Biking Bad: first ride in Barcelona -- from home to Badalona

Our bikes arrived in our shipment from the US, and all we had to do was attach the front wheels and pump up the tires. Sunday was going to be cool and clear, and we wanted to explore Barcelona by bike, sticking to mostly flat terrain -- a ride along the coast seemed to fit the bill. It turned out to be a 29Km (18 mi) ride -- pleasant, mostly protected, and flat. 

The first struggle was getting out of the building: these little elevators barely fit one human and their bike -- standing up -- barely enough room to push the button

We headed out our street, along Gran Via, and kept losing the bike lane: initially, we had our own protected lane along the slip lane, then it diverged at Plaça Universidad, then back again. At Plaça Tetuan, we had to "jump the left, then a step to the right" to go around the top of the traffic circle.  After a while we turned right, heading toward the water on Carrer de la Marina and could see the iconic Torre Mapfre and Hotel Arts buildings:

Torre Mapfre, Hotel Arts

We hit the beach at Port Olímpic, looking over the volleyball courts on Platja de la Nova Icària:

then headed northeast along the coast to see where it would take us. We'd taken the R1 train line up the coast and figured we could follow the path we'd seen from the window -- at least to Badalona across the river, and someday up to Matarò. Turns out we were a little optimistic in the condition of the route.

While some of it was flat paved walkways with lots of folks promenading. We also hit bits of hard packed sand/gravel/soil, which was OK but my bike's skinny tires were not right for it. Further along, more rough patches, and some unexpected raised giant pipes large enough to drive a small car along; not enough for timid bikers with a 10 foot drop to the rocks below, so we walked them along the ridge.

I think Barcelona is doing a lot of work to shore up its ... shore: to protect from sea level rise, old paths may have been torn up for the construction. I expect the city will rebuild the paths, for bikes and pedestrians, even better than before. It's certainly passable, just don't expect pristine smooth riding yet.

We then reached the Parc del Forum which is a massive space with a mix of beaches, ports, sailing, SCUBA diving, long boats, parks, marinas, festival areas, and on and on.  When we visited, we saw folks returning in a an oared longboat, and others practicing diving in wetsuits. But it had a huge feel with not enough people, strangely underutilized. It looks perfect for massive festivals, and I've read these do take place here; I want to return in warmer weather and see what the vibe is like. Visually dominating the site  is a massive photovoltaic (solar) cell array that looks like stadium seating that's lost its stadium. You can ride under it and right up to it for some great views. 

A little farther, over dramatic elevated bike/pedestrian skyways we came to a working port. All the grassland under us was concealing multi-story dry docks for boats! We watched a mammoth forklift  retrieve a boat from the water and deftly take it inside for the winter.

We continued on the on-again, off-again trail -- nothing too arduous or threatening to skinny tires -- and crossed the Rio Besos where there is a wonderful wetland area where freshwater merges with the Mediterranean. We got closer and closer to the Three Chimneys, a massive ex-industrial site that exudes power, grace, and age -- it's magnificent from any angle, and any distance.

We ended up in the suburban area of Badalona, where we biked right into the middle of a booming wholesale market area that went on for blocks in ever direction; everything seemed to be Chinese import dealers. It was vibrant and full of activity -- on a Sunday!  

But after riding, we were ready for some food and drink and headed into the residential and main streets of Badalona. We didn't have to look far to find a friendly place in the sun for a bite -- including Gambas Saladas -- slender pale shrimp, barely cooked, with a good taste of salt, cool and refreshing. Very pleasant with a couple glasses of wine and a Märzen-style beer from Turia in Valencia.

It's fall, and the sun is setting early, which means that the temperature drops quickly here. So we headed back home on what we thought was a good direct route.... Unfortunately, Google Maps doesn't know bike routes in Barcelona, and we were unable to hop over the fenced train tracks for the "best route" home. But we improvised and crossed the Besos again, cycled through some peaceful industrial neighborhoods, and wound up on Avinguda Diagonal, which here had a large tree-lined promenade and separate bike lanes, with tram lines on the side; this was probably my favorite part of the ride: so peaceful and graceful.

We then navigated around some major construction at Plaça de les Glòries, meandered through attractive leafy parks, and ended up on our familiar street, Carrer de la Diputació. This was great, it spanned the entire area of downtown Barcelona with a protected lane, just a block above our street. We crossed the magnificent Passeig de Gracia, and took in the holiday lights they'd been hanging, already sparkling, twinkling, and stobing with iridescent and dramatic dichroic hues; we can't wait to return and seem them after dark!

My big take away from our first biking adventure? Biking parallel to the coast is a relaxing ride free of hills, perfect for wimps like us. The city streets are full of protected bike lanes, frequently with their own crosswalks and signals, but sometimes they jump from left, to center, to the right of the road, so we've gotta pay attention and learn how to read the symbols on the road. Barcelona clearly cares about its bike riders, but the route along the beach seems torn up, although I believe this is temporary and we'll have much better coastal rides in the future.  

I'm looking forward to riding a lot more, the city is very accommodating to bikes (and pedestrians), and it's a great way to explore our new city.