Bikepacking to Istanbul

Spain

Fri, 15 May 2026 08:51:00 +0000

I’ve been in Spain now since the 1st of May and arrived in Santiago this Thursday, the 13th. I am taking a 2-day break here before I set off for Bordeaux.

Cycling the Camino has been fun. I’ve met lots of fun and interesting people. Going over the border from France to Spain has been quite difficult because, up until Spain, I had mostly stayed at municipal campsites. They are cheap and are everywhere in France. But in Spain, on my route, there have been way fewer campsites. The ones that do exist are mostly big resort-style campsites and are thus more expensive. Because the weather has been shit thus far in Spain, I was simply not going to wild camp, which was originally my plan. So I stayed at albergues all the way through to Santiago. This was quite a difficult switch to make because it screwed up my routine. I also needed to find out how the albergues work, and this took a couple of days.

Closeup

Wed, 13 May 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Santiago 0km

Wed, 13 May 2026 12:14:00 +0000

Quick leg stretch

Wed, 13 May 2026 10:45:00 +0000

Interesting trees

Wed, 13 May 2026 10:23:00 +0000

Nice forestry area

Wed, 13 May 2026 10:22:00 +0000

Fitting art

Wed, 13 May 2026 09:34:00 +0000

Few km to first big milestone

Wed, 13 May 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Cycling through the clouds

Tue, 12 May 2026 08:56:00 +0000

Good views with bad weather

Mon, 11 May 2026 11:33:00 +0000

Cool mountain bridges

Mon, 11 May 2026 09:31:00 +0000

Lots of green

Mon, 11 May 2026 07:56:00 +0000

Favorite types of roads

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:06:00 +0000

blue sky finally but insanely cold

Sun, 10 May 2026 12:34:00 +0000

Very upset by weather

Sun, 10 May 2026 12:10:00 +0000

Climbing with bad weather

Sun, 10 May 2026 12:09:00 +0000

Clamb dinner

Sat, 09 May 2026 15:33:00 +0000

stroll through the city

Sat, 09 May 2026 14:59:00 +0000

Whut?

Sat, 09 May 2026 14:47:00 +0000

Nice tree

Sat, 09 May 2026 14:37:00 +0000

Cycling buddy

Sat, 09 May 2026 12:17:00 +0000

Arch bridge

Sat, 09 May 2026 10:47:00 +0000

Water obstacle

Sat, 09 May 2026 08:54:00 +0000

Dirt road

Sat, 09 May 2026 07:27:00 +0000

Arch

Thu, 07 May 2026 10:45:00 +0000

broken roads

Thu, 07 May 2026 09:52:00 +0000

Cathedral in Burgos

Wed, 06 May 2026 16:27:00 +0000

funny looking

Wed, 06 May 2026 07:53:00 +0000

View from above

Tue, 05 May 2026 13:02:00 +0000

Cliff building

Tue, 05 May 2026 12:37:00 +0000

Good views but bad weather

Mon, 04 May 2026 08:39:00 +0000

Tight streets

Sun, 03 May 2026 11:44:00 +0000

good place to rest

Sun, 03 May 2026 11:43:00 +0000

City Hall? Pamplona

Sat, 02 May 2026 11:16:00 +0000

Entering Pamplona

Fri, 01 May 2026 13:30:00 +0000

First day in Spain.

Fri, 01 May 2026 11:33:00 +0000

Top of the Pyrenees

Fri, 01 May 2026 10:27:00 +0000

View from the Pyrenees

Fri, 01 May 2026 10:24:00 +0000

OMW to the Pyrenees

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:28:00 +0000

Cycling a day along the edge of the Pyrenees

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:03:00 +0000

waterfall + canoe slide

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:15:00 +0000

John Smith vibes

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:11:00 +0000

The stream moves unbelievably fast

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:59:00 +0000

Lourdes

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 18:43:00 +0000

Extra rest day because bike was falling apart

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:12:00 +0000

Coffee with another bikepacker

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:37:00 +0000

fellow bikepackers

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 16:05:00 +0000

This week I’ve come across the first bikepackers. Two of them have been Dutchmen who are following part / the whole of the same route as I am at the moment. Ended up cycling half a day with both of them on separate occasions.

I’m finding that the social encounters I have been having are striking a perfect balance for my needs. They happen often enough not to give way to the feeling of loneliness.

reflection

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:41:00 +0000

Met another bikepacker

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Up high

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:42:00 +0000

isn't that something

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:18:00 +0000

City in a hill

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 08:10:00 +0000

No benches to be found

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Cycled together

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:34:00 +0000

selfie

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:50:00 +0000

gotta take a leak

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:49:00 +0000

lake break

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:23:00 +0000

It's a bridge.

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 07:45:00 +0000

Bike backside

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:41:00 +0000

run out of names for these pictures

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:07:00 +0000

Beware!

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:40:00 +0000

Wter edge

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:05:00 +0000

All in one week

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 10:46:00 +0000

A lot has happened this week. I’ve had people clapping as I cycled by, older ladies inspecting my bike with the most curious interest. The lid of a tomato sauce bottle came off in my food bag, covering all my stuff in tomato sauce. I met a Camino hiker named Philip, or I think that was his name. I got invited for some expensive-looking rum and cheese by this very interesting German couple. I’ve received coffee and a egg from people. And I met a lady who explained to me some about George Sand, a famous feminist writer from this area who used to live near the place I am currently at in Montgivray (taking a rest day here). I’ve had good weather. It only rained on the 11th. The last two days it has been 24°. A very nice temperature.

Early lunch

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 20:56:00 +0000

Boat bridge

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:40:00 +0000

Wow

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:56:00 +0000

New buddy called Philip?

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:34:00 +0000

vézelay from a distance

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:36:00 +0000

vézelay flowers

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:54:00 +0000

vézelay

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:52:00 +0000

Hey there Doggo

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:53:00 +0000

Quick brake

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:33:00 +0000

Cleaning time

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 22:59:00 +0000

Pasta saus

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 22:50:00 +0000

Drying time

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:24:00 +0000

Camp setup

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:23:00 +0000

Padel accident

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:03:00 +0000

Music setup

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:36:00 +0000

shadow selfie

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:38:00 +0000

dashboard

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 20:37:00 +0000

French border

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 12:23:00 +0000

Cows

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 11:43:00 +0000

Smooth sailing

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:08:00 +0000

Smooth sailing it has been this first week. Very little trouble and much enjoyment.

The only trouble I’ve had was a hole in my glove that appeared on the first day which I then sewed closed and then lost my gloves completely on Monday…

It took longer than I had anticipated to travel out of the Netherlands. This because when I cycled to Prague almost 2 years ago I took the quickest road possible to milingen aan de rijn. This time I choose a more scenic route.

Cooking dinner in the Ardennes

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:19:00 +0000

Short break before descending

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 16:15:00 +0000

Half a day through Germany

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:59:00 +0000

First day leaving the Netherlands behind

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:10:00 +0000

Road to Santiago

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:09:00 +0000

Camping in Roermond

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:02:00 +0000

10 second timer

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Penut butter

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 08:05:00 +0000

Crossing a river

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:54:00 +0000

Dutch landscape

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:51:00 +0000

A dino

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

scenic ride on the first day

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Me and friends

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:58:00 +0000

Me and my bike

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 15:57:00 +0000

Liftoff

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:33:00 +0000

Today, after many months of waiting and lots of preparations I finally took my bike and me out for the most questionable adventure I have ever had.

Before leaving completely though, I had the chance to say goodby to some of my friends and family with a nice cup of coffee.

The day has had little trouble. No rain, a nice scenic route and a good place to stay. However, one issue arose halfway through the day that has slaughtered my legs… WIND. At some point going anything faster than 10km/h was completly undoable.