Recent observations on the metro

What do you think of changing your baby on the metro? Good idea? The other afternoon I witnessed a young mother changing her rather large baby’s very dirty diaper in a row of three seats on line 10. I boarded the train when the operation was already in progress, but, judging by the splatter, it seemed that it might have been some sort of shit explosion necessitating immediate nappy changing. I felt sort of a mix of revulsion and empathy toward this woman, but I have to say that she was not attending to the matter in a very neat fashion. When she left the train, there was definitely still shit on the seat.

And how about clipping your nails? Great idea! The metro is the perfect place for that. This afternoon I had the privilege of listening to the clip clip clip of a woman’s nail clippers as she took care of some of her personal grooming underground on line 6. What a treat!

Latest autobombo

I hadn’t been doing much writing since the demise of Inside Spain back in March (yes, the crisis has hit very close to home), but I’m happy to report that I’ve started up again. I’m writing about Madrid for the travel site Momondo, which is primarily a flight search engine, but also has a well-reported section of travel articles from cities around the world. My first piece, about Madrid terrazas, is up and there should be more to come soon. Keep up with me here.

May

19 May 2007

Granada is so lovely

La Criticona

This year the second of May saw an uprising in Madrid of a different kind. La Criticona was Spain’s biggest Critical Mass event, a huge gathering of cyclists determined to show the city that cycling is a means of transport. The organizers at Bici Crítica say there were 2,546 riders who filled Madrid’s streets with chants*, the dinging of bike bells, music blasted from rear-wheel-rigged stereos, tall bikes, dogs in bike baskets, and lots of smiling faces on a warm Saturday afternoon.

The group got more separated than the organizers would have liked, and there were plenty of irate drivers waiting as we all passed, but, as the post-Criticona debate has expressed, the idea is to think that any driver could be a future cyclist—to educate rather than aggravate. Hence the cyclists seen bent over car windows chatting with drivers about what we were doing. Not everyone was very receptive (the fact that there was a football match about to begin didn’t help matters), but the people who stood on the sidewalks applauding and snapping photos as we passed made me think that the event surely would leave an impact on the minds of some madrileños. Naturally, among the cyclists there was a real sense of goodwill and camaraderie as well as the sustained hope that each day more bikes will ride the city’s car-congested asphalt.

*Among the chants:

—No es un deporte, es mi medio de transporte! (It’s not a sport, it’s my means of transport!)
—Yo pedaleo y no me cabreo! (I pedal and don’t get pissed!)
—No contamina, no gasta gasolina! (Doesn’t pollute, doesn’t use gas!)
—Si tu coche te quema, quema tu coche! (If your car burns you, burn your car!)