Cycling the Camino

The CSJ produces a small booklet The Cycling Pilgrim on the Camino Francés which is available in our shop.  This contains information on bikes, kit, transport and touring routes away from walking pilgrims, also a Spanish glossary covering the words for all parts of a bike. We also stock Cycling the Camino de Santiago, The Way of St James - Camino Francés published in 2019, available here.

Pilgrimage by bicycle is a different experience to a walking camino. Cycling pilgrims, or bicigrinos as they are nicknamed in Spanish, travel further and faster than their walking counterparts. They often travel on roads and tracks away from the main pilgrimage route and are more able to make detours to interesting sites. Some albergues give preference to walking pilgrims, particularly in the busy summer season. Obviously, logistically there is also slightly more planning required for transporting your bike and kit to and from your Camino.

Helmets are compulsory in Spain in inter-urban areas and for under-18s in urban areas. It is worth checking the current traffic rules and regulations for cycling in Europe, which you can do at the European Commission website here. 

For more information, you can visit:

The Man in Seat 61 for information about taking bikes on trains in UK and Europe

Bike Express for information about transporting your bike by coach from UK to Europe

Bicigrinos, a website especially for camino cyclists

The Pilgrim forum for various threads and conversations relating to many different topics, including cycling.