November 2, 2025
BA by Bike
I didn't put off how to travel to Patagonia too long; weighing up a 13 hour bus journey combined with the difficulty of finding a bus company that takes bikes as luggage, against flying which takes 2 hours 20 minutes and costs not too much more. So I booked a flight to Bariloche for Monday at 13 hrs. A departure time lacking both the stress of early an morning start, or a late arrival.
Saturday: spent 2 hours cycling north upon the cycleway along Avenida Liberador. The city goes on and on, seemingly limitless. I was visiting Cadia, a friend living in an apartment in a recently built block on an avenue with a large park at the end where we walked together. She says this northern district "es muy tranquil.." I had all afternoon practicing my rusty Spanish as she doesn't speak English. There certainly is a lot less traffic and 10 blocks further to the end of the city and beginning of the Provence of Buenos Aires.
It was raining early Sunday morning; refreshingly cool and I noticed the few people walking along the street outside the hostel didn't bother with rain coats even though it was coming down quite heavy at times. Anyway, it cleared up around 10 and the street soon dried out so I could get out. The plan to cycle to La Boca following a network of cycle-lanes. The cycling infrastructure here is years ahead of cities in Ireland and the UK. And the aptitude of car drivers is more grown up. There is no bolting full gas to the bumper of the next car and it is rare to see a car running a red-light. Generally, drivers are much more empathetic toward other road users.
La Boca isn't too far from the centre and the cycle-lane follows a street parallel to the main big avenue much of the way before going left a few blocks to the corner of a park and turning right down a street running off the park, pass the dark blue football stadium belonging to the famous Boca Juniors. Then left 2 blocks to a waterfront and across the street on the landside is the brightly painted houses of El Camineta.
After a walkabout pushing the bike through the throngs of tourists, pass the many artisan stalls and artists selling drawings of city sights and portraits, I had coffee at a pavement seating cafe before continuing; tagged onto the end of a long line of cyclists on urban bikes: a city-tour by bike retracing the route whence as far as the big park, then right along the parkside to wait for green pedestrian lights to cross the main dockside Avenida Paseo Colon. Once over and a short way upon the walkway on the other side, the group stopped at a big mural of La Boca and the local tour-guide talked about it. Shortly after moving again I went on at my own pace. I took note of the eclectic mix of architectural styles with once grand 1880s but now rustic townhouses juxtaposed with 1930s white concrete high blocks and 1980s darkened-glass high-rises along the opposite side. Then its a wait for another pedestrian light to recross the avenue and continue up Calle Humberto, a narrow cobblestone street uphill from the docks which took me to San Telmo where the streets had the usual Sunday market and it was hard getting the bike past the various stalls and crowd of market-goers.
From the market it was a short distance back to Calle Mexico and the hostel I stayed in last night to pickup my backpack. The usual hostel in Recoleta was full on Saturday, so I'd booked the other for one night and was returning to the hostel in Recoleta, again upon a good bike-lane through the grid of narrow streets.
I had a small pizza and empanadas with a glass of wine for lunch at the corner cafe next-door, which made me want to lay down afterwards for an hour or two catching up on podcasts.
Later I take-apart the handlebars and unscrew the pedals to pack the Kona back in the bike-box for the flight tomorrow. I lost my packing tape; it was in a pocket of my backpack but must've fallen out somewhere. I found a ball of string in the Carrefour a few doors from the hostel which I've used to tie the box shut.
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