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| Our family at Parco Della Cittadella |
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| The Bicing Resident Bike rental service |
For the second year in a row, my family has opted to use bicycles to get around the European cities we visit (and I have chosen to visit cities that are bikeable. Last year we launched our European city biking explorations with a Bike with Mike tour through Copenhagen. Since then I have no problem selling them on this concept. It’s simply the best way to see a city in short amount of time. This year the grand finale to our 6 week European 4 country tour was a week in Barcelona with our dear friends Verne and Julie Harnish. Thanks to their wonderful hospitality we were able to combine a visit with their fun family with daily bike rides to visit Barcelona’s rich collection of diverse art, architecture and street life!
This summer, after our bicycle tour of Norway and Ireland, we bike toured around Lucca for a day and had our grand finale in Barcelona which is ranked as one of the top eleven cities in the world for bicycling. In 2007, Barcelona’s City Council started the Bicing service, a bicycle service for public transport. Once the user has their card, they can take a bicycle from any of the 100 stations spread around the city and use it anywhere the urban area of the city, and then leave it at another station. Barcelona City Council is working day and night to expand, rationalize and improve the network of routes and cycle paths in the city. The city has created a ‘green ring’ that surrounds the metropolitan area of Barcelona with a bike path. There are currently 3,250 parking spaces for bikes at street level. Barcelona City Council is constructing a new underground car park for bicycles; this forms part of a pilot program to prevent theft and provide security for bicycle users. Although this service is for residents, there are many options for tourists wishing to visit Barcelona by bike.
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| La Sagrada Famiglia by bike |
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| Stopping in Plazas |
Before embarking on our own with rentals, we always start with an organized tour, not only as a way to best experience the city but as a way to get a lay of the land and to understand the road and path system. After one day of trudging through subways and along hot crowded streets, my kids were excited to get bikes. Although there are several companies that offer tours, my Internet research led me to Barcelona Ciclo Tour. I liked the virtual tour that they showed online and that they were conveniently located near Plaza Catalunya.
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| La Rambla del Raval |
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| La Playa |
We got our heavy duty 3 speed bikes and embarked on our three hour tour which traveled along bike paths, narrow streets, a bit of sidewalk and on the main roads to stop and connect to the city’s major sites such as: Rambla del Raval, Plaça Reial, Plaça Sant Jaume, Barcelona City Hall, Plaça Sant Felip Neri, Cathedral, Roman walls, Plaça del Rei, beaches, Port Vell, the Barceloneta district, Olympic Marina, Olympic Village, Ciutadella Park, Sagrada Família, Passeig de Gracia, Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Plaça Catalunya and a stop at the beach for a drink.
Our Brit guide Tullis was excellent and was very careful to ensure that we were good bicycling diplomats. We followed the path system as much as possible but occasionally dismounted to get through tricky areas. He kept us in line yet was easy going, friendly, safe and very educational. Like most cities, the weak link in the bike path system is where the paths connect. Sidewalks, large piazzas, piazzas and wide shoulders fill in the gaps. This Barcelona Ciclo Tour is completely family friendly for kids from 7-18.
The official bike path system is not integrated with all the city’s transport as it does in Copenhagen. The bike paths encircle and occasionally cut through the main part of the city. There is a great flow of people and bikes and a great tolerance for the mingling of both. You can take your bike on any subway as well.
This link will take you to Map My Ride route of the many roads and bike lanes we took
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| Street Art everywhere |
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| The Gothic Section |
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| Arch di Trionph |
All of the key sites of the city can be easily visited by bike. The city is fairly flat so the cycling is easy. There are a few site on hills such as Park Guell and Montjuic that are a challenge to climb with heavy three speed bikes. My favorite part of the city for cycling was along La Playa and through the narrow streets of La Barcelonetta. We flowed with the completely relaxed pace, the breeze, the views of the coast and the car void scene packed with bikers, roller bladers, walkers, joggers, skate boarder and scooters.
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| Biking along La Playa…Bella |
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| Biking along La Playa |
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| Groups of cyclists on La Playa |
Although there are no official bike maps, the city is laid out on a grid plan with large boulevards dividing the grid diagonally and parallel in every direction. Most of the city maps available are big, hard to read, fly in the wind when you open and tear easily so I do recommend buying a plasticized map that can be folded out in sections and that shows all street directions.
The biggest challenges about biking the city are the excessive traffic lights (one every block) and that there is no great bike path map so unless you know where the best biking streets are, it can be hard to connect one path to the next or find the more quiet streets. My strategy was to follow the small streets, parallel to the busier ones. The traffic lights every block are the only real drag since you are constantly stopping and starting which makes a short ride go on forever and constantly puts you behind cars
Since our hosts lived outside the old city, we rode the “Diagonal “back and forth one a day. The Diagonal is this huge boulevard that cuts the city in half. All along each side of the Diagonal, Barcelona’s chic shopping district, there is a vast array of architecture making this an interesting ride. Aside from the constant stop lights and buzzing cars, we really enjoyed riding the Diagonale bike path. Located on each side of the busy thoroughfare and sometimes in the middle, this well paved, signed and signaled bike path made for a wonderfully pleasant ride. The gentle grade uphill made our return to the center that much more fun and fast! Many of the large boulevards have either bike paths of linear parks. In the USA developers might balk at putting a bike paths along such a busy road but here in Barcelona, it works and hopefully can provide inspiration for making our USA cities more bike friendly.
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| Biking along La Diagnonal, a wide bike and foot path |
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| Linear Parks for cyclists and walkers |
Aside from the bike paths, narrow quiet streets and large boulevards, Barcelona is filled with huge public spaces where cyclists can ride. We rode through many piazza’s and large public spaces.
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| Plaza di Espanya |
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| Plazas with sculptures along La Playa |
Some additional info about bicycling in Barcelona
There are plenty of place to rent bikes and/or take a tour. The quality of the bike vary but I found that most use three speed, heavy bikes which are not conducive to tackling longer hillier routes (Parc Guell) but are fine for riding the flat city. Make sure to check out your bike to make sure it shifts well, tires are inflated and brakes work. Not all rentals places provide helmets (and hardly anyone in Barcelona wears one). You can google bike rentals or bike tours or check out any of the following
www.FatTireBikeTours.com/Barcelona
http://www.barcelonabiking.com
Barcelona by Bicycle http://www.bicicletabarcelona.com/empresa/rutas_bicicleta_barcelona
Bike Rentals
http://www.bikerentalbarcelona.com/
www.mattia46.com Cheap bike rentals 6 euro per day
History and culture links to Barcelona:
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| Our Ciclo Tour bike guides |
Theft: We put our backpack down for one minute in a touristy section of the city and it was nabbed. We also had a pick pocket attempt. Keep your valuables attached to your body and never leave your bikes anywhere unlocked. The bike rentals included a lock. We went into museums for a couple hours and left the bikes locked.
Best time of year/ day to visit Barcelona by bike
August is when most of the residents clear out and go on vacation so if you want to experience the city with less traffic, I recommend August. August is hot but no hotter than Italy or Boston for that matter. We found temperatures to vary from 70-90. On Sunday most of the stores are closed so this is a great day to experience the city with the least amount of traffic
BUENAS VIAJES!
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| View from Il Museo Di Arte di Catalunya overlooking Piazza Espanya and the Fountain of Miracles |
All Aboard! Along the Minuteman Trail
By Tammy Raabe Rao and Lauren Hefferon
The Minuteman Bikeway, completed in 1993 as the United States’ 500th rail trail, provides Arlington residents with a transit corridor, a safe place to bike and stroll, and a path by which to revisit the beautiful natural canvas of our community. Maintained by Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford, the Bikeway was inducted into the National Rail Trail Hall of Fame in 2008. It is one of the most popular and successful rail trails in the country today.
“The bikepath’s existence is a major reason why we chose to relocate to Arlington from London,” explains Dianna Dixon, who lives in East Arlington. “I wanted my child to have a childhood with biking in it, as I did—very hard in London, and how many US cities have such a nice path? Not many!” The Minuteman Bikepath provides a safe place for Dianna’s daughter to venture to Spy Pond with friends; Dianna’s husband walks to Alewife every day as part of his daily commute. “We use the path to go to the Library, to the Rez, to school. Arlington would not be the same without it,” says Dianna.
Why I Love the Minuteman by Lauren Hefferon
When searching for a house and business location in 1994, Lauren Hefferon, founder of Ciclismo Classico bike tours, was bicycling up and down the Minuteman in Arlington and found her current home nearby on Marathon Street.
The Minuteman is, in my view, Arlington’s most precious resource. This 10-mile linear park and Hall of Fame Rail Trail has been a special and essential part of my family, business and daily life here in Arlington. The Minuteman has made our family’s short journeys all over town safer and full of special moments like counting squirrel nests on the way to school, gazing at the view of Spy Pond, frog catching at Great Meadows, singing songs and sharing stories about our day.
The Minuteman is my multi-purpose movement solution. I walk, bike, ski and skate on it. I commute on it, play on it, escape to Carlisle, Concord and beyond on it. I use it to bring my kids all over town— sports fields, school, playgrounds, play dates, the Boys and Girls Club and to get ice cream at Chilly Cow. On sunny Sunday afternoons, I love how the Minuteman is transformed from a quiet byway to a moving social gathering of smiling faces.
As a family we use the Minuteman to bike to access our outings to Somerville, Lexington or Cambridge. My kids have evolved from Burley to Trailer Bike to Training Wheels and finally to two-wheels which all three now master. For the past thirteen years my company Ciclismo Classico has used the Minuteman to start and end our Jingle Ride, an annual costumed caroling bike ride from Arlington to Boston and back. Our company also taps into the Minuteman’s quiet beauty to ride with our bike tour guests as well as interview potential CC employees. We also enjoy relaxing work break rides with our hard working team.
Considering all of my uses, I have ridden/walked/skated and skied about 2000 miles a year on the Minuteman. Over the 15 years that I have lived here that adds up to over 30,000 miles, thousands of gallons of gas saved, millions of calories burnt and a wealth of two-wheeled memories with my family and friends. Suggestions on making the path a safer, friendlier place:
1. When passing someone by bike, foot or skate: Pass on your left and say: Passing on your left
2. Do not bike or skate at excess speeds
3. Stay in the right lane
4. Be civil, friendly and respectful to everyone.
For more information about the Minuteman Bikeway, visit the official site at www.minutemanbikeway.org. Lauren Heffereon is founder of Ciclismo Classico bike tours: www.ciclismoclassico.com. Dianna Dixon is a fashion designer who raises money for charitable causes: www.theellie.com.
My life has revolved around cycling for as long as I can remember. My company Ciclismo Classico, the bicycle tour specialists, is now in its 20th year and inspires people of all ages to embrace cycling as an inspiring part of their daily lives. - Lauren Hefferon (AKA Bici Pazza)
