Cycling for fun in Torrevieja, Alicante

Description:

What a week for Spanish cycling as Alberto Contador wins the coveted Tour de France sending much of the country into a frenzy of bike buying as youngsters look towards emulating their cycling heroes. And cycling is not a bad thing. Once you have your bike you travel for free, enjoy the fresh air, do not add anything to carbon pollution, can easily find somewhere to park and as long as you don't fall or get knocked off, enjoy additional health benefits.

Torrevieja has a very active cycling club. On any weekend you'll encounter all manner of cyclists out on the back roads. Torrevieja's Green Trail, which follows the disused railway track from the old RENFE station, is also a joy to ride. Every June Torrevieja's celebrates ‘Dia del Bici', the day of the bike, which attracts hundreds of children and parents to ride with escorted police outriders through the streets of the city.

However, one aspect seems to have been overlooked as the reality of riding a bike through the city is far from a fun one. Traffic speed bumps are an outright danger for cyclists, the city has more than its fair share of pot holes and dangerous blind spots, especially at junctions and the most attractive routes, along the coast are either pedestrianised (no cycling allowed) or, one has to dice with the tourist traffic, construction vehicles and everyday life!

Let's face it. Torrevieja is not a cyclists' paradise. Downtown is presently a construction zone and the city has a number of storm drains that can capture and stop the front tyre of a bike, which could easily throw the rider under a passing car. Presently, Torrevieja is subject to a review of its urban plan, the transport infrastructure, direct bus routes to the airport, disabled access zones, to name but a few. A report shall soon be published to improve routes through and around the city.

Hopefully they also include bike routes to make the city an even more enjoyable place to live or visit.

News story by Keith Nicol mcij (Tel: (+34) 609 06 36 14)

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