Barcelona is an eternal city for travel, since medieval times and by many means: boats and ships, horse-riding, air, trains, cars, and yes, the bicycle. According to Barcelona´s city hall by 2018 around 308 kilometers of bike lanes will exist, a 165% increase since 2015, and that 95% of the city´s population will have a bike lane at least 300 meters away from their homes. Moreover, bike lovers already can enjoy a vast number of bike repair shops, bike related bars and start biking trips to a number of European locations.
David Terraza, the squad member of Donkey Republic, is excited about the developments in Barcelona and Europe around bicycling over the years. Their mission is to turn the bicycle into the hero of public transportation and a catalyst for greener, more livable and less traffic-congested cities.
¨I believe that cycling grows interest by young and elder people by the day. We have an amazing social scene; bicycle riders communicate with each other through social media and influence locals to use more and more the bike as a clean alternative to traditional means of transportation. People are way more conscious about their city than 10 years ago¨.
Barcelona stunning architecture and all year long favorable weather conditions make it the perfect city for cruising. With the extension of bike lanes, cycling groups and organizations, and ordinary cyclers alike are enjoying an improved quality of life. The city hall is even planning to roll out a model where fewer vehicles and more bikes will make Barcelona greener.
Besides taking in the beautiful scenery the city has to offer, cycling in around Barcelona´s green spaces and world heritage monuments, is also a healthy and fun way to stay fit and uncover new corners of the city where also people can enjoy delicious tapas, representative of the Mediterranean diet.
Overall the landscape of bicycling in Barcelona keeps changing for the better, taking the steps (and pedals) toward transforming into one of the most bike-friendly cities in the whole of Spain, and as a gateway towards other European biking friendly cities. So whether it’s about biking to work, for health purposes, simple leisure or as a way to travel throughout Europe, Barcelona is the perfect spot to start pedaling on.
As our friend, an avid rider and Barcelona resident blogger, Ben Holbrook says on his blog – Driftwood Journals, “The beauty of cycling is that it’s quick, easy and cheap¨.
You can rent a bike in Barcelona at ease and live and ride like a local.
