PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Read as much as you can about the Camino before you go. It will help you plan your trip, and understanding the history and context of the Camino will make your trip all the more enjoyable. I recommend four books in particular. The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago, by David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson. Roads to Santiago, by Cees Nooteboom. The Ornament of the World, by Maria Rosa Menocal. Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, by George Ferguson. To buy any of them, click on the red titles.

Get a Credencial before you leave. See the Friends of the Road to Santiago link.

I cannot offer any scientific help on getting in shape, training, or target heart rates. But I found that the most useful preparation involved longer distances. I tried to ride 10-15 miles three times a week, and a 30 to 40 mile ride every weekend. I think that getting regular long-distance rides under your belt is better preparation that a few extra 10 mile jaunts. Completing a Century (100 miles in less than 24 hours) also helps boost your confidence. (If you can ride 100 miles a day, 50 can't be that bad.) Go for rides in bad weather. Get used to riding in heavy winds and/or rain. Also, remember that people with every kind of physique and levels of physical fitness succesfully do the Camino every year.

Decide on your itinerary ahead of time. Mine was in 9 days with a day of flex in case I needed it. It seemed about right to me but most people add a couple of days. Having a fixed itinerary gives you the impetus you need to keep going, even if you're tired, or riding into a strong headwind. Other itineraries are online if you look for them. One of the things I did was email people who had cycled the Camino and asked their advice. Most people with personal web sites about the Camino are more than happy to answer your questions. I think most people who've completed the journey want other people to experience it, too.

Once you have an itinerary, you can make reservations. I booked all my hotel rooms before I left. I did this for a number of reasons. First, the pilgrim Refugios give first precedence to pilgrims on foot. For a cyclist, that means you may have to wait until 8 p.m. to find out if you can stay there or not. Even though I went in September (an ostensibly less busy season) many of the refugios were full. Second, I didn't want to ride all day and then spend my evenings trying to find a bed for the night. Some might argue that staying in Refugios is a more "authentic" experience. Of the people I met, no one who stayed in Refugios claimed to have a different experience than I did. I chose my hotels by using an invaluable website, viamichelin.com. Third, as my wife generously pointed out, in addition to going on a pilgrimage, this was also my vacation. She said stay somewhere nice.

Figure out ahead of time how you're going to get from where you land to your starting point on the Camino. And on the back side, how you're going to get from Santiago De Compostela to your flight back home. I arrived in Spain on a Sunday morning. Knowing that public transportation would be difficult on Sunday, (I had checked) I had reserved a rental car. Once I arrived, I put my bicycle in the back, drove to the Pamplona airport, and dropped the car off. I unboxed my bike, (there were three other bike boxes by the garbage cans,) and put it and me in a taxi to Roncesvalles. At the end of the pilgrimage, I flew from Santiago to Madrid.

You have to have a bike box to take your bicycle back to the United States. You can't check your bare bicycle as luggage. You could, I guess, leave the bike box you used to get to Spain at left luggage at Barajas airport in Madrid. I didn't, because when I asked before I left for Roncesvalles, I was assured there would be plenty of boxes available when I returned to fly home. However, when it came time to fly back, all the transatlantic airlines except for USAir (bless their hearts) were out of bike boxes. Don't take the chance. Arrange for, or try to reserve, a bike box for the return trip before you leave Madrid. You'll also need packing tape and some kind of marker to write your name and address on every side of the box. By the way, you don't need to box your bike on intra-European flights, like Santiago to Madrid. You just need to turn the handlebars sideways, lessen the pressure in the tires, and remove the pedals.

Make a packing list. You need less than you think. First rule: Take no cotton. When you wash a cotton garment, it will not dry fast enough to wear it the next day. If it rains, you'll be wet and stay wet.

Here's what I packed: Two pairs of cycling shorts. Two cycling T-shirts. (Not racer-boy jerseys, just Coolmax t-shirts) Three pairs of Pearl Izumi cycling socks. One pair convertible trousers. (Long pants with zippers on legs to make shorts). One pair miracle fabric briefs. (Wash and dry in about an hour or less). One long sleeve shirt. (Also miracle fabric). One fleece. (I didn't use it but I was exceedingly lucky weather-wise.) One Pearl Izumi windbreaker (water resistant not water proof). One O2 rain jacket. (I did use it). Cycling gloves. Two pairs of shoes: One cycling (see my bicycle stuff page), one for the evenings and for the plane ride. One bandana. One helmet. One baseball-style cap. Toiletries. (Your choice.) Sunblock. For guys, (I can't speak for women here) I also recommend a small tin of Bag Balm to prevent chafing. Put it near your private parts. Every morning.

A camera. I used a Canon Powershot S50. 5 Megapixel. It's a great camera. Not too big. Not too small. Does everything. It also comes with a very lightweight battery recharger that works without a transformer on 220 volts. You do need a U.S.-to-European adapter. (I got mine at Radio Shack) Take two batteries. Take a couple of extra memory cards. I took a 256, a 128, a 64, and a 32. I took 270 photos.

Some people recommend lightweight binoculars. I took a pair, and used them once, to look at stained glass windows in the Leon cathedral.

Books to take: 1) Walking the Camino De Santiago, (click to purchase) by Bethan Davies and Ben Cole. Invaluable. Where to stay, where to eat, where to get your Sellos, navigating larger cities en route. Yes it says "walking", but you will be going through exactly the same places on your bike. 2) Pilgrim Guides to Spain. 1.The Camino Frances and The Cycling Pilgrim on the Camino France. Both published by, and available through, The Confraternity of St. James in Great Britain. Look on my links page. The Pilgrim guide is mostly redundant to Walking the Camino de Santiago, but I used both. Sometimes information that's not completely clear in one book is clearer in the other, and vice versa. The Cycling Pilgrim... is invaluable for cyclists. It's a 22 page supplement to the Pilgrim Guide with detailed route instructions and a suggested itinerary. Basically, it's all the route information you need. 3) Take a journal and pen. I recommend Moleskine journals. You can find them at Barnes & Noble. 4) A small English to Spanish dictionary. The words for "congestion" and "constipation" are very similar in Spanish, as I found when I was offered an inhaler for a very different need. 5) Something to read. I brought a couple of paperbacks that I tossed when I was finished with them.

The single best Pilgrim guide book I know of is El Camino De Santiago A Pie, published by El Pais/Aguilar. It's in Spanish, but you can use it even if English is your only language. The problem is, you can't buy it in the United States. Don't take the risk of trying to find a copy the day you arrive in Spain. Pick one up en route, or take one home as a souvenir.

Maps: I used Michelin 441, and 442. Scale is 1-400,000. I found them online. For bicycling, not walking. These maps have been superseded by new editions. Alex informs me to look for maps 571, 572, 573, and 575

An ATM card. Visa/Mastercard. You can use your ATM card at most Spanish ATM machines. Visa acceptance is much more widespread than American Express. You can also call the States from Telefonica booths with a Visa Card.

You can get over the counter medicine at any Spanish pharmacy. (The pharmacists in Spain are great). Don't bother bringing aspirin, ibuprofen, etc. with you because you think you might need it.

The Camino is not a race. The prize is the journey, not arriving at the destination.