October 13, 2021
Leaving a large city always requires a lot of caution. In the case of Barcelona that attention to the traffic is a job that never seems to end. Barcelona is big with over a million and a half people and those people all have to get somewhere and by some means. Riding out of it seemed to be a never ending journey that sometimes appeared to be coming to an end only to come upon another traffic circle and another swarm of commuters on various conveyances. There was even a woman taking her dog somewhere on the back of her bicycle.
For most of the journey there were clearly defined bicycle lanes and even traffic lights at bicycle eye level. Occasionally we had to merge into traffic but in Spain, as in the rest of Europe, the drivers respect the bicyclist’s right to use the same road as they do. We were given ample safe distance by the passing vehicles and they even slowed and rode behind us until the oncoming lane was open enough for them to get by. This rarely happens on the North American roads that I frequently travel.
These bikeways and other structures such as the long, curving bridge in the photograph, allow muscle powered transportation to commute safely without encumbering motorists. Infrastructure built with all users in mind tends to solve a lot of problems.
From Barcelona we generally went from one urban area to another with little or no rural landscapes in between. There were occasional stretches along the cost to offer some scenic breaks but little else to make this route more than a 100 kilometer long grind. At least the climbs were few and gentle and we did get to see some
motorized hang gliders hitting the thermals along the coast for a few minutes. I think the high point of the day was our roadside lunch. Our stop for today is in Tarragona, a pretty little seaside town that also has a UNESCO World Heritage Site somewhere nearby. Unfortunately, unless we ride by on the way out tomorrow, there will not be enough time for me to visit it.
