I Love Riding in the City
NAME: Peter Duran
LOCATION: Algeciras, Spain
OCCUPATION: English Teacher
Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?
I live in the extreme south of Spain, across the bay from Gibraltar and 15 km from Morocco. My city, Algeciras, is super hilly and has quite a few one-ways and narrow streets. It’s a lot of fun late at night and around 3pm when people are at home eating their big daily meal. I try to take advantage of low traffic times since people here seem to have little to no respect for cyclists. There is always something beautiful to look at since we are situated between the ocean and the mountains. I’m looking forward to taking my bike with me on a few trips in the near future to other parts of Spain and a few other cities in Europe.
What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?
My experience is pretty limited with other cities, being as I’ve lived in Michigan for most of my life and I have recently relocated to Spain. But, I’d have to say Grand Rapids, MI has quite a few fun spots to ride. There are some awesome hills to climb up and bomb down, a great cycling community and diverse scenery with museums, a big river, old and new buildings, etc.
Why do you love riding in the city?
I love riding in the city because it shows cars that cyclists are a legitimate form of traffic, that many of us are concerned about our environment and our health, and that it doesn’t take a 4x4 to get to work. It can be pretty fun to weave in and out of cars that are stuck at lights just to show them what they are missing out on. It’s also nice to get off the road bike and country back roads and jump on the fixed gear and cruise town to go from the store to the bar to wherever.
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