Current status: manuscript pending revision # 2, focused on structure, themes, and internal character arc. Editor says the MS is about 50% done.
Completed: revision # 1, focussed on sensory descriptions of scenes, transitions, and the physical aspects of the setting.
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Camino Calling: a Pilgrimage by Pedal
A Memoir by Paul Minor
What if the path to becoming whole begins on a mountain bike, somewhere in the hills of northern Spain?
At forty-one, a gay man from Austin, Texas—Panamanian-American by birth, seeker by nature—trades the routines of daily life for a folding mountain bike and the ancient roads of the Camino de Santiago. Camino Calling is a soulful story of a two-week solo pilgrimage across Spain, set against the backdrop of the 2009 financial crisis and a world in flux. But the true terrain is internal.
Haunted by spiritual wounds and family estrangement, the narrator rides not only to reach Santiago, but to reconnect—with his body, his spirit, and the intersections of identity that make him who he is. Along the way, he faces gravel-strewn ravines, mechanical mishaps, aching muscles, and a deeper reckoning with a past marked by rejection and resilience. Each yellow arrow, scallop shell, and stranger on the trail becomes a mirror—and a message.
Lyrical, humorous, and packed with rich cultural detail, this memoir is part travelogue, part spiritual inquiry, and part homecoming. In the end, the Camino offers more than just a destination: it reveals the path within.
For anyone who has ever yearned for adventure, healing, or a sense of belonging, this book is a moving invitation to ride toward your own transformation.