Dear all,
What does a pilgrim take on a trip of 850 km from Roncesvalles to Santiago? Normally, the pilgrim overestimates his need for luggage, and his own force to carry it. All the places where pilgrims sleep are full with luggage items that were left there by pilgrims realising that less means more. So we have to be careful when packing. The pilgrim-on-foot carries his luggage on his back and limits himself normally to some 12 kg. Our luggage will be carried in bags on our bikes. The guy who rents us the bikes told us we can take 20 kg per bike. So we can take more than the backpack pilgrim, but the road is hilly, and one kilo less will still be nicer than one kilo more.
Our packing list has a clear effect on how we schedule our days on the road. We leave early in the morning (making progress before the heat of the sun comes through). Maybe a ‘siesta’ at noon (at the place where we will spend the night, or under a tree for a couple of hours before we continue cycling in the late afternoon). After a day of cycling our first task is to wash our pilgrim outfit. Cyclist shorts, cycling shirt, socks, preferably all in modern nylon and gore-tex material. There is no time for cotton. A quick wash and we hope to find some evening sun so that all is dry again by the next day.
Our list: 2 cycling shorts, 2 cycling shirts, 2 pair of socks, 1 pair of cycling gloves; 1 pair of cycling shoes; 1 hat to protect us from the sun.
We hope for as few rainy days as possible. None if possible. It is no fun to cycle in the rain. And it breaks the normal daily routine of washing and drying clothes. Shorts and shirts will not get dry in time. The 2nd rainy day is saved by our reserve outfit. But a 3rd rainy day in a row is drama. Have you ever experienced the pleasure of putting on a half-wet shirt when waking up?
A sleeping sheet (sleeping bags are too warm), a couple of t-shirts, underwear (another item for our daily washing activity), easy shoes for the evenngs, toiletries. And not to be forgotten: earplugs, our insurance against nights full of nerves and frustration. Pilgrims ar famous for their snoring capacities.
A cycling bottle, rain coat, long trousers, long sleeve t-shirt for the chilly morning hours, a camera as backup for our visual memory, and a book ’Spanish for pilgrims’ (where is the road to Santiago, por favor?).
A bankcard, some cash (where are those old Pesetas again?), a map or a book on the road to follow.
The last item on the list is a stone. The tradition wants that pilgrims leave it behind on the way (at Cruz de Hierro). How many romanian stones have taken this route before?
As you might know by now, we are supporting a charity project during our trip (http://www.unitate.ro/). Our thanks go out to those who already support us with this initiative. We have reached a total of 3.410 Euro by now. There is still time for more. In case you want to support this nice project of Frere Mathieu, then just send us a short mail indicating what amount you want to donate.
Talk to you soon.
Your pilgrims.
Jan/Richard/Sam
What does a pilgrim take on a trip of 850 km from Roncesvalles to Santiago? Normally, the pilgrim overestimates his need for luggage, and his own force to carry it. All the places where pilgrims sleep are full with luggage items that were left there by pilgrims realising that less means more. So we have to be careful when packing. The pilgrim-on-foot carries his luggage on his back and limits himself normally to some 12 kg. Our luggage will be carried in bags on our bikes. The guy who rents us the bikes told us we can take 20 kg per bike. So we can take more than the backpack pilgrim, but the road is hilly, and one kilo less will still be nicer than one kilo more.
Our packing list has a clear effect on how we schedule our days on the road. We leave early in the morning (making progress before the heat of the sun comes through). Maybe a ‘siesta’ at noon (at the place where we will spend the night, or under a tree for a couple of hours before we continue cycling in the late afternoon). After a day of cycling our first task is to wash our pilgrim outfit. Cyclist shorts, cycling shirt, socks, preferably all in modern nylon and gore-tex material. There is no time for cotton. A quick wash and we hope to find some evening sun so that all is dry again by the next day.
Our list: 2 cycling shorts, 2 cycling shirts, 2 pair of socks, 1 pair of cycling gloves; 1 pair of cycling shoes; 1 hat to protect us from the sun.
We hope for as few rainy days as possible. None if possible. It is no fun to cycle in the rain. And it breaks the normal daily routine of washing and drying clothes. Shorts and shirts will not get dry in time. The 2nd rainy day is saved by our reserve outfit. But a 3rd rainy day in a row is drama. Have you ever experienced the pleasure of putting on a half-wet shirt when waking up?
A sleeping sheet (sleeping bags are too warm), a couple of t-shirts, underwear (another item for our daily washing activity), easy shoes for the evenngs, toiletries. And not to be forgotten: earplugs, our insurance against nights full of nerves and frustration. Pilgrims ar famous for their snoring capacities.
A cycling bottle, rain coat, long trousers, long sleeve t-shirt for the chilly morning hours, a camera as backup for our visual memory, and a book ’Spanish for pilgrims’ (where is the road to Santiago, por favor?).
A bankcard, some cash (where are those old Pesetas again?), a map or a book on the road to follow.
The last item on the list is a stone. The tradition wants that pilgrims leave it behind on the way (at Cruz de Hierro). How many romanian stones have taken this route before?
As you might know by now, we are supporting a charity project during our trip (http://www.unitate.ro/). Our thanks go out to those who already support us with this initiative. We have reached a total of 3.410 Euro by now. There is still time for more. In case you want to support this nice project of Frere Mathieu, then just send us a short mail indicating what amount you want to donate.
Talk to you soon.
Your pilgrims.
Jan/Richard/Sam
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