How safe is riding a bike in Barcelona

How safe is riding a bike in Barcelona

Are you finalizing your vacation plans in Barcelona or have you just landed in Barcelona and you are wondering on the best way to explore this beautiful city? We can all agree that bike tours are a great option because of how cost-effective, time effective and fun they tend to be. However, the question is how safe are you riding a bike in the streets of Barcelona?

Safety is a critical aspect that is greatly needed for people to thrive. It is one of the main reasons why people would form villages in the olden days. As a tourist ensuring your safety in a foreign land is your number one priority especially since you are in a land that you hardly speak nor understand their language or even know the ins and outs of the city. Fortunately, Barcelona is a very safe city.

Overall, Barcelona is a safe city to explore with a bike, but still remember to be cautious of ‘weird’ alleyways and suspicious of strange people. Just like any other major city that attract a great number of tourists, watch out for conmen and pickpocketers. Take the necessary day-to-day life measures that ensure your safety. It is better to be safe than sorry.

To motivate you to tour Barcelona in a bike, this article is going to discuss on how safe is to ride a bike in Barcelona.

10 Best Bike Tours in Barcelona

1. Appropriate infrastructure

Cyclist on the cycling lane – Unsplash

Does Barcelona have the necessary infrastructure for you to safely cycle within the city? Yes, Barcelona is a bike-friendly city that is covered with interconnecting bike lanes that guarantee your safety from cars or pedestrians. The major roads in Barcelona are subdivided to allow the free flow of people, cars and bikes so as so prevent these three groups from pumping on to one another and reduce the jam flow caused they cause.

Barcelona has over 200 kilometers of cycling lanes that are clearly marked on sidewalks. Its city council aims to continue developing additional bike lanes in an effort to reduce the traffic flow within the city and reduce the rate of pollution.

These bike lanes are not only beneficial to the locals but also to tourists who visit since bike lanes interlink different tourist attractions within the city of Barcelona. Check out the best places to ride your bike in Barcelona to discover the different bike lanes and where they lead.

A few important things to know is that in Barcelona the bike lanes are painted on the asphalt and signage to indicate if they can either be used in both directions or one way. The only time cycling is permitted on a road is when the road has no designated cycling lanes. On such a road, the cyclist must always stay on the right-hand side of the lane closest to the sidewalk.

How to Rent a Bike in Barcelona; Best Tips &  Advice.

2. Laws and regulations governing cycling

Bike Lane signage – Unsplash

For you to ride a bike, you do not need a special license to show that you are trained. So how then you ensure your safety if every Tom, Dick and Harry is allowed to cycle within the streets of Barcelona?  

Barcelona has rules and regulations that govern how cyclist behave on the bike lanes to avoid any unwanted accidents or inappropriate behaviors. These rules and regulations are aimed at not only keeping the cyclist safe, but any other person on the road. Failure to adhere to these laws can result in you paying hefty fines and in extreme cases a prison sentence.

An important world-wide cycling rule is for all cyclists is to always ride their bikes with the flow of traffic and never against the traffic flow, in Barcelona this means cycling on the right-hand side of the road. The other is simply to use your common sense, if there is a bike lane use the bike lane and avoid the main road. If you are using a road without a bike lane, stay on the outermost lane near the sidewalks. The city of Barcelona is covered with miles and miles of spacious bike lanes, thus make sure to take full advantage of these roads.

Some of the cycling rules and regulations that USA citizens need to remember is that in Barcelona listening to music or talking on the phone as you cycle are offenses that could result in a fine of up to 200 Euros. Your bike should have a bell, failure to have one will result in a fine of around 80 Euros.

3. A convenient option

Cyclist enjoying nature – Unsplash

Changing from driving to cycling can substantially lower your risks of death and increase your life expectancy.

It’s a known fact that tourist attraction areas of any given city usually tend to be congested and experience ridiculous traffic jams. For instance, in Barcelona, La Sagrada Família attracts nearly 2.8 million visitors each year. Can you just imagine the anger built up and stress levels the drives of this area experience, especially during the peak season?

A great way to avoid this kind of jams is by cycling. Let me paint you a scenario that forever changed my mind when it came by bike tours; Picture yourself a few miles from your destination, you can literally see your destination from your car screen, but because of the heavy traffic you cannot access it because you cannot just get out of the car and walk in.

Then the most irritating thing happens, they close! This is the time you bang your hand on the steering wheel and curse out like never before. At the end of the day, I was very angry, my wrist sort of hurt, and I had a splitting headache. My mental state was not good on this day.

Not only does cycling affect your mental health but according to the World Health Organization, WHO, cycling for 20 minutes on most days reduces mortality risk by at least 10%, active commuting is associated with about a 10% decrease in risk for cardiovascular disease and a 30% decrease in type 2 diabetes risk; and cancer-related mortality is 30% lower among bike commuters.

4. A safe way for both you and the environment

Smoke from the car exhaust on the road – Unsplash

According to the National Geographic Society, pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash or created by human activity, such as trash or fumes from vehicles, trains or plains. Pollution can have devastating consequences both to humans and their environment.

The latest data from the Institute For Global Health points out that Barcelona is in sixth place in deaths caused by pollution out of 1,000 European cities. Please don’t lie to yourself that because you are visiting for a short period, this will not affect you. You might end up suffering from pollution-related diseases that may result in chronic diseases.

The question is now how do I protect myself and the rest of the people? There are so many things you can do to reduce your Carbon footprint. However, in keeping up with the tone of this article, we will focus on how cycling reduces your carbon footprint.

According to data in the USA, producing a 7.2 kg road bike with a carbon frame uses 11,546,658,000 Joules of energy. On the other hand, a generic car uses 118,284,466,000J, which is over 10 times more than a bike. Also, decide to cycle on a daily basis, you will be able to save 6 to 14 million tons of CO2 and 700 million to 1.6 billion gallons of fuel each year.

Therefore, for future generations to continue enjoying the magical beauty of Barcelona, make sure to reduce the pollution rate within this city by reducing your carbon footprint. A great way of reducing your carbon footprint is by booking these eco-friendly bike tours in Barcelona.

Don’t know where to rent a bike? Have a look at the Top 10 Barcelona Bike Rental Locations.

5. The best way to explore

Cycling through the neighborhoods of Barcelona – Wikimedia Commons

Cycling is one of the best ways of exploring a city because of the intimate connection it creates between the cyclist and the city. The cyclist is able to get a better feel of the city since you can freely observe the day-to-day lives of Barcelonan and freely interact with them.

Thanks to the technological advancements made in the biking sector, traveling long distances with bikes is no longer an issue. Electric bikes have enabled both physically fit and not, so physically fit individuals to cycle over long distances without breaking into a sweat or huffing and buffing like crazy. This is because electric bikes have a motor that makes the cyclist’s work easier.

Cycling gives you a better understanding and experience of your environment because you tend to be up close to nature. You are able to hover and maneuver your way around obstacles, notice the small thing, and even make a random stop and just take in the air. Nothing limits you, and nothing is out of your reach.

Biking in new cities also allows you to build navigational skills that enable you to explore amazing areas of the city on your own at your own pace.

Check out the five bike routes you can do on your own in Barcelona to guide you as you decide to take this path. 

Here are the top tours to take when in Barcelona.