Urban biking

An almost-finished bike path in Ñuñoa, 06/2009

The crosstown traffic’s atrocious, Transantiago takes forever, and you’re not quite rich enough to take a taxi to work every day*. How about biking?

At the turn of the millennium, biking as transportation in Santiago wasn’t a viable alternative for most people due mainly to the lack of infrastructure (followed perhaps by fear of Santiago drivers, whose take-no-prisoners driving style is on par with that of my fellow Bostonians). A decade later, municipal investment in bike paths, higher fuel costs and lower budgets, and generally increased consciousness about the social, economic and health benefits of biking have changed that. (Not that biking in Santiago doesn’t have its risks.)

The government has promised 690 km of bike paths in Santiago by 2012, and at the time of this writing is working on a “Bicycle Law” to promote its use.  However, if you want to get where you’re going quickly, you may actually want to avoid the bike paths.  My friend Philippe, a serious biker (he commutes, trains, travels and competes on his bike), doesn’t use them, because of pedestrians, holes, 90-degree turns and obstacles in general.  He says his trip takes twice as long if he uses bike paths rather than streets.  They’re probably still your best option for getting to know the city as well as your route to work; once you have the lay of the land you may want to join the motorized vehicles.

To get started on your self-propelled journey, you’ll want to buy a bike, plan your route(s), and meet some of your fellow cyclists.  Philippe recommends bikemontt as a one-stop shop for buying gear as well as getting in touch with the cycling community in Chile and South America.

Need expert advice?  You can contact Philippe at pdelteil@gmail.com, in Spanish, English, Portuguese or French.

Vocab

• bicicleta, (slang) bici, cleta: bicycle
• ciclorruta, ciclovía: bike route

* Taxis get to travel in the bus-only lanes, so at least during rush hour, they’re quicker than you in your car.⇑