Biking in and around Madrid

We are going to start a series of itineraries to bike-ride in and especially around Madrid, considering two important things: The actual city is not especially generous and easy when it comes to ride in town, too hilly and above all, two much pollution and aggressive traffic to deal with. Yet, Madrid hosts a considerable number of large parks where one can smoothly ride, and additionally it is surrounded by a wide range of natural landscapes and tracks to enjoy long and lovely spins.

A few recommendations before pedalling along the track:

Improvising along the itinerary? As usual, it somewhat depends on the spirit of adventure you have, but honestly, I would advise to check a few essential aspects to be seriously taken into account before hitting the road, such as how physically demanding the route is, the daylight time, the weather forecast, possible conditions of the path (i.e: excessive mud after too much rain, or too dry, but too irregular after torrential rains, etc..), make sure that the maps or explanations of the route seem clear enough, and, if possible, get information from more than one resource to contrast and double check the info you’ve got. In any case, a couple of things we highly recommend are to avoid going through a route or itinerary you don’t know, especially if you don’t have a compass, and a very accurate map of the area, and if you still do so….tell somebody else exactly where you are going to, and bring a mobile phone with you.

Some essential tools to bring with you at all times: The possibilities of clothing are so wide, and at the same time so obvious that we are going to omit a thorough explanation, but simply remind you to wear comfortable sport clothes appropriate for the activity, depending on the season of the year, the number of kilometers you are to hit, and the amount of money you can spend on this sort of material… nothing very new indeed, is it? A few of the most relevant ones:

• Helmet: It is highly recommendable to avoid your brains spreading all over the place, it is not very decorative and sort of annoying for the animals in the country-side, and absolutely compulsory if you a re riding on a road…. And don’t be stingy trying to save a few pennies, pts, or dollars on this, it is PARAMOUNT, to wear a good one.
  
• Sunglasses: Very important to wear them for various reasons, not only to avoid the possible dazzling of the frontal sun, but they can also protect you from the rain if there is, also from molesting insects (quite a few on the air when good weather), or mud, dust, the wind, and even the cold.
  
• A big handkerchief, or similar cloth: Serious, no laughing at it, it is very useful for loads of purposes, such as protecting you from pollution, excessive dust, and wetting it slightly will also protect you from smoke. If rolled on your forehead, it will avoid the sweat drops from reaching your eyes. It can also warm your face and ears if it is cold, and even work as plaster, if you have an accident.
  
• Food: Not much restriction on this, but remember always to bring enough water with you, energetic drinks if possible as well as energetic food, such as dry fruits and chocolate.
  
• Watch & Speedometer: It may initially appear irrelevant, but it is very useful to know what time is it to be aware of the daylight left, and also important to know how much distance we have already ridden and how much is left.
  
• Money and ID: Needless to say that it is advisable to carry some money for various situations you may find yourself in, and the ID, in case there are problems and need to be identified.
  
• Other important things are utensils such as a small first aid kit, a rucksack, a Swiss Army knife (those having all sorts of multifunctional devices: opener, etc...), and a lighter (together with a candle may save you from many delicate a situation if spending the night in the open air...), etc….
  

Essentials for the bike

• Tyre pumper: Too obvious to say what for.
  
• Wheel tyre: A spare one is more than handy, when too tired to repair a puncture.
  
• Multi-tool bag: This is paramount, the best investment you can do on your bike, the more devices, the better...
  
• Others: Tyre stick patches, glue, matches or lighter, an old box of matches to rub the tyre for the puncture mend, a light bulb, a forehead torch (extremely useful, if there is no light on the bike), and a long etcetera, depending on how cautious you are and how risky/long the adventure takes.
  

As mentioned above, this is just the initial approach for a forthcoming series of articles suggesting loads of routes to follow, so keep in tune.

We can not finish the introductory chapter without mentioning the main source of our information: Bicicleta de Montaña por la CAM, published by El Senderista, in 1999.