Biking in Buenos Aires

Peter and I have mastered the art of defensive biking in B.A.  We really enjoy biking in the cities we have visited - it allows you to get off the tourist trail.  We have managed to get to far off parks, avoid the crowds of buses and subways and visit museums etc under our own steam - Really, it’s steamy.  It’s hot, hot, hot here.

Great new park system where cars are excluded

A memorial park for the 30,000 "disappeared" 1976-1982.  Far away, inaccessible.  We were the only ones there.

Another religion here is football. 

The city is a bit of a paradox when it comes to cycling.  On one hand they have some excellent bike lanes along the side of busy streets, physically separated from traffic. 

Great 2-way bike paths

There are enough of these to take you through most of the core without too much time on nonbike lane roads where the true adventure begins.  There are also a good number of people on bikes especially in some areas.  They ride upright, one-speeders at a casual pace - rather refreshing after the high speed of other traffic.  The large park system here has numerous bike trails, free of traffic, although one sports people learning how to roller blade which adds some entertaining distraction.

In the distance, are the roller bladers.

Nonetheless, the challenges of biking here are several.

• These bike lanes are great but their state of repair is not always on par.  Like the sidewalks, they are uneven, potholed, mended with mounds of pavement.  Sometimes there are ledged ramps to the sidewalk.  All require full focus on the path ahead.

  

  The only hills in B.A. are bridges over roads or tracks.

• Unless there are traffic lights, intersections do not have stop signs.  The drivers are supposed to give way to the vehicle on the right but no one pays any attention to the rule.  Really it is a game of chicken.  Whoever gets there first, even by meters, goes.  This includes bikes.  If you get there at the same time…well, there is the problem. Adding to the risk is that cars park right to the corner and sometimes on the corner.  It’s tough to see if there is oncoming traffic until you are part way across the road.

  

  Great facility for travelling by commuter train with bikes.

• Most streets are one-way which is great for those intersections - you only have to look one way but if you are on a bike lane going against the vehicle traffic there is rarely no traffic signal for the bike.  The bike rider must look up at the signal for the cars on the other street in the proper one way direction.  It requires that your wits are about you!
• Square gutters about 6 inches across cross many streets at intersections sometimes both ways to gather water from people cleaning their sidewalks or torrential rain.  Going into one would make streetcar tracks in Toronto seem like child’s play.

  

  The gutters. 

• Some lanes go along a sidewalk.  The ramps to the street go down sharply and up to the street sharply.  Any speed on this is uncomfortable at best.  A threat to losing your seat or a tire exploding.
• Cobblestone streets, although pretty, are bone rattling.

  

  Coming across the unexpected happens all the time by bike.

   
• Buses and cars travel at high speeds and give the impression, anyway, that they are not going to stop no matter what or who is in the way.  Turning corners, whether bike or pedestrian crossing with the light, cars only stop if the person with right of way avoids eye contact and just goes for it.  They will dodge you by cm.   The easiest biking we had wrt traffic was with the kids on Dec 24th.  Everyone was off work and home preparing for festivities.  The streets were empty....apart from buses.

  

  The kids on their rented clunkers.

• Bike lanes as mentioned before solve the vehicle traffic problem.  Pedestrians, however, not used to bikes, walk into the lanes regularly looking only in the direction of traffic which often is the opposite way that we are travelling on bikes.  The offending walkers are extremely apologetic when you screech to a halt, which is nice.

  

  Looks like a lot of people but really pretty average.

• At rush hour, the bike lanes are great except that the occasional motorcycle uses them as well.  Disconcerting.
• Traffic lights here have an amber light between red to green and between green to red.  On the amber, motorcycles take off immediately.  Woe is you if you follow our normal practice in Canada and cross on an amber!

At the beginning of our time here, cycling was a tad stressful.  After more than two months, we are pros.  Look out, buses, cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians.  Here we come!