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cycling the camino de santiago. mike wells. cicerone press. 259pp illus. £14.95

i'm not what you might call a great traveller; the extent of my a to b-ness usually concerns a ferry trip, followed by a bus journey. every now and again the latter is followed by time spent on a train, but that's more the exception than the rule. at the end of next month, i'll head farther north to ride my bike along with scores of others, but i'm trying hard not to make a habit of it. despite my contention that the act of travelling is every bit as much a part of the adventure, getting to and from the start of a proposed cycling trip has always struck me as a tad more faff than i'd prefer to accept.

thus, the occasional opporchancity to cycle in locations more salubrious than my home island (assuming such a place exists), is often left to fend for itself, alone and uncared for. but there is, of course, as there probably has to be, the possibility of an exception to this self-imposed idiosyncracy.

the name.

who amongst us could resist thundering mightily along skyline boulevard, or clambering slowly up the gorge la nesque? i don't mind too much if you'd like to substitute your own attractively named location. in the light of this possibly superficial confession, you can imagine my intrigue having been piqued on receipt of the latest cycling publication from the inestimable cicerone press. via the word processor and explorations of mike wells, author of guides to london-paris, the rhine, danube and the rhone valley, amongst others, comes a guide to cycling the 'camino de santiago'. i will not mislead you; until i checked the introduction, i had no earthly idea just where that is in the world.

as it transpires, this is an exploration across the top of the iberian peninsula, from santiago, near spain's atlantic coast, to the fabulously named st jean-pied-de-port, just across the french pyrenean border. i have often commended cicerone publications as the ideal reading for armchair explorers, but currently, unless something else arrives very soon with an even more exotic title, this sits atop the chairside pile.

legend has it that st james, one of the twelve apostles, travelled to spain in the first century ad to preach the gospel and the tenets of christianity. after his death in 44ad, his body was reputedly returned to spain by boat, taken ashore at padron in galicia and buried inland on a remote hillside. discovered almost 800 years later by a galician shepherd, a local bishop identified the bones as those of st james. the church built over his remains, was, after many interim iterations, subsequently rebuilt as a cathedral and surrounded by the mediaeval city of santiago de compostela (st. james of the field of stars). historical magnificence such as this, almost places the act of cycling as a mere backdrop to the scenery.

i did say, 'almost'.

the book's introduction offers an excellent precis of the area's history before progressing to an overview of the prescribed routes. as you may expect, the intrinsic historicity of the region, provides a veritable cornucopia of architecture and art to be seen at various points along the way. a cursory glance through the copious colour illustrations will prove the veracity of which mr wells writes. the book even features an appendix dedicated to spanish architectural styles.

but, we are nothing if not dedicated cyclists, usually of the road persuasion when it comes to cicerone guides. however, this particular publication could justifiably be classified under the heading, 'buy-one-get-one-free'. for contained within its almost 260 pages, are both 770 kilometres of offroad riding, paralleled with a complementary 798 kilometres of road riding. the author suggests that perhaps those less experienced in the world of knobbly rubber, might like to mix and match as their skillset dictates.

rather obviously, almost 800 kilometres is not the sort of spanish distance that even the most intrepid amongst us rattles off in a single day. thus, the author has thoughtfully divided the distance of both routes into 18 manageable sections, peaking at 55km in a single bound. after witnessing almost 300 kilometres of racing from milan to sanremo at the weekend, 55km might seem a less than punishing workout for a self-respecting member of the pelotonese. however, i might remind you at this point, of the substantial dollops of visual and historical attractions to be seen along the way, to say little of the pyrenees rearing up in the last few stages.

if i ever pluck up the courage to tread farther afield than debbie's café in bruichladdich, 'camino de santiago' is now unassailably at the top of my wishlist.

tuesday 26 march 2019