Brompton meets the Madrid trails and cycle lanes

I've come down to a warmer-than-usual Madrid, and given I am due to ride the infamous Bryan Chapman Memorial in a few weeks time, I could not face two weeks without pedalling. The Brompton came in handy, as I could (just) fit it in a large suitcase and take it along with me as checked baggage.

Indeed, I thought its folded size was quite tiny at first, but when it came to putting it in the suitcase, I found that everything ended up poking out one way or another. Front bag block, seatpost, pedals and some of the folding mechanisms had to be taken apart, but in the end, I managed ok and made it in one piece to Spain.

Anillo ciclista map (taken from en bici por Madrid blog)

The anillo ciclista (or cycling ring) is a relatively new cycle route that takes you pretty much all the time on cycle lanes around Madrid. Its total length is about 62 km, most of which is pancake flat. It's been on my to-do list of things for quite some time. There's loads of information on the internet, so I will just post a few pictures of the most scenic bits, which is from Principe Pío (or further south, along the Río Manzanares following the Madrid Río corridor) up to Montecarmelo.

Dedicated bridge over the A6 

A6 highway, the Sierra de Madrid (Madrid's mountain range) in the background

Most of it uses this type of cycle lanes, shared with pedestrians

We started off at 6:30 pm and ended up at 10 pm, having taken a short-cut on the way back cutting across along the river Manzaneres along the Madrid Río corridor. Overall it is a rather pleasant, but not too scenic, ride. Clockwise from Montecarmelo to Entrevías is all much the same: new developments which look exactly the same, with young families and kids playing around. Good for commuting I reckon, but way too packed at the weekend and perhaps a bit bland for the keen cyclist. However, it's the perfect option to take family and/or friends that aren't used to cycling or traffic, as it is well-paved, has plenty of feeding options if need be, and it's also relatively easy to navigate. Also good for those of you who come visit Madrid and fancy of bit of pedalling (there's plenty of rental places along Madrid Río).

But I was also curious to take the Bromtpon on the trails I used to cycle on when I lived in Madrid. Or put it in a different way, I wanted to do a bit of off-road and the Brompton was my only option! Obviously I did not go for the singletrack and technical bits, but in the end I rode for almost 20 km of wide paths with occasional short hills that the Brommie tackled without much trouble, despite its limited internal gearing.

Green and yellow fields, and the Sierra in the background, with plenty of snow in mid-April (yes, it does snow in Madrid!)

Madrid skyscrapers in the background

Railway through El Pardo, Madrid in the background

Railway crossing on the way back

I had a great time riding along well-known paths and enjoying the scenery. The temperature was just perfect, with about 20 degrees and plenty of sun. The Brompton is not ideal for trail riding, but I was surprised how well it handled the bumps (well, it has a bit of a rear suspension!). However, with the low bottom bracket typical of a bike not intended for the trails, and the very short wheel-base, it felt a bit nervous at times, so you've got to be careful with your handling!

London is a Cycling Town

Most of what Alberto and I love about cycling is getting out into the countryside, riding past farms, forests, thatched-roof cottages, thank kind of thing. But we live in London, a global city of 8 million inhabitants. For Alberto, cycling is pretty much his only form of transport. I tend to take a more mixed-methods approach. But we both do spend an awful lot of time cycling in the urban conditions of London.

Autumn 2009, sightseeing by bike.

As one would imagine,  London's got a lot of traffic. It has lots of big roads and scary junctions, lots of impatient drivers doing crazy things, lots of large lorries and busses. Bike theft is a cottage industry and the thieves never seem to get caught. It doesn't sound like a city that cyclists would love.

But the truth is, London is experiencing a surge in cycling (and I've formed part of that surge). When we first moved here in 2008, cycling wasn't an outrageous way to get around town but it wasn't particularly common either. Then, for a few years there would be a visible increase in cyclists on the first few warm days of spring/summer. In the summer months it would feel like half of London was on bikes! But this winter there has been no decrease in cyclists to accompany the frigid temperatures. People just keep on riding! There have also been a number of cyclist's cafes opening up around London, such as Look Mum No Hands which we love to go to to watch coverage of cycling races or talks by interesting cyclists.

Look Mum No Hands! (source)

We are lucky to have the numbers of cyclists on our streets; it makes it safer for all of us as drivers (and pedestrians) are less often surprised by the presence of a cyclist in their path. At big junctions at rush hour, there will often be seven or eight cyclists taking up the whole width of the road in the advanced stop box, forcing drivers to take it slow and give way to cyclists until they can get up to speed. And of course if something goes terribly wrong with your bike, you're never too far away from a bike shop (and even less further away from a fellow cyclist who may stop to help you out -- yes it does happen!)

Unfortunately, London infrastructure and transport policy has not caught up with the increase in cyclists. We have an upsetting number of cycling deaths each year, mainly involving lorries or other large vehicles. And of course there are lots more people who would love to commute via bike, but are intimidated by the busy roads. There are too few cycle parking options across most of London and too many bike thieves who don't get caught.

Publicity from LCC's Love London Go Dutch campaign (source)

The past week or so has seen the launch of two new and exciting campaigns in London focussed around improving the lot of us London cyclists. The London Cycling Campaign (of which we are both members) has launched it's "Love London, Go Dutch" campaign ahead of the mayoral election in May, which calls for London to create the kind of cycling infrastructure that exists in Holland.

Then there is the Times' "Cities fit for cycling" campaign which was launched after one of their reporters was seriously injured while cycling to work. This is perhaps even more exciting than the LCC as it's a mainstream paper with lots of readers who probably aren't particularly attuned to the difficulties that cyclists face. You may notice a new addition on the right hand side of the blog indicating our support for the campaign.

The Times' campaign (source)

London needs to be safer and more accommodating for cyclists. But in the meantime it's great to live in a city with such a strong and vibrant cycling community.

Why are cycle lanes not always safe?

We "londoners" are very used to crap cycle lanes all over the place. Cycling instructors do not recommend cycling on them unless there are wide enough to travel comfortably. In fact, most of the time they are just an indication for cars to be aware of cycles. This great video from New York not only shows why cycles lanes are sometimes unsafe, but also that you can get fined for not using them!



A few good examples in the UK below (from Guardian crap cycle lanes):