On Sun, 15 Feb 2004, Robin Norton wrote:
> Anyone know if it it's difficult to get from Barcelona Airport area to the hinterland. The
> michelin 400,000 map shows a mess of motorways and I'm afraid they might make navigation westward
> difficult. Thanks in advance for any info. Rob N
My experience riding into Barcelona last summer was nightmarish. Getting out was much better: I took
a local train to Ripoll ;-}! While Spain's non local trains don't take bicycles, local ones do. Each
car has a place for a wheelchair which bicyclists can use for their bikes. If you can get from the
airport to a train station, perhaps by taxi or shuttle, you'll be fine.
I rode in from the south on a road that became an Autovia. That was OK until it merged with another
Autovia. The two merged expressways combined into two lanes with the shoulders blocked by
construction barriers. I had to merge from the left and take a lane in very heavy traffic. I got out
as soon as there was a break in the barriers - half a mile? - by lifting my loaded bike over the
guard rail and walking my bike across a field to an agricultural access road. I survived because
Spainish drivers are kind...
By the way, the old city of Barcelona is definitely worth seeing, so I'd recommend getting into the
city before getting a train to get well away from the city. There is a train/subway station just
outside the old city.
Mark <
http://www.cs.unca.edu/~boyd/bicycling.html
