Biking in Madrid....
... is a TERRIBLE idea. But today, I had few choices.
See, this whole economic crisis is causing problems all over the world, which we are all aware of. Here in Spain, the government decided to cut the pay of the Metro workers 5% to help with some of their money problems. BUT, not surprisingly, none of the Metro workers really appreciated this. So, they're on strike. And this means that ALL of the city's Metro stations are shut down. Monday, the first day of the strike, the Metro trains were running at 50% - a government imposed minimum service. I had no idea that there was a strike going on until after I arrived late at my spanish tutoring session, and my teacher informed me that the reason my commute was so slow was because of the strike. Since the government didn't come to an agreement on the pay cuts, the workers have now completely shut down the metro system, putting the city into chaos.
Buses are still running, but you're pretty lucky if you can even shove your way onto one, since everyone is trying this form of transportation. In the morning, I've heard it is absolutely impossible to get a taxi. Here's a photo from the national newspaper of people waiting in line to get a taxi.
Thankfully, our lives have not been TOO disrupted by the strike, yet. Brian takes a regional train to work, and those are running on their normal schedule. But, to get to that train station, he takes a bus a short distance, and he has had to get in on the bus through the back door (which you're not really supposed to do, but desperate times call for desperate measures).
For me, getting to and from my tutoring sessions is a little more difficult now. Typically I can walk about 10 minutes to a metro station, hop on the metro, make a connection, and get to my destination in about 25 minutes. Today, that wasn't an option, so I got creative, thus the title of this post.
Let me preface this with a fact I'm sure you've figured out - Madrid is NOT a bike friendly city. So, I knew I was taking a bit of a risk attempting this, but hey, I'm adventuresome, and I didn't feel like spending an hour walking today. It's hot.
I biked to the main station, the same one Brian goes to everyday to catch his train (Atocha). From there, I hopped on a regional train that took me 2 stops north to a major public transportation interchange (Nuevos Ministerios). The train ride was perfect and really fast, and no one looked at me like I was completely insane for having a bike on the train, which was nice. From that stop, I biked about 1/2 a mile to my class, mostly on sidewalks, avoiding pedestrians, and a bit on the street, trying to avoid taxis, buses, and cars. I was so pleased with my accomplishment of arriving on time, and without injury!
Class went great, and my plan, after class, was to do the same route in reverse - bike, train, bike. As I was changing clothes to leave, my heart raced as I realized my wallet wasn't in my bag. Had someone stolen it while I was in my commute? Not possible, I was super protective of my bag, and no one could have caught me on my bike. Did it fall out of my bag in class? I went to look, but nothing was there. The only option was that in my hurry to leave the house with my bike and all my biking things, I must have left it on the kitchen table. I had put enough change in my pocket for the ride on the train TO class, but now I didn't have any money to take the train back. I realized I was going to have to bike all the way home, a sort of scary prospect, since the best route I knew home was on the largest, most crowded, and insane main road in Madrid (the Castellana, which is the major north/south artery). I don't have a picture of the Castellana with cars on it, but I took this picture below when Brian was running his 10K, when they shut down the road for the runners. This picture is totally deceptive in it's peacefulness, so imagine this road, chock full of cars, and you'll see a bit of what I faced (though I stayed mostly on the side roads, to the right and left of the main lanes, behind the trees)
It started off well, I was really attentive and nervous enough to pay very close attention to the chaos around me. Trying to go along with traffic, and sometimes hopping onto the sidewalks when necessary, I started to make my way home. I would bike in and out of traffic, around parked cars, through roundabouts, past sidewalk cafe's, around yippy dogs and playing children, and in the bus lane, behind big stinky buses (which proved to be the best of all options). I almost hit some pedestrians and got a little gash on my leg from the gears, and as I was crossing in a pedestrian walkway, a guy in a Lexus didn't look and pulled out in front of me, prompting some choice words in English from me (which I'm sure really did a lot of good). I can't believe I didn't hit more pedestrians because I was on the sidewalk a lot, since I figured hitting a pedestrian was a lot less damaging than being hit by a car. I knew once I got down the Castellana and into Retiro, I would be home free. Entering those big gates into the park, I took a huge sigh of relief, as I could finally enjoy my bike ride a little bit as my final 10 minutes took me through the park.
And now, 45 minutes after I began my biking journey through Madrid, I am home safe. Sweaty, a little dirty, but extremely pleased that I survived my biking adventure through the city. But, I wouldn't recommend it. And we'll see if I have to continue my biking adventures if this strike continues...
On another note, I've been trying to work up the motivation to sort & edit photos as well as write posts from our last adventures. The 3rd weekend in May, Brian and I went to the Costa del Sol in Spain (Southern Coast) and had a long weekend at the beach and exploring small towns. We came back to Madrid for 2.5 days, and proceeded to take off for an 11 day trip to Germany & Amsterdam. I promise, soon, I'll get some pictures and stories up. We had an absolutely amazing time, and we're really glad we got to explore these new places! For now, my time has been taken up with learning spanish, trying to cook a bunch of new spanish foods, watching World Cup, and planning our August trip when the factory shuts down - to Ireland. Any suggestions are welcome!
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