Granada II: Electric Bike-a-Loo

One of the reasons I learned to ride a bike last year is so I'd be able to do tours when I travel. I'd heard wonderful stories of friends' experiences and realized that it's the sort of thing I'd really enjoy - if only I had the ability. I wasn't going to let this trip go by without taking the opportunity.

Granada's awfully hilly. That's why it became important: a river junction surrounded by good sites for fortifications. They worked well too: this was the last kingdom of Al-Andalus to fall to the Reconquista, in 1492. More relevant to this story is that it's not a great place to ride a conventional bike. But what about one with a boost? Play Granada offers electric bike tours, so I jumped on the opportunity to try one! A little hard to get used to at first, pedaling as normal but with a push. Hold on! The hills still required plenty of effort and gear shifting but the boost made a big difference.

We started by going up into the Sacromonte neighborhood - an area I expect I wouldn't have seen otherwise. This is where the Roma^* settled in caves. Many "houses" were simply façades on cave openings, and many of these now host Flamenco shows. The road up was so steep and narrow in parts that half of us (raises hand) had to walk our bikes for parts anyway. Amazing views of the Alhambra from here too. I hadn't realized it was so close. Maybe I would just walk there tomorrow? (Spoiler: nope)

On to the Albayzín, where I got a completely different impression. City walls and portals, little squares lined with bars/cafes/restaurants. I'll certainly come back here! This led to the Mirador (viewpoint) San Nicolás, probably the best site for Alhambra views, or at least the best known. This is the site of the only picture of me from the whole trip, taken by our excellent tour guide Joaquín. (Due to the high-intensity way I travel, I'm basically a scruffy, poorly dressed sweatmonster the whole time, not very photogenic. On this tour I'm dressed in athletic gear appropriate for the occasion.)

Your narrator

From the hilltop the only way down is... down. Barreling down a steep cobblestoned path in a foreign city (sometimes with cars and scooters) on a bike whose brakes I have only just met may be exciting, but it's frightening too. (Spoiler: I survived) I made note of a kebab place on our travels and returned there posthaste. Now you may be scolding me for not eating local-appropriate food, but remember the history of the Albayzín! Moorish cuisine, sucka. Also, it was AMAZING.

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* My choice of term. Spain clearly never got the We Don't Call Them Gypsies Anymore memo. ^↩