Mikel Bringas: “One has to learn how to travel, and the only way to learn is by doing it”

Last Friday on the “Levando Anclas” (Weigh Anchor) show EITB broadcasted an interview with Adriano de Mata and Mikel Bringas, both lovers of open air and cross-country bicycling.   Both of them have done plenty of trips riding around Basque Country via this type of transportation that is so common in countries like Holland and Denmark. Mikel has also published, “Tour Around the Basque Country on a Bicycle,” a travel guide around our homeland.

This week the media published the adventure of James and Robert White, two young British men that found themselves travelling around the places that their grandfather had visited 100 years ago. It seems that bicycling is gaining popularity as a means of transportation. In Germany, the streets of Mannheim were the first ones to receive this ingenious invention at the beginning of the 19th century.

This means of transportation, that for many people meant a forward step in the emancipation of women, is now the driving force of many travelers that want to experience alternative types of journeys.  In an exclusive interview with EuskoSare, Mikel Bringas tells us how the birth of his son propelled them to get to know the Basque Country from a deeper perspective and why bicycling is the best means of transportation.

When was your first bicycle trip?
It was in ’96 when Rosa and I started to ride our bikes. Since then, we started to travel around to places and every time further away searching for knowledge of new cultures. When we came back from trips, we realized that we know far away countries but we didn’t know the one that we had at home. When we had our son, Eki, we focused on riding around the Basque Country.

Why do you think bicycling, as a means of transportation, is being given so much importance nowadays?
I don’t think it is anything new; in Europe bicycling has a long historical tradition. I think here (in the Basque Country) we are behind in this sense, although it seems things are changing. Even so, in the Basque Country there is still not a good network of bicycling lanes.  Travelling on bike makes sense in a lot of ways: it’s cheap, fast, easy, there is no waste of energy and you can enjoy the landscape while you are pedalling.  Little by little, we are getting closer to the level that Germany, Denmark and Holland have achieved.

What motivated you to travel around the Basque Country on a bicycle, and to get to know it better?
Well, one motivation is that we think that the experience of travelling is very benefitial for our children. We have enjoyed travelling so much and we want to show our children something that is beautiful and close to nature and that to “live with less” is good. Also, by using a bicycle as a means of transport you consume less.

What do you need for a bicycle trip?
As everything in life, what you need is to feel like doing it.  If you have the desire then there is no impediment. Travelling on a bicycle is very easy and I think that each person has her/his own physical limits. Each person has her/his own rhythm.

Could the current crisis be the very one that is promoting the cycling tradition?
It will help, no doubt, and on the other hand the petroleum crisis contributes to its expansion. In my opinion, infrastructure reinforcement needs to happen, such as bicycle lanes and informing the public about the best possible routes. This last issue is something that we have tried to do through the publication of the guide "Tour Around the Basque Country on a Bicycle “.

How does it feel one when arrives after a trip?
I like to travel a lot but I also enjoy it when I get back home. When you come back you value more what you have and that makes you feel good.

What would you say to someone that is about to start a travelling on a bicycle?
My only advice is the following: to do things one step at a time. If someone wants to do St. James' Route, he should walk around his village or his town to begin with. It starts step by step and if you enjoy that, then you can go further, once you have got more experience. Step-by-step and don’t rush into things. One has to learn how to travel, and it can only be learned by doing it.