Riding the Camino does not require an expensive or fancy bike. What you need is a comfortable and reliable bike geared for the hills. My bike has a low 20 gear inch setup. Since the Camino is primarily a footpath, a threaded wider tire is preferrable. You also need a rack to carry your bags and a few bottle cages for water. Bring typical emergency items like spare tubes/tires, patches and pump.
Travelling light is the key. I basically carried 2 sets of clothes and a windbreaker. The heaviest items are the backup tools (for the 11 bikes), cameras and films. Since there is a chance we had to stay in refugios, we carried a fleece sleeping bag.
The cheapest flight we found was a $550 TWA flight into Madrid from one of the internet travel agencies. We prefer to travel during the off season because it's cheaper and less crowded. We will stay in Madrid before and after the pilgrimage. In Madrid, we visited all the touristy sites - museums (in particular, the Prado), Plaza Mayor, bullfight, etc. As a bonus, we saw the final cycling stage of the Tour de Spain at Plaza Mayor.
Spanish cuisine is not well known for its use of fresh vegetables. Most dishes use vegetables sparingly or vegetables are boiled to a pulp. If you need vegetable fibers to help you in your daily ritual, try these alternatives. Buy canned corn or vegetables. Most canned vegetables have easy pull top covers (don't forget to pack a spoon).
Another alternative is Chinese restaurants (a lot of them in Madrid). Aside from ensalada mixta (mixed vegetable salad), ask for Caldo Gallego (boiled potato with a cabbage type leaf). Our best lunches in small towns were vegetable soups with bread for about 400ptas (under $3).
French fries are the standard side dish with your main course. For a healthier less greasy version, ask to substitute steamed potatoes (potato al vapor) for the fries.
If you get tired of eating restaurant food, an alternative is to buy cooked food and fruits. Our favorite source was El Cortes Ingles (a Macy's type department store in the bigger cities). They have a huge cooked food section in the basement supermarket. Also a good place to shop for a lunch picnic.
For Madrid, we booked a hostal via the internet. A good jumping point for Madrid hotels is www.madridman.com. Since 1999 is a holy year and popular with pilgrims, we booked hotels in Leon and Santiago (the beginning and end points of the cycling route). A good search engine for hotels or hostals along the Camino is www.hotelsearch.com. Leaving accomodations between Leon and Santiago open gives us some flexibility. We can stop whenever and wherever we want. Keeping an extra day also allows a slack or rest day.
Time to Ride!
Madrid has 2 main train stations - Atocha and Chamartin. To board the train to Leon, we had to go to Chamartin, which was about 7 km away. We booked an 11:30 am train and left our hotel at 9:00 am - expecting to get lost along the way.
Just like any big city, Madrid has lots of car traffic. Riding the city is no different than riding New York or San Francisco. Since streets are confusing because of one way directions and roundabouts, we repeatedly had to check our maps and asked the locals for the correct direction. Street maps are located at strategic street corners showing where you are. At close to 11 am, we were at the train station.
A cycling club in Madrid publishes a pocket map showing suggested bike routes in Madrid. Get them for free at most Madrid bike stores. Or contact:
Calle Ccampomanes 13 2I
D.P.28013 Madrid
From Leon's train station, it's only about a kilometer to the city center.