br \/>Somport with <strong>Puente la Reina<\/strong>, where you follow the common route to Santiago. <\/p>\n<h3>The Northern Way and the Primitive Way<\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>Camino del Norte<\/strong> runs along the Cantabrian coast, usually starting in Ir\u00fan.<br \/>At Villaviciosa it forks: following the coast we continue along the Camino del Norte,<br \/>while turning off towards Oviedo we enter the <strong>Camino Primitivo<\/strong>, considered<br \/>the oldest and also one of the hardest to do by bicycle.<\/p>\n<h3>The Silver Route<\/h3>\n<p>The <strong>V\u00eda de la Plata<\/strong> runs through the peninsula from Seville to Santiago. It is a road<br \/>full of contrasts, with a strong sense of adventure and, in my opinion, the road that<br \/>is best enjoyed by bicycle once you have acquired previous experience in the French Way. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Where to start?<\/h2>\n<p>For those who are just starting out, my recommendation is clear: <strong>the French Way<\/strong>.<br \/>It is the best equipped with hostels, the simplest route and the best signposted.<br \/>It is also where the true essence of the Camino de Santiago is most intensely experienced.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Facing the Camino by bicycle<\/h2>\n<p>It is not the same to go out for a day on a bicycle than to cycle for several consecutive days,<br \/>loaded with panniers, crossing different terrains and accumulating unevenness day after day.<\/p>\n<p>The Camino requires perseverance, perseverance and also mental preparation. It is advisable to train beforehand<br \/>with the bike loaded and get used to the inertia and weight. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Food and hydration<\/h2>\n<p>Hydration is essential, especially in summer. It is advisable to carry two water bottles<br \/>and drink frequently, before getting thirsty. <\/p>\n<p>As for food, the ideal is a good breakfast, something light at noon<br \/>and a full meal in the afternoon or evening, taking advantage of the pilgrim&#8217;s menus.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Stage planning<\/h2>\n<p>Not all stages are the same. The same stretch can be a walk or a hell depending on<br \/>wind, rain or physical condition. That&#8217;s why I do not advise leaving home with the stages<br \/>closed to the millimeter.  <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>A question of weight<\/h2>\n<p>Weight is a determining factor. You have to be well prepared, but without making the mistake<br \/>of carrying unnecessary things. On the French Way the towns are close and there are services<br \/>in almost all of them.  <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Don&#8217;t make the Camino a race<\/h2>\n<p>The Camino de Santiago is not a competition. It is not about getting there before anyone else or doing it<br \/>in fewer days. The key is to get up every morning with no other concern than to move forward,<br \/>eat when you are hungry and rest when the body asks for it.  <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"post-conclusion\">\n<h2>Ultreia and Suseia<\/h2>\n<p>The Camino de Santiago by bicycle cannot be explained in words. You have to live it. <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Camino de Santiago by bicycle &#8211; Bicigrino.com The Way of St. James by bicycle Advice and reflections from the experience of traveling the Jacobean roads on two wheels. By Tom\u00e1s S\u00e1nchez &#8211; Bicigrino.com From the website of the Camino de Santiago by bike bicigrino.com, and on my own behalf,I want to share a series of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173,166,169,140,301,297,178],"tags":[250,302,303,305,304],"class_list":["post-14771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consejos-y-tips","category-camino-frances","category-camino-portugues","category-camino-primitivo","category-north-road","category-routes","category-via-de-la-plata","tag-bicigrino","tag-camino-de-santiago-bicycle","tag-camino-de-santiago-bicycle-route","tag-cyclotourism-camino-de-santiago","tag-french-way-by-bicycle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14773,"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14771\/revisions\/14773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bicigrino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}