Following the footsteps of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela on a scooter
| Vendula KosíkováAlthough, like a true pilgrim, he began his journey on the doorstep of his home, going from church to church on his way to Santiago, the spiritual aspect of the journey was not his main motivation. His motivation was the desire to discover foreign countries, cultures, other ways of life and this time also a new way of travelling.
43-year-old Josef Rychtar had been thinking about a trip to Santiago for many years, but he could not get around to it for a long time due to work and family obligations, until last year – in mid-August – he put on his wandering shoes again like he used to in his youth and finally set off ... this time on a scooter.
Why a scooter
Joseph's journey in numbers
- 3 200 km
- 46 days
- 0 negative experiences
- 1 new pair of shoes worn through
- 75 km a day on average
- 108 km a day – the maximum, along the French Isère River
- 15 kg of body weight lost
- 450 km on foot (mostly when pushing uphill)
- 1000 km of effortless downhill riding
- 6 bounces per 100 metres on flat ground – a loaded scooter has incredible inertia
“It would have taken me up to 4 months to get to Santiago on foot, 4 weeks by bike – I had a month or two off, so I opted for a scooter. I said to myself: I will walk up the hill and ride downhill. Plus, pushing a scooter up a hill isn’t as embarrassing as pushing a bike.
And since I am into designer things,the Yedoo Trexx Disc caught my eye when I was looking for a suitable machine. When I tried it for the first time at the For Bikes show, my mind was made up.
The Trexx fulfilled everything I expected from a travel scooter. It is such an amphibian, great on and off road, and I really like it.”
The only thing Josef modified on his new machine before he left were the wires on the front wheel, which he replaced with black downhill ones.
“I put in the strongest ones you can buy. I wanted to
be sure that the scooter could handle the load generated not only by the luggage, but also by my then 120 kg.
On the way, I only changed the brake pads – I had the ones designed for e-bikes fitted so that my safety would be taken care of until the end of the journey. Apart from a rear wheel puncture 2 times, I had no technical problems at all.”
Travelling heavy on a tight budget
Travel costs
Josef Rychtar spent a total of over CZK 40,000. The budget includes the cost for his wife and son who accompanied him for the first 300 km (about CZK 10,000) and the airfare from Porto to Prague (CZK about 7,000). He spent EUR 15-30 per day, depending on whether he slept at the campsite or in the wild.
For pilgrims who sleep in guesthouses and eat mostly in restaurants, the pilgrimage can cost up to CZK 140,000.
Josef set off on 15 August 2023, when the greatest heat is subsiding and the nights are still warm in the Pyrenees. And because he likes to be independent, he brought everything he needed – clothes, a tent, a sleeping bag, some food and cooking utensils.
“I wanted to sleep in the wild (only occasionally in a campsite so I could shower and recharge my electronics), have absolute freedom, not rush, allow things to flow and deal with matters as they come.
He carried things like his tent, sleeping bag, camping mattress and cooker in his front panniers, and his clothes and other necessities in a trailer he bought at http://extrawheel.com. “This trailer - the Voyager-Pro - is the only one with an adjustable rear axle width, it tracks well on flat land and, although its recommended speed is 25 km per hour, it could handle as much as 50. I only had to be careful not to let it get too loose when going downhill.”
15-30 EUR a day
Even though he wouldn’t have to, Josef likes to travel on a shoestring budget. He was inspired by the traveller Pavel Knébl and his primitive-genius ecology.
“A financial limit turns an ordinary journey into a magical adventure that forces you to step out of your comfort zone. By not knowing where to lay my head at night, I open myself up to all possibilities, spontaneous ideas and unconventional solutions. I like to be surprised by what the journey brings and the universe bestows.
Thanks to this approach, for example, I was able to get to know the French way of life better. To meet the locals, to see how they live, that is actually one of the reasons why I travel at all.”
Dostál, Knébl and Mangels
Josef had been attracted to faraway lands since childhood, devouring travel books, watching travel documentaries and TV series.
When Josef Rychtar cycled from Volyň to Norway in search of work, he had only 250 euros (5 euros per day) in his pocket. The very next day he got 50 euros from his best friend for a lucky trip. In Dresden, a gentleman gave him 20 euros for the trip. A few years later Josef stopped by his house (he had his business card) and brought him a large fillet of smoked salmon and showed him a film he had made on his way to Norway.
He set out on his first major journey at the age of sixteen,
cycling from his native town Volyň all the way to Hlubočka near Ostrava to meet Vítězslav Dostál – the first Czech person to cycle around the world. “He said I was already the three hundredth person to visit him that summer, he invited me to tea, we shook hands, took a picture and I went back. The whole journey took me a week.”
Josef was also greatly inspired by the above-mentioned Pavel Knébl and his book Travelling around for no reason at all, or by the Australian adventurer Alby Mangels, who became famous in the 1970s for his independent travel film.
By now, Josef Rychtar has travelled almost halfway around the world, including the USA, Australia, South Korea, Europe and New Zealand, where he lived and worked with his wife for some time.
He does not deny his free-thinking spirit even in the way
he earns his living – he works in Norway as a truck driver with a concrete mixer. He spends a month on construction sites around Oslo and a month at home with his family.
Unexpected encounters
“The scooter is a magnet for people. I have not experienced such attention on other journeys. People would spontaneously talk to me, asking if the scooter had a motor, where I was going, where I was from and so on. Some, as I have mentioned, even took me into their homes and gave me a place to stay or some food.
In this respect, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the scooter.
The world looks different from how it is presented in the media. I basically only met nice people everywhere.
There are thieves everywhere, yes, which is why I lock my scooter when I go to the store and bring a big tent, where I put all my stuff, including my scooter, for the night. I sleep well when I have everything near me.”
France and the Pyrenees completely amazed me
“Of all the countries I passed through on my way to Santiago de Compostela, France impressed me the most. Nice people, lots of sights and beautiful small towns with a charming atmosphere.
I was also captivated by the long avenues of plane trees, the Savoy Alps and the road along the French coast. I enjoyed the Pyrenees as well and I will definitely return there.
I was very impressed by the medieval fortress of Carcassonne,
the futuristic building of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao or the University of Gijon, the largest building in Spain.
Film documentary
Because Josef didn't know if he would be able to manage the journey on a scooter without prior training, he only shared his experiences from the trip to Santiago in a small WhatsApp group with his family and friends.
He made a lot of film footage on the way, though, which he edited into a documentary upon his arrival. Check it out. I might inspire you to a similar scooter adventure.
Next time to Japan or on the Czech Trail
This was certainly not the last scooter trip for Josef Rychtar. He is already dreaming of crossing Japan and this summer he would like to set out on the Czech Trail with his scooter.
This time he will be riding a specially modified Yedoo Wolfer Mushing scooter with 27.5-inch wheels front and rear.
“I believe that a scooter with same-size wheels will allow me to achieve even higher speed with fewer push-offs. For long trips with luggage it’s an ideal combination, I think.”
