city-sponsored bicycling in South America

Biking is catching on in South America.  As I noted before, Lima has bike lanes around the city.  But I am more impressed with what Colombia and Ecuador have done.  In Medellín, Bogota and Quito, there are days where the streets are closed off to car traffic and open to bikers, walkers, skaters and anyone else without a gas-based motor.

I did not check out the Sunday events in Bogota. But in Medellín, I can say it is very popular. They have a Ciclovia twice at night on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though I was never able to join because I was bartending at the hostel.  But I was able to check out the one on Sunday mornings, which had many bikers.  I would estimate that at any given time, I would be surrounded by at least twenty bikers within my vision.  This also gives an opportunity for bike shops to hang out on the side and perform routine maintenance and repairs to bikers on the spot.  I only rode along the river in the center of the city, which is about 20 km in length.

In the southern direction, the road leads to the end of the city and allows for an easy escape outside the city.  To get out of Medellin in other directions requires climbing over the mountains, something that I tried many times. I would ride around the neighborhoods, winding around the roads for over 15 km and barely leaving the city limits, but still would have to go another 5 to 20 km to get over the mountain line... It´s tough and exhausting, but lemme tell you, it´s a great ride back in the city.

In Quito, the Ciclopolis (go to the website to check out its cool logo) runs the length of the city from north to south for almost 25 kilometers and is mostly flat in this mountainous city. There are less people participating, but maybe it just needs more time to catch on.  I did notice many bike shops along the way.

Here are some photos of Quito´s Ciclopolis...

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