Alone, walking, on a bike....

The true essence of the Way of Saint James is to walk it on foot. This allows us to soak up the places we pass through, enjoy pleasant conversations with other pilgrims with whom we share a few kilometers and ultimately put yourself in the shoes, saving the differences, of the thousands of people who once walked these roads. All this is not a brake for a person who loves the bicycle to forget about it and do the Way of Saint James walking, but if you have other issues to consider on your trip.

The bicycle, if we really want to travel the Way of Saint James, must be mountain bike or at least allow us to ride on rough and cobbled terrain, to avoid having to take roads that considerably lengthen the distances and are a danger to cyclists. We will also have to take into account that in many hostels the bicigrinos do not have priority over the walkers, even if they have arrived earlier. This means of transport should give us more peace of mind to enjoy the places we ride, instead of as usual, depriving us of all contact with them. There are many bikers who, as it should not be otherwise, warn of their proximity to walkers and reduce their pace when passing by them. Nor does it have to be a problem for us to put our feet on the ground to overcome a complicated or more strenuous stretch, which in most cases is not as long as it seems and this gesture can avoid us major problems.

Starting the Way of Saint James alone should not worry us, there are many occasions when we will find conversation, and many kilometers where we will forge a good friendship. On the contrary, large groups are more complicated to manage and require more advance planning. There are many friendships that, by living together 24 hours a day, added to the accumulated fatigue and the vicissitudes of the Camino, have been blown away. Knowing how to adapt to the characteristics of the group is fundamental, ideally small groups of 2 or 4 people, where everyone does their part so as not to squeeze too much out of at least one person and not to force the rest to take an excessively slow pace. The accommodation is complicated when the group is bigger, occurring real cases in which it has to disperse through different hostels and even other locations.