Biking the Road to Santiago

[Jeff Welt]

Hello Everyone,
My wife and I have just joined "Friends" and are planning to bike part of the CdS starting in mid-September.  We will probably start from St Jean Pied de Port.  However, many of our trip logistics are as yet unresolved.  I am hoping that some of you would not mind sharing some of your knowledge with us?
 
First, we are not sure where to fly into and out of.  Flying out of Santiago at  the end of the trip appears to make the most sense.  We are unsure where to fly into.  We are considering flying to Bibao or Pamplona but really are unsure of what are reasonable options.  Any suggestions?  
 
We have not identified any  means of transporting our  bikes to St Jean.  Is anyone aware of transportation options?
 
Could you recommend any good maps for the trip?  Where can we obtain them?
 
Bikes.  What to use?  We are hesitant to bring our touring bikes.  We biked in the Dordogne of SW France two years ago.  Although our bikes were very
well packed, the trip from Maine to Paris took a toll (three planes, hence three sets of baggage  handlers). My bike had to go into a shop for repairs
before we could ride.  We are  considering renting bikes.  Have you had any experience with bike rentals in Spain?   We are also researching the
purchase of folding bikes. They would probably work well, but so  far appear to be prohibitively expensive. Any advice on renting and/or the suitablity of folding travel bikes for this trip?

We like to  mix a lot of hiking with our biking.  Consequently, we don't do more than 30-45 miles per day.  Any suggestions for not to miss hikes or explorations?
 
Well, the  above are only  the highest priorities of our current stage of planning.  If you could shed any light on the above items, or any other
areas we should be aware of, it would be very much appreciated.
 
Thanks very much.  We look forward to learning from you.
 
Joyce and Jeff Welt
Brunswick, Maine
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