Si! I want to go! The practical stuff

Read as much as you can about the Camino before you go. It will help you plan your trip, and understanding the history and context of the Camino will make your trip all the more enjoyable.
While some people buy their credencial before they leave home, it’s not necessary. As long as you get it before you start with your trip, it is fine. I bought mine at the office in St Jean the morning before I started my tour.

Get in shape before you leave. The fitter you are, the more enjoyable the trip will become. Work out what’s best for you. I’ve found that to ride a hilly 32 km loop three times a week with a 50 km loop on a weekend to be sufficient. As my departure neared, I increased the distance of my weekend runs. The week before I left, I did a 70 km loop. With hindsight I think that it will also help if you can go for a couple of rides in bad weather and strong winds. It’ll give you extra confidence.

Remember that people with every kind of physique and levels of physical fitness succesfully do the Camino every year.

Decide on your itinerary ahead of time. Mine was a 12 day tour with a day of flex in case I needed it. Having a prepared (albeit fairly flexible at times) itinerary gives you the impetus you need to keep going, even if you’re tired, or riding into a strong headwind. Other itineraries are online if you look for them. I also emailed a couple of people who had cycled the Camino and asked their advice. Most people are more than happy to answer your questions.

Once you have an itinerary, you can make reservations. Some people book hotels along the route, but I’ve decided to stay over in the refugio’s. Not only are they way less expensive, but they also gave you a much more realistic feel of the pilgrimage. You can’t book a place in a refugio, though. On the initial part of the route you will find it easy to get a bed in a refugio, even though they give walkers preference. As you get closer to Santiago, though, the route gets busier and the rooms fill up more quickly. Therefor cyclists often are asked to wait till 19:00 before they can apply for a bed. The last couple of nights thus I slept in pensiones, which cost me around 30 euro per night.

What I did book, was my first night in St Jean and three nights in Santiago.
Figure out ahead of time how you’re going to get from where you land to your starting point on the Camino. And on the back side, how you’re going to get from Santiago de Compostela to your flight back home. If you arrive on a weekend, remember that transport will be difficult.

I boxed my bike and flew via London to Toulouse, and then took a train ride to St Jean. All booked through the internet. After I finished my Camino, I got a car and toured for two weeks in Spain. My trip ended in Barcelona, where I dropped the car, got a bike box from a big sports-store (Decathlon) and flew back to London and home. Some people check their bikes unboxed in at the airport. I didn’t want to take that risk. You’ll need packing tape and some kind of marker to write your name and address on every side of the box.