I have decided I really don’t like biking as a way to see the country. I like biking, and I like traveling, but I might as well be on a bus. I am learning as I go, but the method seems to be to ride like hell for an hour or two, regardless of what we are passing, then stop at a cafe for coffee. Then get back on and ride like hell for another couple hours, then stop and sit for lunch. Then get back on and grind it out to get to the hotel. Then shower and prowl the town a little for dinner and shopping.
Well. That is the same schedule we followed on the European Tours bus trip with my mom. It is NOT the schedule we followed on the Camino.
It would be possible when bike riding to see a lake or beach or cavern with stalactites, bike to it, lock up your bike and go explore. You can cover a lot of miles on a bike and you could explore a lot of places. But I am starting to see the bike as an encumbrance. It is expensive and you are totally dependent on it, so you don’t dare lose it and you don’t want to wander too far from it. Its panniers carry all your belongings, and you don’t want anyone taking those. So you become tethered to the bike until it is s safely in a garage for the night.
Of course, on the Camino you are tethered to your backpack similarly, but the backpack is much more portable and versatile. It can serve as your pillow in an airport or your back rest at an impromptu picnic. It can be be a lap desk. It can save a chair for a friend. I just don’t see a bike doing any of that.
Here are some other things I don’t like about bike travel:
*You can’t talk with the people you are with. You spend hours each day with them, yet achieve no intimacy, no trust, no jokes. It is basically an individual transportation. Compare this to trekking or hiking.
*You are sitting all day with only your quads working like crazy. You arrive stiff and sore, yet you have not even used your abs, your back, your arms, or your chest. Compare this to trekking or hiking.
*There are equipment failures. Tires go flat, fenders rub, brakes wear out. OK, that happens with our body and walking, too. This means you don’t want to get too far from your group.
I am enjoying this trip. But…
