Job Discussion Forums

[Moore]

Does anyone else use their bike to get around on a daily basis here?

Our new portero took about 6 months before he stopped asking if I was off to do some sports every day when I was off to class. My students give me looks of amazement mixed with pity and worry when I mention how I get to work. Our communidad very politely asked me to stop taking my bike up in the lift for fear of marks/mess/scratches whatsoever even though our building is full of baby-carriages, smelly dogs and one senior person with a bladder problem that seems to be provoked by upward or downward motion.

And even though there are only about five cyclists in all Madrid, some utter git stole my saddle a while back outside work, but I STILL persist as cycling in this city is such a pleasure (and totally necessary to reduce the insane pollution/congestion/daily-death-toll of Madrid traffic) and the much more selfish motivation that it gets me to work in 5 minutes rather than the twenty it takes walking or by metro or bus.

Somebody please tell me I'm not the only teacher with a death-wish here...

[sheikh radlinrol]

Plenty of cyclists where I live and most of them ride their bikes on the pavement. Hope you don't do that Mr. Moore.

[Moore]

Ride on the road? I'm not sucidal!

The way I think about it, if you choose your routes carefully so you use only wide pavements (and they really are wide here in the Chamberi district), ride slowly and if you are totally considerate to pedestrians, giving them a wide berth and not weaving in-and-out of them, especially old people and kids obviously, then you can really reduce your odds of dying by spending 50% of your time off the busier/faster roads and only venture out onto the quieter streets.

Even then, with people zooming in and out of underground garages, you still stand a surprisingly high chance of getting run over on the pavement!

Madrid has a fantastic potential network of cycle lanes that could be produced tomorrow with a can of yellow paint by dedicating one part of the ludicrously wide pavements to bikes.

[sheikh radlinrol]

I prefer to see the wide pavements given over to ''terrazas''. Sit out and enjoy a cold beer and watch the chicas going by. Nothing like it!

[Moore]

quote: "I prefer to see the wide pavements given over to ''terrazas''. Sit out and enjoy a cold beer and watch the chicas going by. Nothing like it!" ...can't really argue with that logic.

Also, too many cold beers on terrazas and suddenly the option of cycling anywhere looks a lot less appealing!