Madrid

Am heading to Madrid at the end of March. Gather its not exactly flat and Spanish drivers leave something to be desired but reckon bike is still the best way to see the city. Anyone got any suggestions bike or non bike related.

yeah loads, do you like architecture?

Lucky you. The traffic's a bit mental and cyclists are non-existent. I'm wracking my brains to think of an occasion when I've spotted someone on a bike, on the road. People seem to ride in the parks, but they're too full of bloody people to go at any sort of speed.

It'll be cool enough to walk about in March. I'd ditch the bike, although I say that having never ridden in there. In fact, I've never been to Madrid at all. I just sit here and make up advice. :-) Kidding...

I'm sure you'll love it. Especially if you like fountains. Have fun.

hi there!

madrid is fun!
carefull with cars.
i agree that nobody thinks of bikes, but most people are nice.
when you try to talk with someone that almost run over you they are 90% of the occasions "iam really sorry, i didnt saw you"

the wheather know is awesome.
sun but not hot. a little cold in the shadows. but you surely would enjoy a beer in a terrace after going from plaza castilla to plaza de colón.

have a look to simplifica.tk and you can meet people there to take you for a ride.

have a nice time in my city.
a

I love the Wurlitzer Ballroom and the Louie Louie Bar out there, but then I'm into that kinda thing... Big 60s/70s punk scene out there...
Saw a few fixed riders whizz past me last summer but didn't get a chance to stop them and find out where all the secret bike shops were...
Beautiful city, bars are great, food is brilliant and people are super friendly... You'll have a great time... Eat some churros for breakfast!
Word of warning: Spanish drivers are nuts, they don't really get bikes...
Joe (Pero mis amigos Madrilenos me llaman Pepe)

I went to Madrid last year with a bike. Hardly saw any cyclists at all, except in the park where they all go round and round on full-sus MTBs wearing lycra. They take their park cycling seriously! People really don't use them to get around on the roads (and the traffic is a pain in the arse).

You could try riding about, but to be honest the centre of Madrid is small enough for everything to be in easy walking distance so it's really not worth it. Plus, I don't remember seeing any decent places to lock a bike up and everyone I spoke to there warned about bike thieves.

If you do decide to take a bike bear in mind it's pretty hard to get out of the airport on a bike. You can take them on the metro at the weekend (worth checking if this is still the case) so long as you don't mind funny looks + escalators + stairs.

I was in Madrid in Feb and saw ONE fixie there. The small back streets looked fun for exploring as are the larger wider roads. I was on a skating trip there for 10days and we had a blast skating around the city.

didn't take my bike in the end - only saw one fixed wheel although I gather there are a few riders. Apparently there's a Monday night workshop where people work on their bikes and on the Friday after I left there was a fixed wheel race. City is not flat but on the right ratio you should be able to get around fine...

I'm moving to Madrid in late summer and am looking for a cycling community. How was your experience? Did you end up finding anything? I am determined to ride there and would love to hear details of your experience.

hi Kovitz,
send me a mail if you still come here to Madrid!

Hey Arregi! thanks, I will be coming to Madrid in August to study and would love to have a contact. Do you subscribe to any other networking sites? Facebook, tuenti, myspace, email, etc? If you do, we should keep in touch!

hi kovitz ! im from madrid but i life in london, well u will be surprise but... people in madrid dont use bikes as in london, and most important drivers are not use to have bicicles in the busy roads in madrid, i have afixy which i took from here few years back and i realice that cycling in madrid is not easy and drivers have no respect for us, so unless you ride in CASA DE CAMPO sharing ur bike lanes with jonkis and prostitutes, or in PARQUE DEL RETIRO which is lovely but is full of childrens with daddy and mummy..well, good luck but dont loose your hope, cos hopefully madrid will became more cosmopolitan city and more people will realiced how healthy is grab a bike instead of jumping in the bus for a 20 minutes trip.

Thanks bearfoot! If I can't find a community, I suppose I will just have to start one... lol. It will be well worth the challenge though, riding a new city it always great. Perhaps being a women will give me an advantage, there aren't too many female riders here so I can't imagine there are a lot in madrid either. Well, I hope to run into you biking!

These guys are based in Madrid:
http://www.fixidixi.com/

Have fun, Madrid is awesome.

AN Other thread which some people who have posted in here have already found:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread14609.html