{"id":4025,"date":"2009-10-23T22:46:40","date_gmt":"2009-10-23T22:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecoworldly.com\/?p=4411"},"modified":"2009-10-23T22:46:40","modified_gmt":"2009-10-23T22:46:40","slug":"8-barcelona-spain-great-bicycle-city-photo-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/8-barcelona-spain-great-bicycle-city-photo-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"#8 Barcelona, Spain: Great Bicycle City Photo Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Naked bicyclists, folding bikes, balloon bikes, and more — enjoy this bicycle photo tour of Barcelona.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The third B in a row, Barcelona is next on this list of great bicycle cities (right ahead of Basel, Switzerland<\/a> and Bogota, Columbia<\/a>). As a dense city with a wonderful climate, Barcelona is naturally a wonderful place for bicyclists. However, a lot has been done to make it more so. The biggest carrot encouraging bicycling, by far, is Barcelona’s relatively new bike sharing program — Bicing<\/strong>. This is perhaps the best or second best bike sharing program in the world. It is one of a new generation of sophisticated, smart bike sharing programs. Read more about it on page 2.<\/p>\n

Beyond Bicing<\/a>, the city<\/a> is also working on creating new bicycling routes and bike parking and it hosts fun Bike Week celebrations every year in May. Also, it has been creating better infrastructure for bicyclists due to so many more people bicycling within the past few years. It is transforming itself into a truly world-leading bicycle city.<\/p>\n


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I’m going to take the opportunity and use this article to delve into why this list is on EcoWorldly in the first place.<\/p>\n

[social_buttons]<\/p>\n

Bicycling is super green and clean. It is perhaps the most efficient mode of transportion. On the energy contained in one piece of pizza<\/strong>, a car could travel 100 feet, a person could walk 3.5 miles, and a bicyclist could bicycle 10 miles<\/strong>! Depending on a person’s diet (vegetarian, average US citizen, or something in between), a bicyclist gets between 196 and 104 miles per gallon (of fossil fuel input).<\/p>\n

The greenhouse gas emissions of bicycling are very low — oh, wait, essentially nothing! And the space (or concrete infrastructure) needed is quite minimal compared to other larger vehicles. A car needs 10-15 times more space and money for parking than a bicycle, and the space needed on the roadway is even greater. Several water quality and air pollution problems could be solved, and millions, billions, or even trillions of dollars<\/strong> could be saved, by investing in bicycle transportation more than other modes of transportation.<\/p>\n

In the US, 40% of trips in metropolitan areas are 2 miles or less and 89% of those are made by car. These are ideal distances for bicycling. With just the personal decision to switch modes, many people in the US could do it today. With help like the Bicing program or the transformative efforts previously mentioned in Bogota<\/a>, millions more people could switch to this greener transportation choice.<\/p>\n

Beyond the environment, bicycling is one of the best ways to ensure you remain fit, healthy, and don’t fall into the larger and larger percentage of the population that is obese or overweight. It is also psychologically beneficial and can help prevent against depression.<\/p>\n

Bicycling is also a great community networking activity<\/strong> and a way to feel closer to the environment and even the people who live around you.<\/p>\n

So, remember, bicycling isn’t just for fun (although, it is a lot of fun!) but it’s a great way to help the environment, build community, help your local economy (by saving money on infrastructure), and help yourself to be healthy!<\/p>\n

Now, a place where we all wish we could bicycle and visit — Barcelona<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

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Image Credit 1: elrentaplats via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 2: metamorphosis via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 3: SlapBcn via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 4: lcrf via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bicing — Great (3rd Generation) Bicycle Sharing Program<\/h3>\n

Bicycle sharing programs started out as simple systems in which bikes were painted a certain color and then made available for use for free by anyone in the community, to be picked up or dropped off at undetermined places. The problem with these systems, naturally, was that there was no accountability or security and the bikes would eventually disappear.<\/p>\n

In recent years, some more sophisticated programs have been developed in various European countries. One type of more sophisticated program requires that a cash deposit be made to borrow a locked bike and then once the bike is returned the deposit is returned. More sophisticated than this, a few newer programs (such as Bicing) were recently launched in which a customer must become a member of the program to borrow a bike and then the person is able to unlock bikes with their membership card through a fairly sophisticated computer system (similar to carsharing programs such as Zipcar and Flexcar).
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\nBarcelona’s system<\/a> is one of the most successful to date. It is interesting because it is only open to Barcelonians — not tourists. They can pay a yearly fee of 30 Euros and then get a bike for free for half an hour anytime. If they want it for more than half an hour, they pay 30 cents per every extra 30 minutes. They can return bikes to any of the hundreds of bike parking “stations” around the city. The system started with 100 stations and 1,500 bikes. The system blew-up, was hugely popular, and today it consists of 6,000 bikes and 375 stations.<\/p>\n

The system cut into the transportation infrastructure for cars a little bit, and generated some controversy at the beginning, but it seems that people have come to realise more and more the benefits of bicycle transportation for their city. Similar to Bogota, Barcelona has transformed<\/a> its city into a more bicycle and pedestrian focused place, and as a result “the number of cars coming into Barcelona (has been reduced) by 15 percent.”<\/p>\n

Enjoy the photos and YouTube video of this great bike sharing program below!<\/p>\n

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[youtube=http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/lCNboaWtqIc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
\n.<\/p>\n

Image Credit 1: synes via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 2: Paco CT via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 3: Altamar via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 4: frodrig via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 5: almogaver via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 6: JesuSarmiento via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 7: Maufdi via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Beautiful Places to Bicycle<\/h3>\n

Barcelona is beautiful, and that makes bicycling there that much better. Rather than close yourself in a car, tram, or bus, you can enjoy the beauty and atmosphere of Barcelona better on a bike.<\/p>\n

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Image Credit 1: ras263 via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 2: JorgeMiente.es via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 3: _Asane_ via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 4: lcrf via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 5: Juan Carlos! via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 6: Plug 1 via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 7: Tuquetu via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 8: JaulaDeArdilla via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bikin’ in the Rain, Kids on Bikes, & Men in Suits<\/h3>\n

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Image Credit 1: vitelone via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 2: vitelone via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 3: vitelone via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 4: vitelone via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Folding Bikes<\/h3>\n

Easy to travel with or bring to work, these folding bikes are very popular in Barcelona. (There’s one on page nine, too.) The photographer<\/a> for the first picture here writes: “Barcelona seems to be something of a magnet for Bromptons and other types of folding bikes. It recently hosted an event specifically for Bromptons<\/a>.” A few artistic pictures of these super utilitarian bikes for all of us to enjoy:<\/p>\n

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Image Credit 1: identity chris is via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 2: Br\u00fajulo via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 3: . SantiMB . via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 4: Juan Carlos! via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Big Bike Taxis<\/h3>\n

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Image Credit 1: uayebt via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 2: uayebt via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 3: jose_gonzalvo via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 4: james. via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Balloons on Bikes<\/h3>\n

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Image Credit 1: karuleta* via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Naked Bicyclists<\/h3>\n

Mix Spain and bicycles and you get a few naked people! What a free look this picture has.<\/p>\n

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Image Credit 1: sheenabizarre via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Moving or Shipping Bikes & Critical Mass Bike Rides<\/h3>\n

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Image Credit 1: Liz Castro via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 2: funkyfabriz via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n

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Flowers or Pac-Man in the Bikes Lanes?<\/h3>\n

At first, I thought these were tulips. Then, I realized (partly by seeing the title of the second one) that it is actually a tribute to pac-man! Interesting bike lane art.<\/p>\n

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Hope you enjoyed the photo tours of Basel<\/a> (Switzerland), Bogota<\/a> (Columbia), and Barcelona (Spain). To keep yourself updated on the next seven photo tours, keep your eye on EcoWorldly<\/a> or even subscribe to its feed<\/a> or email list. Have something extra to add? Comment below!<\/p>\n

Image Credit 1: Ib\u00e1n via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license
\nImage Credit 2: Ib\u00e1n via flickr<\/a> under a Creative Commons license<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Naked bicyclists, folding bikes, balloon bikes, and more — enjoy this bicycle photo tour of Barcelona. The third B in a row, Barcelona is next on this list of great bicycle cities (right ahead of Basel, Switzerland and Bogota, Columbia). As a dense city with a wonderful climate, Barcelona is naturally a wonderful place for …<\/p>\n

#8 Barcelona, Spain: Great Bicycle City Photo Tour<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[94,77,78,95,55,79,68,96,97,98,99,56,70,57,100,82,101,102,103,58,73,104,105,106,44,107,74,108,109,110,111,112,90,91,92,93,113,114,65,115],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/03.jpg",480,360,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/03-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/03-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/03.jpg",480,360,false],"large":["https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/03.jpg",480,360,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/03.jpg",480,360,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/03.jpg",480,360,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Zach","author_link":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/author\/zshahan\/"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"Naked bicyclists, folding bikes, balloon bikes, and more — enjoy this bicycle photo tour of Barcelona. The third B in a row, Barcelona is next on this list of great bicycle cities (right ahead of Basel, Switzerland and Bogota, Columbia). As a dense city with a wonderful climate, Barcelona is naturally a wonderful place for…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikocity.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}