Baggage

Since we will be4 carrying all our baggage (clothes, sleeping bag etc) it is important to keep it light, which means bringing as little as possible.  The advice I have seen on various sources emphasizes this and suggests total baggage weight, including panniers, should be less than 9 Kg or 20 Lb.

My planned pack includes:

Two biking shirts, two biking shorts, two biking socks, biking shoes (mountain bike type which have soft uppers and recessed cleats so that walking is easier) , helmet, gloves, one set leggings, one light, breathable , rain jacket, water bottle

Three sets quick dry underwear, two pairs quick dry socks, light shoes, one pair lightweight trousers, two light t-shirts, one light long sleeve shirt

Minimal toiletries, basic first aid kit (antiseptic spray, topical antibiotic, petroleum jelly, bandages/plasters, anti inflammatory (advil)

Sleeping bag, silk liner for sleeping bag.

Communication

Unlocked Smart phone with local sim card with data plan (required to update this blog!), GPS with Topo maps for Spain, very lightb luetooth keyboard (for updating blog)

Camera

This was my biggest challenge, I never go anywhere without my camera. My primary camera is a Canon 5D Mark III, which equipped with a 24-105 L series lens weighs 3.12 Lb or 1708 gr.

This is a lot of extra weight to carry around.  I could drop 500 gr or 1 Lb by changing the lens to a 50mm prime lens.

My alternative is that I can borrow a Fuji X20 from my daughter – this weighs in at 353 gr or 12.4 oz, a pretty significant weight difference.

I am doing some shoting with the x20 to evaluate the picture quality and will decide before I leave on my choice!!

An important aspect of the camera is the ability to get photos from the camera to the smart phone for possible upload to this blog. Fortunately both the 5D Mk III and the X-20 are compatible with the EyeFi card which I use extensively to preview shots. (The EyeFi is an SD format memory card for use in a  camera that also a creates its own  WiFi hot spot which the phone can register to and transfer photos directly from the card in the camera to the phone)

 

Bikes

In thinking of how best to complete this ride we had to decide on whether to bring our own bikes or rent bikes in Spain.

In reviewing websites/blogs and guidebooks about this route the unanimous advice was that, since much of the ride is off road, and some quite rough, the only suitable bike is a mountain bike. This made our decision easy since neither John or I own mountain bikes.

For interest sake I did investigate the cost of bringing my own bike. I found that the cost of buying a transport bag, paying the airline handling and carriage fees exceeded the rental cost. (Note: that is travelling from North America to Europe)  most of this cost was the purchase of a bike travel bag at $490.

We found three companies catering to people wishing to ride the Camino. Each of these will rent mountain bikes equipped with panniers, maintenance kits etc. the will deliver the bikes to a location in Seville and pick-up in Santiago de Compostella.

the approximate cost of this service is  350 Euro for two weeks.

The companies we talked to were:

Tournride.com

Cycling-rentals.com

Trianabackpackers.com

A caution, book your bike early. We almost left it too late. Thinking we had lots of time we waited until approximately two months before our departure. We found the first two companies were already booked out for the bike sizes we were looking for. Fortunately the third option we tried, Tournride,  was able to meet our needs.